Java Servlets
Java Servlets are a server-side programming API for the Java platform that extends the capabilities of a web server. They handle client requests, process data, and generate dynamic responses, typically HTML, serving as the fundamental building block for most Java web applications. Servlets…
Key facts
- First appeared
- 1997
- Category
- technology
- Problem solved
- Java Servlets addressed the severe performance and scalability limitations of CGI (Common Gateway Interface) by eliminating the 'fork a process per request' model, providing a more efficient, thread-based approach to handling HTTP requests. They also offered a more robust, object-oriented, and platform-independent solution for dynamic web content generation, overcoming the complexity and environment-specific issues of previous server-side technologies.
- Platforms
- Linux, Java Virtual Machine (JVM), Any operating system supporting a Java-compatible web server, Windows, macOS
Related technologies
Notable users
- Google (internal tools, early services)
- Oracle
- Apache Software Foundation (developing Tomcat, Struts, etc.)
- IBM
- Netflix (backend services, though often Spring Boot)
- Various large enterprises in finance, government, and e-commerce (often through Java EE/Spring)