Java and J2EE

M.S Prapulla kumar

UNIT - 6 Java Servlets

What is a Java Servlet?
A java servlet is a server side program that is called by the user interface or another J2EE component and contains the business logic to process a request

What is Common Gateway Interface(CGI)?

Originally, a server-side program handled client requests by using the Common Gateway Interface (CGI), which was programmed using Perl. It is the standard for creating dynamic web pages. It is a part of the web server that can communicate with other programs running on the server.

How CGI woks?

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Figure. How CGI works

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Client sends a request to server Server starts a CGI script Script computes a result for server and quits Server returns response to client Another client sends a request Server starts the CGI script again etc.

What are the disadvatages/drawback of CGI?

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Java and J2EE Each time a CGI script is called, a separate process is created

It was also expensive to open and close database connections for each client request CGI programs were not platform independent Once CGI program terminates, all data used by the process is lost and can not be used by the other CGI programs Only defines interface, no supporting infrastructure (security, sessions, persistence, etc.)

How Servlet works?

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Figure. How Servlet works

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Client sends a request to server Server starts a servlet Servlet computes a result for server and does not quit Server returns response to client Another client sends a request Server calls the servlet again etc.

What are the advatanges of Servlets over CGI?

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Java and J2EE Performance is significantly better

persistence. This means that java servlet remains alive after the request is fulfilled. A servlet stays in memory, so it doesnt have to be reloaded each time Portable - will run on any J2EE-compliant server Platform Independence Servlets are written entirely in java so these are platform independent. Secure Full functionality of java class libraries is available to servlet

Explain the Life Cycle of a Servlet?

The javax.servlet.Servlet interface defines the three methods known as life-cycle method. These are: init(), service(), destroy() defined in javax.servlet.Servlet interface The init() method When a servlet is first loaded, the init() method is invoked. This allows the servlet to perform any setup processing such as opening files or establishing connections to their servers. If a servlet is permanently installed in server, it loads when the server strts to run, otherwise, the server activates a servlet when it receives the first client request.

Java and J2EE Note that init() will only be called only once; it will not be called again unless the servlet has been unloaded and then reloaded by the server.

Figure. Servlet Life cycle

What you need to run servlets?

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JDK 1.2 or higher. A servlet-compatible webserver. (E.g. Tomcat )

Java and J2EE

Using Tomcat for Servlet Development

To create servlets, you will need access to a servlet development environment. One such used is Tomcat. Tomcat is the Servlet Engine that handles servlet requests. Tomcat is open source (and therefore free). It contains the class libraries, documentation and runtime support that you will need to create and test servlets. You can download tomcat from jakarta.apache.org. Installing the Tomcat server The Java software Development Kit(JDK) should be installed on your computer before installing tomcat. Then install Tomcat server. The default location for Tomcat5.5 is C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\

To Start Tomcat Tomcat must be running before you try to execute a servlet. Select start | Programs Menu | Apache Tomcat 5.5 | Monitor Tomcat, then a tomcat icon appears on the right bottom tray of the task bar. Right click on the icon and choose start service. Test Tomcat You can test whether the tomcat is runing or not by requesting on a web browser http://localhost:8080

Figure: Tomcat start page

Java and J2EE Set two environment variables: Tomcat uses an environmental variable JAVA_HOME to indicate the location of the JDK toplevel directory. You may need to set the environmental variable JAVA_HOME to the top-level directory in which the Java Development Kit is installed( say C:\JDK1.5). The directory C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\common\lib contains servlet-api.jar. This jar file contains the classes and interfaces that are needed to buils servlet. To make this file accessible, update your CLASSPATH envirinment variable so that it includes C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\common\lib\servlet-api.jar Placing the compiled servlet class file in the proper Tomcat directory: Once you have compiled a servlet, you must enable the tomcat to find it. Copy the servlet class file into the following directory: C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\webapps\servlets-examples\WEBINF\classes Add Servlet Name & mapping to the web.xml : Add the servlets name and mapping to the web.xml file located in the follwing directory. C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Tomcat 5.5\webapps\servlets-examples\WEBINF For example assuming the first example, called HelloWorld, you will add the following lines in the section that defines the servlet. <servlet> <servlet-name>HelloWorld</servlet-name> <servlet-class>HelloWorld</servlet-class> </servlet> Next, add the following lines to the section that defines the servlet mappings <servlet-mapping> <servlet-name>HelloWorld</servlet-name>
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Java and J2EE <url-pattern>/servlet/HelloWorld</url-pattern> </servlet-mapping>

Follow the same general procedure for all the examples.

Steps involved in building and testing a servlet

1. Create and compile the servlet source code. Then copy the servlets class file to the proper directory, and add the servlets name and mappings to the proper web.xml file 2. Start Tomcat 3. Start a Web browser and request the servlet.

Your First Servlet - HelloWorld

Now let's write a simple java servlet that writes "Hello World!" to the browser: import javax.servlet.*; import java.io.*; public class HelloWorld extends GenericServlet { public void service(ServletRequest req, ServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException { // Set the content type of the response. resp.setContentType ("text/html"); // Get an output stream object from the response PrintWriter out = resp.getWriter (); // Write body content to output stream // The first part of the response. out.println ("<html>"); out.println ("<head><title> Test </title></head>"); out.println ("<body>"); // The greeting. out.println ("Hello World!"); // Last part. out.println ("</body>"); out.println ("</html>");
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Java and J2EE } } Explaination:

Here this file should be named as HelloWorld.java. It is extending GenericServlet. So the related packages are imported.

service() is the method by which we manipulate the clients request and responses. It has two arguments. First, req is an object that is implementing the ServletRequest interface and secondly, resp is an object that is implementing the ServletResponse interface. These are used to handle the request and responses. Other methods that are usually called to handle data are doPost, doPut, doTrace, doHead, etc. It is throwing two exceptions: IOException and ServletException. IOException usually arises when the servlet is loaded to the web and ServletException can occur anytime. So it has to be handled. resp.setContentType("text/html"); This statement sets the MIME header using the method setContentType() in the response. PrintWriter out=resp.getWriter(); Here we are getting hold of a handle to write into the output stream. You get a handle by using the method getWriter() which is implemented by the java.io.PrintWriter class. We write HTML to the output, e.g., out.println ("<html>"); out.println ("<head><title> Test </title></head>"); write the greeting out.println("Hello World ");
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Java and J2EE Compiling a Servlet Run javac HelloWorld.java from the command line. HelloWorld.java compiles to HelloWorld.class. Class file should be located in the web applications classes folder: C:\<tomcat home>\webapps\servlets-examples\WEB-INF\classes Adding Servlet Name & mapping to the web.xml Consider a Servlet residing in folder webapps\servlets-examples\WEB-INF\classes\HelloWorld.class Assign a name to the servlet in web.xml <servlet> <servlet-name>HelloWorld</servlet-name> <servlet-class>HelloWorld</servlet-class> </servlet>

Map a servlet to a custom URL <servlet-mapping> <servlet-name>HelloWorld</servlet-name> <url-pattern>/servlet/HelloWorld</url-pattern> </servlet-mapping> Start the Tomcat Tomcat must be running before you try to execute a servlet. Run the Servlet using the following URL:
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Java and J2EE http://localhost:8080/servlets-examples/servlet/HelloWorld Tomcat internally maps all URLs starting with /servlet/* to the /WEB-INF/classes folder.

What is web.xml
The web.xml file specifies various config. parameter such as: the name used to invoke the servlet description of the servlet the class name of the servlet class

Sample file entry

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Java and J2EE

What is Servlet API

Two packages contain the classes and interfaces that are required to build servlets. These are: javax.servlet javax.servlet.http

They constitute the Servlet API. These packages are not part of the java core packages. Instead, they are standard extensions provided by Tomcat.

javax.servlet Package
The javax.servlet package contains a number of classes and interfaces that establish the framework in which servlet operate. It contains the classes necessary for a standard, protocolindependent servlet. The following table summarizes the core interfaces that are provided in this package. Interfaces Interface Servlet ServletConfig Description Defines methods that all servlets must implement. A servlet configuration object used by a servlet container used to pass information to a servlet during initialization.

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Java and J2EE ServletContext ServletRequest ServletResponse Defines an object to assist a servlet in sending a response to the client. Defines a set of methods that a servlet uses to communicate with its servlet container, for example, to get the MIME type of a file, dispatch requests, or write to a log file. Defines an object to provide client request information to a servlet.

The Servlet interface

All servlets must implement the Servlet interface. It declares the init(), service(), and destroy() methods that are called by the server during the life cycle of a servlet. The methods defined by Servlet are shown below. Methods

The

ServletConfig interface
The ServletConfig interface allows a servlet to obtain configuration data when it is loaded. The methods declared by this interface are summarized below. Methods
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The ServletContext Interface

The ServletContext interface enables servlets to obtain information about their environment. Several of its methods are summarized below. Methods

The ServletRequest Interface

The ServletRequest interface enables a servlet to get information about a client request. Several of its methods are summarized below.

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Java and J2EE Methods:

The ServletResponse Interface

- The ServletResponse interface enables a servlet to formulate a response for a client. Several of its methods are summarized below. Methods

Classe s
The following table summarizes the core classes that are provided in javax.servlet package.

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Java and J2EE Class GenericServlet ServletInputStream ServletOutputStream ServletException UnavailableException

Description Defines a generic, protocol-independent servlet. Provides an input stream for reading binary data from a client request, including an efficient readLine method for reading data one line at a time. Provides an output stream for sending binary data to the client. Defines a general exception a servlet can throw when it encounters difficulty. Defines an exception that a servlet or filter throws to indicate that it is permanently or temporarily unavailable

The GenericServlet class

The GenericServlet class provides the framework for developing basic servlets. If you are creating a protocol-independent servlet, you probably want to subclass this class rather than implement the Servlet interface directly. Note that the service() method is declared as abstract; this is the only method you have to override to implement a generic servlet. GenericServlet includes basic implementations of the init() and destroy() methods,

Reading servlet parameters

The ServletRequest interface includes methods that allow you to read the names and values of parameters that are included in a client request. We will develop s servlet that illustrate their use. Example: Shows all the parameters sent to the servlet via POST request The example contains two files: PostParameters.html : An HTML form that sends a number of parameters to the servlet via post request ShowPostParameters.java: A servlet that read the names & values of parameters sent that are included in post request

PostParameters.html: It defines a table that contains two labels and two text fields. One of the label is Employee and the other is Phone. There is also a submit button. Notice that the action parameter of the form tag specifies a URL. The URL identifies the servlet to process the HTTP POST request.
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Java and J2EE

<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>A Show Parameters using POST</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FDF5E6"> <FORM ACTION="http://localhost/servlets-examples/servlet/ShowPostParameters" METHOD="POST"> <table> <tr> <td><b> Employee </td> <td><INPUT TYPE="TEXT" NAME="e"></td> </tr>

<tr> <td><b> Phone </td> <td><INPUT TYPE="TEXT" NAME="p"></td> </tr> </table>

<INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" VALUE="Submit">

</FORM> </BODY>
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Java and J2EE </HTML>

Note: Copy the PostParameters.html file under C:\<Tomcat-Install-Directory>\webapps\ROOT ShowPostParameters.java : import java.io.*; import javax.servlet.*; import java.util.*; public class ShowPostParameters extends GenericServlet { public void service(ServletRequest req,ServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException { // Set the content type of the response. resp.setContentType("text/html");

// Extract the PrintWriter to write the response. PrintWriter out = resp.getWriter();

// The first part of the response. out.println ("<html>"); out.println ("<head><title> Test </title></head>"); out.println ("<body>"); // Now get the parameters and output them back.

out.println ("Request parameters: ");

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Java and J2EE Enumeration e = req.getParameterNames(); while(e.hasMoreElements()) { String pname = (String)e.nextElement(); String pvalue = req.getParameter(pname); out.print(pname + "=" + pvalue); } // Last part. out.println("</body>"); out.println("</html>"); out.close(); } } Explaination

We need to import java.util.Enumeration. The service() method is overridden to process client requests Whatever parameters were provided are all in the ServletRequest instance. We can list these parameters by getting an Enumeration instance from the request by calling getParameterNames(): Enumeration e = req.getParameterNames();

The "name" of a parameter is really the string in the name attribute of the tag for the particular Form element. For example, the name string is e below. Employee: <input type="text" name="e">

Now, if we want to retrieve the actual string typed in by the user, we use that name in getParameter(): String whatTheUserTyped = req.getParameter ("e");

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Java and J2EE

javax.servlet.http Package

Contains number of classes and interfaces that are commonly used by servlet developers Its functionality makes it easy to build servlets that work with HTTP requests and response . i.e. The javax.servlet.http package supports the development of
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Java and J2EE servlets that use the HTTP protocol

The following table summarizes the core inerfaces that are provided in this package.

Interfaces:

Interface HttpServletRequest HttpServletResponse HttpSession

Description Extends the ServletRequest interface that enables the servlets to read data from an HTTP request. Extends the ServletResponse interface that enables servlets to write data to an HTTP response. Provides a way to identify a user across more than one page request or visit to a Web site and to store information about that user.

The HttpServletRequest Interface

The HttpServletRequest interface enables a servlet to obtain information about a client request. Several of its methods are shown below. Methods:

Cookie[] getCookies() - Gets the array of cookies found in this request.

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Java and J2EE String getMethod() - Gets the HTTP method (for example, GET, POST, PUT) with which this request was made.

String getQueryString() - Gets any query string that is part of the HTTP request URI. HttpSession getSession(boolean create) - Gets the current valid session associated with this request, if create is false or, if necessary, creates a new session for the request, if create is true.

The HttpServletResponse Interface

The HttpServletResponse interface enables a servlet to formulate an HTTP response to a client. Several of its methods are shown below. Methods:

void addCookie(Cookie cookie) - Adds the specified cookie to the response.

The HttpSession Interface

Provides a way to identify a user across more than one page request or visit to a Web site and to store information about that user. The servlet container uses this interface to create a session between an HTTP client and an HTTP server. The session persists for a specified time period, across more than one connection or page request from the user.
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Java and J2EE A session usually corresponds to one user, who may visit a site many times. The server can maintain a session in many ways such as using cookies or rewriting URLs. Several of its methods are shown below. Methods long getCreationTime() - Returns the time at which this session representation was created, in milliseconds

String

getId() - Returns the identifier assigned to this session.

long

getLastAccessedTime() - Returns the last time the client sent a request carrying the identifier assigned to the session.

Object

getAttribute(String name) - Returns the object bound with the specified name in this session, or null if no object is bound under the name.

void

setAttribute(Sring name, Object value) - Binds an object to this session, using the name specified.

Classes
The following table summarizes the core classes that are provided in this package.

Class Cookie HttpServlet

Description Creates a cookie, a small amount of information sent by a servlet to a Web browser, saved by the browser, and later sent back to the server. Provides methods to handle HTTP requests & responses.

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Java and J2EE

The HttpServlet class

The HttpServlet class extends GenericServlet It is commonly used when developing servlets that receive and process HTTP requests

Methods void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) - Handles an HTTP GET request

void

doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) - Handles an HTTP POST request

Handling HTTP Requests and Responses

HttpServlet class provides various methods that handle the various types of HTTP requests A servlet developer typically overrides one of these methods These methods are doGet(), doPost() etc

Handling HTTP GET requests

Here we will develop a servlet that handles an HTTP GET request. The servlet is invoked when a form on a web page is submitted. The example contains two files. ColorGet.html ColorGetservlet.java

ColorGet.html: It defines a form that contains a select element and a submit button. Notice that the action attribute of the form tag specifies a URL. The URL identifies a servlet to process the HTTP request.

<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Handling HTTP GET request</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FDF5E6">

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Java and J2EE <FORM ACTION="http://localhost:8080/servlets-examples/servlet/ColorGetServlet" METHOD=GET"> <B>Color: <select name=color > <option value=Red >Red </option> <option value=Green <option value=Blue </select><BR> <INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" VALUE="Submit"> </FORM> </BODY> </HTML> ColorGetServlet.java : In this file doGet() method is overridden to process any HTTP GET requests that are sent to this servlet. It uses the getParameter() method of HttpServletRequest to obtain the selection that was made by the user. A response is then formulated. import java.io.*; import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.htto.*; public class ColorGetServlet extends HttpServlet { public void doGet(HttpServletRequest req,HttpServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException { // set MIME type resp.setContentType("text/html");
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>Green </option> >Blue </option>

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//Get print writer PrintWriter out = resp.getWriter();

// Get the value of slection that was made by user String color = req.getParameter("color");

out.println("The selected color is=" + color); out.close(); } }

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Handling HTTP POST requests

Same as that of handling HTTP GET request, Note the following changes: Replace method=get in HTML form to method=post In servlet, override doPost(), instead of doGet()

What is the difference between HttpServlet and GenericServlet? GenericServlet is a generalised and protocol independent servlet which defined in javax.servlet package. Servlets extending GenericServlet should override service() method. javax.servlet.http.HTTPServlet extends GenericServlet. HTTPServlet is http protocol specific ie it services only those requests thats coming through http.A subclass of HttpServlet must override at least one method of doGet(), doPost(). What is the difference between the doGet and doPost methods? doGet() is called in response to an HTTP GET request. This happens with some HTML FORMs (those with METHOD=GET specified in the FORM tag). doPost() is called in response to an HTTP POST request. This happens with some HTML FORMs (those with METHOD="POST" specified in the FORM tag). Both methods are called by the default implementation of service() in the HttpServlet base class.
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Java and J2EE

Cookie class
What is a cookie? Cookies are short pieces of data sent by a web servers to the client browser. The cookies are saved to the hard disk of the client in the form of small text file. Cookies help the web servers to identify web users and tracking them in the process. A cookie consists of one or more namevalue pairs containing bits of information such as user preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or other data used by websites. In servlet, cookies are object of the class javax.servlet.http.Cookie. this class is used to create cookie, a small amount of information sent by the servlet to a web browser, saved by web browser and later sent back to the server. The value of cookie can uniquely identify a client, so cookies are commonly used for session tracking. A cookie is composed of two pieces. These are cookie name and cookie value. The cookie name is used to identify a particular cookie from among other cookies stored at client. The cookie value is data associated with the cookie. Cookies van be constructed using the following code. Cookie(String CookieName, String CookieValue) The first argument is the String object that contains the name of the cookie. The other argument is a String object that contains the value of the cookie E.g Cookie cookie = new Cookie("ID", "123"); In this example, a cookie called ID is being created and assigned the value 123. A servlet can send a cookie to the client by passing a Cookie object to the addCookie() method of HttpServletResponse void addCookie(Cookie cookie) A servlet can read a cookie by calling the getCookies() method of the HttpServletRequest object. It returns an array of cookie objects. Cookie objects have the following methods Methods int getMaxAge() - Returns the maximum age of the cookie, specified in seconds, By default, -1 indicating the cookie will persist until browser shutdown. String getName() - Returns the name of the cookie. String getValue() - Returns the value of the cookie.
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Java and J2EE int getVersion() - Returns the version of the protocol this cookie complies with. void void setMaxAge(int expiry) - Sets the maximum age of the cookie in seconds. setValue(String newValue) - Assigns a new value to a cookie after the cookie is created.

Using Cookies
Let us develop a servlet that illustrates how to use cookies. Example: Program to create and display cookie The program contains three files as summarized below: AddCookie.html : Allows a user to specify a name & value for the cookie AddCookieServlet.java : Processes the submission of AddCookie.html GetCookieServlet.java : Displays cookie name & values.

AddCookie.html <html><body><center> <form method="post" action="http://localhost:8080/servlets-examples/servlet/AddCookieServlet"> <B> Enter the Name for Cookie:</B> <input type=text name="name" ><br><br> Enter the value for a Cookie:
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Java and J2EE <input type=text name="data" > <input type=submit value="submit"> </form></body></html>

AddCookieServlet.java

import java.io.*; import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.http.*; public class AddCookieServlet extends HttpServlet { public void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException { // Get paramater from HTTP request String name=req.getParameter(name); String data=req.getParameter(data); // Create cookie Cookie cookie=new Cookie(name ,data); // Add cookie to HTTP response resp.addCookie(cookie); // write output to browser resp.setContentType(text/html); PrintWriter pw= resp.getWriter();
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Java and J2EE pw.println(<B>MyCookie has been set to ); pw.println( <b> + name + = + data); pw.close(); }}

GetCookieServlet.java

import java.io.*; import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.http.*; public class GetCookieServlet extends HttpServlet { public void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException

{ // Get cookies from header of HTTP request Cookie[] cookies=req.getCookies(); //Display these cookies resp.setContentType("text/html"); PrintWriter pw=resp.getWriter(); pw.println("<b>"); for (int i=0;i<cookies.length;i++) { String name=cookies[i].getName();
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Java and J2EE String value=cookies[i].getValue(); pw.println("Name="+name + "Value= " + value +"<br><br>"); } pw.close();

} }

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Disadvantages of cookies 1. Cookies exist as plain text on the client machine and they may pose a possible security risk as anyone can open and tamper with cookies. 2. Users can delete a cookies. 3. Users browser can refuse cookies,so your code has to anticipate that possibility.

Session Tracking
Cookies are stored on client side where as sessions are server variables.Sessions grew up from
cookies as a way of storing data on the server side, because the inherent problem of storing anything sensitive on clients' machines is that they are able to tamper with it if they wish.

What is session?

HTTP is a stateless protocol, each request is independent of the previous one. However in some applications, it is necessary to save state information so that information can be collected from several interactions between a browser and a server. Sessions provide such a mechanism.

The session is an object used by a servlet to track a user's interaction with a Web application across multiple HTTP requests. The session is stored on the server.

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Java and J2EE A java servlet is capable of tracking sessions by using HttpSession interface. An object that implements this interface can hold information for one user session between requests. A session can be created via getSession() method of HttpServletRequest. An HttpSession object is returned

E.g. HttpSession session = req.getSession(true); This method takes a boolean argument. true means a new session shall be started if none exist, while false only returns an existing session. The HttpSession object is unique for one user session. You can add data to an HttpSession object with the setAttribute() method. The method requires two arguments. The first argument is the String object that contains the name of the attribute. The other argument is an object binded with value void setAttribute(Sring name, Object value) This method binds the binds the specified object value under the specified name. To retrirve an object from session use getAttribute(). This method requires one argument that contains the name of the attribute whose value you want to retrive. Object getAttribute(String name) This method returns the object bound under the specifed name You can also get the names of all of the objects bound to a session with getAttributeNames() Enumeration getAttributeNames() This returns an Enumeration containing the names of all objects bound to this session as String objects or an empty Enumeration if there are no bindings.

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Java and J2EE The following servlet illustrate how to use session state.

Example: Program to create a session and display session information such as current date and time and the date and time the page was last accessed.

import java.io.*; import java.util.*; import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.http.*; public class DateServlet extends HttpServlet { public void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws IOException, ServletException { resp.setContentType("text/html"); PrintWriter out = resp.getWriter(); //Get the HTTP Session object HttpSession hs = req.getSession(true); // Display the date/time of last access Date date = (Date)hs.getAttribute(date);

if(date != null) { out.println(Last access: " + date + "<br>"); } // Display current date/time:
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Java and J2EE date = new Date(); hs.setAttribute(date,date); out.println(Current date :" + date); } }

Explaination: The getSession() method gets the current session. A new session is created if one does not already exist. The getAttribute() method is called to obtain the object that is bound to the name date. That object is a Date object that encapsulates the date and time when this page was last accessed.( ofcourse there is no such binding when the page is first accessed). A Date object encapsulating the current date and time is created. The setAttribute() method is called to bind the name date to this object.

Output: When the web page is accessed first time. A session is created.

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Output on the successive access of the page

What is the difference between session and cookie? 1) Sessions are stored in the server side whereas cookies are stored in the client side 2) Session should work regardless of the settings on the client browser. even if users decide to forbid the cookie (through browser settings) session still works. There is no way to disable
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Java and J2EE sessions from the client browser. 3) Session and cookies differ in type and amount of information they are capable of storing. javax.servlet.http.Cookie class has a setValue() method that accepts Strings. javax.servlet.http.HttpSession has a setAttribute() method which takes a String to denote the name and java.lang.Object which means that HttpSession is capable of storing any java object. Cookie can only store String objects. What are GET and POST?
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When Form data is sent by the browser, it can be sent in one of two ways: (1) using the GET method and (2) using the POST method.

In the GET method, the form data (parameters) is appended to the URL, as in: http://localhost:8080/servlets-examples/servlet/ColorGetServlet?name=girish Here, the text field contains girish.

In the POST method, the browser simply sends the form data directly.

When you create an HTML form, you decide whether you want to use GET or POST.

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When you use GET, the doGet() method of your servlet is called, otherwise the doPost() method is called. The standard practice is to use POST, unless you need to use GET.

Exercises
Exercise1

Develop a servlet to accept user name from an HTML form and display a greeting message.

HTML File <html>

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Java and J2EE <body bgcolor=blue> <form action="http://localhost:8080/servlets-examples/servlet/GreetingServlet " method="post"> <center><h3><font color=red>Enter Your Name</font> </h3> <input type="text" name="name"> <br><br> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> <input type="reset" value="Reset"> </center> </form> </body> </html>

Servlet file

import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.http.*; import java.io.*; public class GreetingServlet extends HttpServlet { public void doPost(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws IOException, ServletException
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Java and J2EE {

resp.setContentType("text/html"); PrintWriter out=resp.getWriter(); String name = req.getParameter(name); out.println(<html><title>Greeting Message</title></head>); out.println(<body bgcolor=wheat><h2>); out.println( Hello +name+, How are you?); out.println(</h2></body></html>); out.close(); } }

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Exercise2
Develop a simple web application on a Tomcat server that includes an HTML page that takes user name from the clients and submits the request to a java servlet. The servlet validates the request: a) If the input is empty, it displays a page to report an error b) If the input is valid, it displays greeting message to the user

HTML File <html> <body > <form action="http://localhost:8080/servlets-examples/servlet/GreetingServlet " method="post"> <center><h3><font color=red>Enter Your Name</font> </h3> <input type="text" name="name"> <br><br> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> <input type="reset" value="Reset"> </center> </form> </body></html>

Servlet file import javax.servlet.*;

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Java and J2EE import javax.servlet.http.*; import java.io.*; public class GreetingServlet extends HttpServlet { public void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws IOException, ServletException { resp.setContentType("text/html"); PrintWriter out=resp.getWriter(); out.println("<html><title>Greeting Message</title></head>"); out.println("<body bgcolor=wheat><h2>"); // read the name parameter value String name = req.getParameter("name"); // request.getParameter() returns the value of "" (empty string) if the text field was blank // and trim() method is used to remove the blank spaces from both ends of the empty string if(name.trim().equals("")) { out.println(" Error: Missing name "); }

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Java and J2EE else { out.println(" Hello " +name+", How are you?"); } out.println("</h2></body></html>"); out.close(); } }

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Review Questions
Q. What is java servlet? What are the advatages of servlet over traditional CGI? A. Page No. 1 & 3 Q. Compare servlet with traditional CGI A. Page No. 2 & 3 Q. How servlet works? A. Page No.2 Q. Explain the life cycle methods of a servlet. A. Page No.3 & 4 Q. Explain how to setup tomcat for servlet development A. Page No.5 Q. What are the general steps involved in building and testing a servlet A. Page No.7 Q. What are the classes and interfaces contained in the javax.servlet package? A. Page No.11 & 14
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Java and J2EE Q. Explain the following interfaces and their methods provided in the javax.servlet package i) Servlet ii) ServletConfig iii) ServletContext iv) ServletRequest v) ServletResponse A. Page No.11 - 13 Q. Explain with example how to read parameters in a servlet? or Write a servlet program to accept Employee name and phone from an HTML form and display them in a web page by passing parameters. or How does a servlet read data entered in an HTML form? or Write a simple application in which the HTML form can invoke a servlet A. Page No.14-16 Q. What are the classes and interfaces contained in the javax.servlet.http package? A. Page No. 18 & 20

Q. Explain the following interfaces and their methods provided in the javax.servlet.http package i) HttpServletRequest ii) HttpServletResponse iii) HttpSession A. Page No.17-19 Q. Write a servlet program that handles HTTP GET request containing data that is supplied by
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Java and J2EE the user as a part of the request. A. Page No.21 Q. Explain how servlet deals HTTP Get and Post requests with an example A. Page No. 20-22 Q. What are cookies? How java servlet support cookies? Explain with example A. Page No.23, 24,25 Q. Develop a java servlet to create and display cookie A. Page No.24,25 Q. Write a servlet that will send a cookie containing your name to the client. Then invoke the servlet, find and view the cookie file and note its contents. Q. What is the use of session tracking? How java servlet support the session tracking? explain with example A. Page No.27-29 Q. What is the difference between session and cookie? A. Page No.30 Q. Write a servlet that will read the name value from the following form. If the name is nonblank, the servlet should bind it to the session and replay with Hello <name>. If the name is blank, the servlet should look for a name previously bound to the session and replay with that instead (if it exists).

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Java and J2EE <form method=post action=/hello> Name: <input type="text" name="name"> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> </form>

Servlet file: hello.java import java.io.*; import java.util.*; import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.http.*; public class hello extends HttpServlet { public void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) throws IOException, ServletException

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Java and J2EE resp.setContentType("text/html"); PrintWriter out = resp.getWriter(); //Get the HTTP Session object HttpSession hs = req.getSession(true); // Get the value of the name entered in text field String name=req.getParameter("name"); // Get the object bound with the specified name in this session, if it exists String sname = (String)hs.getAttribute("name"); // if name is non blank bind it to the session otherwise display the object bound to the // specified name if(sname == null) { hs.setAttribute("name",name); out.println(" Hello " + name ); } else { out.println("Hello :" + sname); }

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Java and J2EE } }

Prints Hello <name> if the name field is non blank by creating a session and binds it with object specified by the name

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Prints Hello <name> if the name field is blank by reading the session that already exists

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Q. Write a servlet that will process the HTTP request coming from the following form. The servlet should obtain the values of the two fields. Then display their sum, if both are numeric or zero otherwise. <form method=post action=/summation> A: <input type="text" name="value1"><br> B: <input type="text" name="value2"> <input type="submit" value="Add"> </form> Servlet file: summation.java import java.io.*; import javax.servlet.*; import javax.servlet.http.*; import java.util.*; public class summation extends HttpServlet {

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Java and J2EE public void doPost(HttpServletRequest req,HttpServletResponse resp) throws ServletException, IOException { // set MIME type resp.setContentType("text/html"); //Get print writer PrintWriter out = resp.getWriter(); // read the values of parameters String v1 = req.getParameter("value1"); String v2 = req.getParameter("value2"); // convert the parameter values in to integer fromat int value1=Integer.parseInt(v1); int value2=Integer.parseInt(v2); int sum=0; // verify whether the values of the fields are numeric, if yes add the values and print sum // otherwise output sum as zero

if(value1 > 0 && value2 >0) {

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Java and J2EE sum=value1+value2; out.println("Sum =" + sum); } else { out.println("sum=0"); } } }

Printing sum if the values of both the fields are numeric

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Printing sum as 0 if the values of either of the fields are non-numeric

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Q. Write a Servlet program that takes your name and address from an HTML form and displays it

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Java Server Pages(JSP)

What is JSP?
- Java Server Page(JSP) is a server side program that is similar in design & functionality to a java servlet - JavaServer Pages is the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition(J2EE) technology for building applications for generating dynamic web content

How JSP differs from Java servlet? or Compare JSP with Java servlet
A Java Servlet is written using the Java Programming Language and responses are encoded as an output String object that is passed to the println() method. The output String object is formatted in HTML,XML or whatever formats are required by the client. i.e. In Servlets you need to have lots of println statements to generate HTML. E.g. out.println("<HTML><BODY>"); out.println("<H2>Welcome to my servlet page.</H2>"); out.println("</BODY></HTML>");

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Java and J2EE In contrast, JSP is written in HTML,XML or in the clients format that is interpersed with scripting elements, directives and actions comprised of Java Programming language and JSP syntax i.e. JSPs are essentially HTML JSP tags page with an special These

embedded.

JSP tags can contain Java code. E.g.

Servlet is written in java lang, Whereas jsp contains both jsp tags and html tags. JSP offers basically the same features found in java servlet because a JSP is converted to a Java servlet the first time that a client requests the JSP.

Servlet is a java class, So for every change, we have to compile the code to reflect the change.Mainly using for writing business logics (i.e. functional design) JSP is a file, Its automatically converted into a servlet on deploying. We can't compile it explicitly, the changes will get reflect by saving the file. Its mainly used for

presentation of data (i.e. web page design(look and feel))

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How Does JSP work? Or Explain the JSP architecture?

1.The user goes to a web site made using JSP. The user goes to a JSP page (ending with .jsp). The web browser makes the request via the Internet. 2.The JSP request gets sent to the Web server.

3.The Web server recognises that the file required is special (.jsp),therefore passes the JSP file to

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Java and J2EE the JSP Servlet Engine. 4.If the JSP file has been called the first time,the JSP file is parsed,otherwise go to step 7. 5.The next step is to generate a special Servlet from the JSP file. All the HTML required is converted to println statements. 6.The Servlet source code is compiled into a class. 7.The Servlet is instantiated,calling the init and service methods. 8.HTML from the Servlet output is sent via the Internet. 9.HTML results are displayed on the user's web browser.

What are the advantages of JSP?

Content and display logic are separated Recompile automatically when changes are made to the source file Platform-independent

Explain the Life Cycle methods of JSP?

Overall, the request-response mechanism and the JSP life cycle are the same as those of a servlet. There are three methods that are automatically called when a JSP is requested & when the JSP terminates normally. These are: jspInit() service() jspDestroy()

The jspInit() method is identical to init() method in a java servlet and executed first after the

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Java and J2EE JSP is loaded. It is used to initialize objects and variables that are used throughout the life of the JSP. service() is the JSP equivalent of the service() method of a servlet class. The server calls the service() for each request, passing it the request and the response objects The jspDestroy() method is identical to the destroy() method in a java servlet. It is automatically called when the JSP terminates. It is used for clean up where resources used during the execution of the JSP are released, such as disconnecting from a database.

What you need to build and test Java Server Page?

JDK 1.2 or higher. JSP enabled server installed. E.g Tomcat JSP Container

Explain the method of deployment of JSP with the Tomcat

A JSP page can be as simple as an HTML page with a .jsp extension rather than .htm or .html Place any new JSP files in the webapps/ROOT directory under your installed Tomcat directory. For example, to run myfirst.jsp file, copy the file into the webapps/ROOT directory and then open a browser to the address: http://localhost:8080/myfirst.jsp This will show you the executed JSP file.

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JSP Tags
- A JSP program consists of a combination of HTML tags and JSP tags. - JSP tags define java code that is to be executed before the output of the JSP program is sent to the browser. - A JSP tag begins with <% , which is followed by java code, and ends with %> - JSP tags are embedded into HTML component of s JSP program and are processed by a JSP virtual engine such as Tomcat. There are five types of JSP tags: 1. Comment tag 2. Declaration tag 3. Directive Tag 4. Expression tag 5. Scriptlet tag

Comment tag: Describes the functionality of statements that follow the comment tag.
Syntax: <%-- comment --%> Example: <%-- This JSP comment part will not be included in the response object --%>

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Declaration tag: This tag allows the developer to declare variables , objects and methods that
will be used in Java Server Pages. Declaration tag starts with "<%!" and ends with "%>" surrounding the declaration. Syntax :<%! declaration %> Examples <%! int var = 1; %> <%! int x, y ; %> <%! private int counter = 0 ; private String get Account ( int accountNo) ; %>

Directive Tag
A directive tag commands the JSP virtual engine to perform a specific task such as importing a java packages required by objects and methods used in a declaration statement. Syntax of JSP directives is: <%@directive attribute="value" %> There are three directives:

<%@ page ... %> specifies information that affects the page <%@ include ... %> includes a file at the location of the include directive (parsed) <%@ taglib ... %> allows the use of custom tags in the page

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Examples: <%@ page import = java.util.* %> : imports the java.util package <%@ include file = keogh/books.html %> : includes books.html file located in the the keogh directory <%@ taglib uri = myTags.tld %> : loads the myTags.tld library

Expression tag: An expression tag contains a expression that is evaluated, converted to a

String to get dipslayed Syntax is as follows <%= expression %> Example to show the current date and time. <%= new java.util.Date() %> Translated to out.println(new java.util.Date() ) Note: You cannot use a semicolon to end an expression

Scriptlet tag: We can embed any amount of java code in the JSP scriplets.
Syntax : <% //Java codes %> For example, to print a variable. <%
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Java and J2EE String username = visualbuilder ; out.println ( username ) ; %> Develop a JSP page that displays the current date and time

Type the code below into a text file. Name the file Date.jsp. Place this in the correct directory on your Tomcat web server and call it via your browser. Date.jsp <html> <body> <center> <h3>Today is: <%= new java.util.Date() %> </h3> </center> </body> </html>

Variables and objects

With JSP declarations, we can declare variables that will be used later in the JSP expressions or scriplets.

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Example: A JSP program that declares and uses a variable var.jsp <html> <head> <title>My first JSP page </title> </head> <body> <%! int age = 29 %> <p> Your age is : <%= age %></p> </body> </html>

Example: Declaring multiple variables within a single JSP tag <html> <head> <title>JSP programming </title> </head> <body> <%! int age = 29 ; float salary; int empnumber; %> </body> </html>

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Example: Declaring objects and arrays within a single JSP tag <html> <head> <title>JSP programming </title> </head> <body> <%! String name ; String[ ] Telephone={ 201-555-1212, 201-555-4433}; String Company = new String(); Vector Assignments = new Vector(); int[ ] Grade = { 100,82,93}; %> </body> </html>

Methods

Example: Defining and calling methods <html> <head> <title> JSP programming </title> </head> <body> <%! int curve(int grade) { return (10+grade); } %> Your curved grade is : <%= curve(80) %> </body></html>

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Control statements
The primary method of flow control provided by JSP for designers are : if/else statements. switch statements These statements can check for something, such as the existence of a variable, and control what is output based on what it finds. Take a look at the following code: Example: JSP program using an if statement and a switch statement <html> <head> <title> JSP programming</title> </head> <body> <%! int grade=70; %> <% if (grade >69) { %> <p> You passes! </p> <%} else { %> <p> Better luck next time. </p> <% } %> <% switch(grade) { case 90: %> <p> Your final grade is a A</p> <% break; case 80: %> <p> Your final grade is a B</p> <% break; case 70: %> <p> Your final grade is a C</p> <% break; case 60: %> <p> Your final grade is an F</p>
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Java and J2EE <% break; } %> </body> </html> Note: The brackets ({}) are what contain the information relating to the appropriate if or else and switch condition. It seems odd in this case because the JSP scriptlet elements are separating the JSP code with the normal HTML code. So the start bracket is in the first JSP scriptlet: { %> and the end bracket is in another, with the output HTML in between: } %> The HTML in between will not be included in the HTML page output if the if or else and switch statement it belongs to is not the correct one. Only one, if or else and switch case, can be output.

Loops

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Java and J2EE Example: Using the for loop, while loop and the do..while loop to load HTML tables <html> <head> <title> JSP programming</title> </head> <body> <%! int[ ] Grade={100,82, 93}; int x=0; %> <TABLE> <TR> <TD> First </TD> <TD> Second </TD> <TD> Third </TD> </TR> <TR> <% for (int i=1;i<3;i++) { %> <TD> <%= Grade[i] %> </TD> <% } %> </TR></TABLE> <TABLE> <TR> <TD> First </TD> <TD> Second </TD> <TD> Third </TD> </TR> <TR> <% while (x<3) { %> <TD> <%= Grade[x] %> </TD> <% x++; } %> </TR> </TABLE> <TABLE> <TR> <TD> First </TD> <TD> Second </TD> <TD> Third </TD> </TR> <TR> <% x=0; do { %> <TD> <%= Grade[x] %> </TD> <% x++; } while (x<3); %> </TR></TABLE></BODY></HTML>
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Request String
Retrieving the data (Request string) posted to a JSP file from HTML file is one of the most common functions in JSP page. Data(request string) is sent in a GET or POST request. . In a GET request the user request string consists of the URL and the query string(the data following the question mark on the URL. Here is an example of request string. http://www.jimkeogh.com/jsp/myprogram.jsp? Fname=Bob&lname=smith Retrieving the value of a specific field: The JSP program needs to parse this query string to extract the values of the fields that are to be processed by your JSP program. You can parse the query string by using the methods of the JSP request object. The getParameter() is the method used to parse a value of a specific field. getParameter() receives one argument, which is the name of the field whose value you want to receive. Example: Let us say you want to retrieve the value of the fname filed and the value of the lname filed in the request string.

Here are the statements that you will need in your JSP program.
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Java and J2EE <! String Firstname = request.getParameter(fname); String Lastname = request.getParameter(lname); %> In the above example, the first statement used the getParameter() method to copy the value of the fname from the request string and assign that value to the Firstname string object. Likewise the second statement performs a similar function. Retrieveing a value from a multivalued filed Retrieveing a value from a multivalued filed such as selection field shown in the figure can be very tricky since there are multiple instances of the field name, each with different value

The getParameterValues() method is designed return multiple values from the field specified as an argument to the getParameterValues() Example: <% String[ ] Email=request.getParameterValues(EMAILADDRESS]; %> <p><%= EMAIL[0] %></p> <p><%= EMAI[1] %></p> The name of the selection field is EMAILADDRESS, the values of which are copied into an array of String objects called EMAIL. Elements of the array are then displayed in JSP expression tag. Retrieving all field (parameter) names You can parse field names by using the getParameterNames() method. This method returns an enumeration of String objects that contain the field names in the request string. Later you can use the enumeration extracting methods ( such as nextElement(), hasMoreElements()) to copy the filed names to variables within your JSP progra. Write a JSP program which displays the first name and last name entered by the user from an HTML file

HTML file
<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Handling HTTP GET request</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY > <form method="get" action="http://localhost:8080/showname.jsp">
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Java and J2EE First Name<INPUT TYPE="TEXT" name="fname"><br> Last name<INPUT TYPE="TEXT" name="lname"> <INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" VALUE="Submit"> </FORM> </BODY> </HTML> <html><body><center>

JSP file:
<html> <body> <% String FirstName = request.getParameter("fname"); String LastName = request.getParameter("lname"); out.println("First Name="+FirstName+"<br>"); out.println("Last Name="+LastName); %> </body></html>

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Implicit objects
The Objects available in any JSP without any need for explicit declarations are implicit objects. These predefined implicit objects are available in the expressions and scriplets of any JSP document. They are: out: This object is instantiated implicitly from JSP Writer class and can be used for displaying anything within delimiters. For e.g. out.println(Hi Buddy); request: It is also an implicit object of class HttpServletRequest class and using this object request parameters can be accessed. For e.g. in case of retrieval of parameters from last form is as follows: request.getParameters(Name); Where Name is the form element. response: It is also an implicit object of class HttpServletResponse class and using this object response(sent back to browser) parameters can be modified or set. For e.g. in case of setting MIME type. response.setContentType(text/html); session: Session object is of class HttpSession and used to maintain the session information. It stores the information in Name-Value pair. For e.g. session.setValue(Name,Jakes); session.setValue(Age,22);

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Cookies

Example1 : Creating a cookie <html> <head> <title> JSP Programming </title> </head> <body> <%! String MyCookieName="UserID"; String MyCookieValue="JK1234"; Cookie cookie=new Cookie(MyCookieName,MyCookieValue); %>

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Java and J2EE <% response.addCookie(cookie); out.println("My cookie has been set to"+ MyCookieName +"="+MyCookieValue); %> </body> </html>

Example2: How to read a cookie <html> <head> <title> JSP Programming </title> </head> <body> <%! String MyCookieName="UserID"; String MyCookieValue; String CName,CValue; int found=0; int i=0; %> <% Cookie[] cookies=request.getCookies(); for(i=0;i < cookies.length;i++) { CName=cookies[i].getName(); CValue=cookies[i].getValue();

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Java and J2EE if(MyCookieName.equals(CName)) { found=1; MyCookieValue=CValue; } } if(found==1){ %> <p> Cookie name =<%= MyCookieName %> </p> <p> Cookie value =<%= MyCookieValue %> </p> <% } %> </body> </html>

JSP Sessions
In any web application, the user moves from one page to another and it becomes necessary to track the user data through out the application. JSP provides an implicit object session which can

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Java and J2EE be used to save the data specific to that particular user.

Example1: How to create a session attribute <html> <head> <title> JSP Programming </title> </head> <body> <%! String AtName = Product; String AtValue=1234; session.setAttribute(AtName, AtValue); </body> </html> Example2: How to read session attribute <html> <head> <title> JSP Programming </title> </head> <body> <%! Enumeration e = request.getAttributesNames(); while(e.hasMoreElements()) { String AtName = (String)e.nextElement(); String AtValue = (String)sesion.getAttribute(AtName); %> <p>Attribute Name <%= AtName %></p> <p>Attribute Value <%= AtValue %> </p> <% } %> </body> </html>
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Review Questions

Q. What is JSP? How JSP differs from Java Servlets (5M) A. Page No. 46 Q. How Does JSP work? or Q. Explain the JSP architecture? A. Page No. 47 & 48 Q. What are the advantages of JSP? A. Page No. 48 Q. Explain the life cycle methods of JSP? A. Page No. 48 Q. List and Explain the different types of JSP tags (5M) A. Page No. 49-51 Q. Explain the method of deployment of JSP with the Tomcat A. Page No.49 Q. Develop a JSP page that displays the current date and time A. Page No.52 Q. How can I declare variables and objects within my JSP page? Explain with example A. Page No. 52-53 Q. How can I declare methods within my JSP page? Explain with example A. Page No.54. Q. How to use control statements in jsp code A. Page No. 55 & 56 Q. How to use loops in JSP code A. Page No. 56 & 57 Q. Explain how JSP handles request string posted from an HTML file
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Java and J2EE or Q. Explain how JSP handles HTTP Get and Post request with example or Q. Write a JSP program which displays the first name and last name entered by the user from an HTML file A. Page No 58 & 59 Q. What are implicit objects? List them A. Page No. 61 Q. What are cookies? How to set and display cookie in JSP? A. Page No. 62-64 Q. Explain with example how to maintain sessions in JSP (5M) A. Page No. 64-65

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