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In simple terms, what is a servlet container?

As a UI developer and someone with very limited Java knowledge, how do I understand what exactly is servlet container in simple terms?

I have heard Weblogic, JBoss, etc are servlet containers, but not sure what that means exactly. Does it mean any middleware technology?

Solution

  • A servlet container is an application server that implements some version of the Java Servlet Specification.

    In a nutshell, the servlet spec defines a programming model that allows a developer to write components, for example servlets, that process requests (almost always HTTP requests). Those components can then be declared to the container and it handles many of the tedious tasks involved with wiring up and managing those components such that they can process those requests.