JSP Interview Questions

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Contents

JSP Interview Questions for Freshers

1.   What is JSP?
2.   How does JSP work?
3.   How does JSP Initialization take place?
4.   What is the use of JSP?
5.   What are some of the advantages of using JSP?
6.   What is Java Server Template Engines?
7.   What are Servlets?
8.   Explain the Life Cycle of a servlet.
9.   What are the types of elements with Java Server Pages (JSP)?
10.   What is the difference between JSP and Javascript?
11.   What is JSP Expression Language (EL)?
12.   What are JSP Operators?
13.   Explain the JSP for loop.
14.   Explain the JSP while loop.

JSP Interview Questions for Experienced

15.   What are Implicit JSP Objects?
16.   What do you mean by JavaBeans?
17.   What is J2EE?
18.   What is JSTL?

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JSP Interview Questions for Experienced (.....Continued)

19.   What are JSTL Core tags used for?

20.   Which methods are used for reading form data using JSP?
21.   What is an Exception Object?
22.   How does JSP processing take place?
23.   Explain the anatomy of a JSP page?
24.   What are the various action tags used in JSP?
25.   What is the JSP Scriptlet?
26.   What is MVC in JSP?
27.   What is a JSP Declaration?

Conclusion
28.   Conclusion

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Let's get Started

Introduction to Java Server Pages (JSP):

Java Server Pages (JSP) enables the creation of dynamic and a platform-independent
way for building web-based applications. It is a server-side programming technology.
JSP is a technology that is an integral part of Java EE, a complete platform for
enterprise-class applications. This means that JSP can be used from the simplest
applications to the most complex and demanding ones.
JavaServer Pages (JSP) o en serve the same purpose as programs implemented
using the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). However, in addition, JSP offers several
advantages as compared to CGI.

JSP Interview Questions for Freshers

1.   What is JSP?
JSP stands for Java Server Pages. This technology is used to create dynamic web
pages in the form of HyperText Markup Language (HTML). They have embedded Java
code pieces in them. They are an extension to the Servlet Technology and generate
Servlet from a page. It is common to use both servlets and JSP pages in the same
web apps.

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2.   How does JSP work?

The JSP container has a special servlet called the page compiler. All HTTP requests
with URLs that match the .jsp file extension are forwarded to this page compiler by
the configuration of the servlet container. The servlet container is turned into a JSP
container with this page compiler. When a .jsp page is first called, the page compiler
parses and compiles the .jsp page into a servlet class. The JSP servlet class is loaded
into memory on the successful compilation. For the subsequent calls, the servlet
class for that .jsp page is already in memory. Hence, the page compiler servlet will
always compare the timestamp of the JSP servlet with the JSP page. If the .jsp page
is more current, recompilation is necessary. With this process, once deployed, JSP
pages only go through the time-consuming compilation process once.

3.   How does JSP Initialization take place?

When a container loads a JSP, it invokes the jspInit() method before servicing any
requests.

public void jspInit(){

// Initialization code...
}

4.   What is the use of JSP?

Earlier, Common Gateway Interface (CGI) was the only tool for developing dynamic
web content and was not very efficient. The web server has to create a new operating
system process, load an interpreter and a script, execute the script, and then tear it
all down again, for every request that comes in. This is taxing for the server and
doesn’t scale well when the number of traffic increases.
Alternatives such as ISAPI from Microso , and Java Servlets from Sun Microsystems,
offer better performance and scalability. However, they generate web pages by
embedding HTML directly in programming language code. JavaServer Pages (JSP)
changes all of that.

5.   What are some of the advantages of using JSP?

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Better performance and quality as JSP is a specification and not a product.

JSP pages can be used in combination with servlets.
JSP is an integral part of J2EE, a complete platform for Enterprise-class
applications.
JSP supports both scripting and element-based dynamic content.

6.   What is Java Server Template Engines?

A Java servlet template engine is a technology for separating presentation from
processing. Template engines have been developed as open-source products to help
get HTML out of the servlets. These template engines are intended to be used
together with pure code components (servlets) and use only web pages with scripting
code for the presentation part.
Two popular template engines are WebMacro (http://www.webmacro.org) and
FreeMarker (http://freemarker.sourceforge.net).

7.   What are Servlets?

JSP pages are o en combined with servlets in the same application. The JSP
specification is based on the Java servlet specification. Simply put, a servlet is a piece
of code that adds new functionality to a web server, just like CGI and proprietary
server extensions such as NSAPI and ISAPI. Compared to other technologies, servlets
have a number of advantages: 
Platform and vendor independence
Integration
Efficiency
Scalability
Robustness and security

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 JSP Interview Questions

8.   Explain the Life Cycle of a servlet.

A Java class that uses the Servlet Application Programming Interface (API) is a
Servlet. The Servlet API consists of many classes and interfaces that define some
methods. These methods make it possible to process HTTP requests in a web server-
independent manner.
A servlet is loaded when a web server receives a request that should be handled by it.
Once a servlet has been loaded, the same servlet instance (object) is called to process
succeeding requests. Eventually, the webserver needs to shut down the servlet,
typically when the web server itself is shut down. 
The 3 life cycle methods are:
public void init(ServletConfig config)
public void service(ServletRequest req, ServletResponse res)
public void destroy( )
These methods define the interactions between the web server and the servlet.

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 JSP Interview Questions

9.   What are the types of elements with Java Server Pages

(JSP)?
The three types of elements with Java Server Pages (JSP) are directive, action, and
scripting elements.
Following are the Directive Elements:

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 JSP Interview Questions

Element Description

<%@ Defines page-dependent attributes, such as

page ... scripting language, error page, and buffering
%> requirements.

<%@
include Includes a file during the translation phase.
... %>

<%@
Declares a tag library, containing custom actions,
taglib ...
used on the page.
%>

The Action elements are:

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Element Description

This is for making the JavaBeans

<jsp:useBean>
component available on a page.

This is used to get a property value from

<jsp:getProperty> a JavaBeans component and to add it to
the response.

This is used to set a value for the

<jsp:setProperty>
JavaBeans property.

This includes the response from a servlet

<jsp:include> or JSP page during the request
processing phase.

This is used to forward the processing of

<jsp:forward>
a request to a JSP page or servlet.

This is used for adding a parameter

value to a request given to another
<jsp:param>
servlet or JSP page by using
<jsp:include> or <jsp:forward>

This is used to generate HTML that

contains the proper client browser-
<jsp:plugin> dependent elements which are used to
execute an Applet with Java Plugin
so ware.

And lastly, the Scripting elements are:

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Element Description

<% ...
Scriptlet used to embed scripting code.
%>

Expression, used to embed Java expressions

<%= ...
when the result shall be added to the response.
%>
Also used as runtime action attribute values.

Declaration used to declare instance variables

<%! ...
and methods in the JSP page implementation
%>
class.

10.   What is the difference between JSP and Javascript?

JSP is a server-side scripting language as it runs on the server. Whereas, JavaScript
runs on the client. Commonly, JSP is more used to change the content of a webpage,
and JavaScript for the presentation. Both are quite commonly used on the same
page.

11.   What is JSP Expression Language (EL)?

Expression Language (EL) was introduced in JSP 2.0. It is a mechanism that simplifies
the accessibility of the data stored in Javabean components and other objects like
request, session, and application, etc. There are many operators in JSP that are used
in EL like arithmetic and logical operators to perform an expression.

12.   What are JSP Operators?

JSP Operators support most of the arithmetic and logical operators that are
supported by java within expression language (EL) tags.
Following are the frequently used jsp operators:

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. Access a bean property or Map entry.

[] Access an array or List element.

Group a subexpression to change the evaluation

()
order.

+ Addition

- Subtraction or negation of a value

* Multiplication

/ or div Division

% or
Modulo (remainder)
mod

== or eq Test for equality

!= or ne Test for inequality

< or lt Test for less than

> or gt Test for greater than

<= or le Test for less than or equal

>= or ge Test for greater than or equal

&& or
Test for logical AND
and

|| or or Test for logical OR

! or not Unary Boolean complement

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13.   Explain the JSP for loop.

The JSP For loop is used for iterating the elements for a certain condition, and it has
the following three parameters:
The variable counter is initialized
Condition till the loop has to be executed
The counter has to be incremented
The for loop syntax is as follows:

for(inti=0;i<n;i++)
{
//block of statements
}

14.   Explain the JSP while loop.

The JSP While loop is used to iterate the elements where it has one parameter of the
condition.
Syntax of While loop:

While(i<n)
{
//Block of statements
}

JSP Interview Questions for Experienced

15.   What are Implicit JSP Objects?

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 JSP Interview Questions

Variable Name Java Type Descriptio

The reque
object is u
to request
informati
like a
request javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest
paramete
header
informati
server nam
etc.

The respo
is an insta
of a class t
response javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse represent
response
can be giv
to the clie

This is use
get, set, a
remove th
pageContext javax.servlet.jsp.PageContext attributes
from a
particular
scope.

This is use
get, set, a
remove
attributes
session javax.servlet.http.HttpSession
session sc
and also u
to get sess
i f ti
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16.   What do you mean by JavaBeans?

JavaBeans component is a Java class that complies with certain coding conventions.
JSP elements o en work with JavaBeans. For information that describes application
entities, JavaBeans are typically used as containers.

17.   What is J2EE?
J2EE is basically a compilation of different Java APIs that have previously been
offered as separate packages. J2EE Blueprints describe how they can all be
combined. J2EE vendors can use a test suite to test their products for compatibility.
J2EE comprises the following enterprise-specific APIs:
JavaServer Pages ( JSP)
Java Servlets
Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB)
Java Database Connection ( JDBC)
Java Transaction API ( JTA) and Java Transaction Service ( JTS)
Java Naming and Directory Interface ( JNDI)
Java Message Service ( JMS)
Java IDL and Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
Java XML

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18.   What is JSTL?
JSTL stands for Java server pages standard tag library. It is a collection of custom JSP
tag libraries that provide common functionality for web development.
Following are some of the properties of JSTL:
Code is Neat and Clean.
Being a Standard Tag, it provides a rich layer of the portable functionality of JSP
pages.
It has Automatic Javabeans Introspection Support. The JSTL Expression
language handles JavaBean code very easily. We don't need to downcast the
objects, which have been retrieved as scoped attributes.
Easier for humans to read and easier for computers to understand.

19.   What are JSTL Core tags used for?

The JSTL Core tags are used for the following purposes:

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Iteration
Conditional logic
Catch exception
URL forward
Redirect, etc.
Following is the syntax to include a tag library:

<%@ taglib prefix="c" uri=http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core%>

20.   Which methods are used for reading form data using JSP?
JSP is used to handle the form data parsing automatically. It dies so by using the
following methods depending on the situation:
getParameter() − To get the value of a form parameter, call the
request.getParameter() method.
getParameterValues() − If a parameter appears more than once and it returns
multiple values, call this method.
getParameterNames() − This method is used if, in the current request, you want
a complete list of all parameters.
getInputStream() − This method is used for reading binary data streams from
the client.

21.   What is an Exception Object?

The exception object is an instance of a subclass of Throwable (e.g., java.lang.
NullPointerException). It is only available on the error pages. The following table lists
out the important methods available in the Throwable class: 

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1 public String getMessage()

Returns a detailed message about the exception that has
occurred. This message is initialized in the Throwable
constructor.

2 public Throwable getCause()

Returns the cause of the exception as represented by a
Throwable object.

3 public String toString()

Returns the name of the class concatenated with the
result of getMessage().

4 public void printStackTrace()

Prints the result of toString() along with the stack trace
to System.err, the error output stream.

5 public StackTraceElement [] getStackTrace()

Returns an array containing each element on the stack
trace. The element at index 0 represents the top of the
call stack, and the last element in the array represents
the method at the bottom of the call stack.

6 public Throwable fillInStackTrace()

Fills the stack trace of this Throwable object with the
current stack trace, adding to any previous information
in the stack trace.

22.   How does JSP processing take place?

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 JSP Interview Questions

The JSP page is turned into a servlet for all the JSP elements to be processed by the
server. Then the servlet is executed. The servlet container and the JSP container—are
o en combined into one package under the name “web container”.
In the translation phase, the JSP container is responsible for converting the JSP page
into a servlet and compiling the servlet. This is used to automatically initiate the
translation phase for a page when the first request for the page is received.
In the “request processing” phase, the JSP container is also responsible for invoking
the JSP page implementation class to process each request and generate the
response.

23.   Explain the anatomy of a JSP page?

Different JSP elements are used for generating the parts of the page that differ for
each request. A JSP page is a regular web page with different JSP elements. The
three types of elements with JavaServer Pages are directive, action, and scripting
elements. JSP elements are o en used to work with JavaBeans.
The elements of the page that are not JSP elements are simply called the “template
text”. The template text is commonly HTML, but it could also be any other text.

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When a page request of JSP is processed, the template text and the dynamic content
generated by the JSP elements are merged, and the result is sent as the response to
the browser.

24.   What are the various action tags used in JSP?

Various action tags used in JSP are as follows:

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jsp:forward: This action tag forwards the request and response to another
resource.
jsp:include: This action tag is used to include another resource.
jsp:useBean: This action tag is used to create and locates bean objects.
jsp:setProperty: This action tag is used to set the value of the property of the
bean.
jsp:getProperty: This action tag is used to print the value of the property of the
bean.
jsp:plugin: This action tag is used to embed another component such as the
applet.
jsp:param: This action tag is used to set the parameter value. It is used in
forward and includes mostly.
jsp:fallback: This action tag can be used to print the message if the plugin is
working.

25.   What is the JSP Scriptlet?

The JSP Scriptlet tag allows you to write Java code into a JSP file. The JSP container
moves statements in the _jspservice() method while generating servlets from JSP.
For each request of the client, the service method of the JSP gets invoked hence the
code inside the Scriptlet executes for every request.
In Scriptlet, a java code is executed every time the JSP is invoked.
Syntax of Scriptlet tag:
<% java code %>

Here <%%> tags are scriptlet tags and within it, we can place the java code.

26.   What is MVC in JSP?

In MVC,
M stands for Model
V stands for View
C stands for the controller.

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 JSP Interview Questions

It is an architecture that separates business logic, presentation, and data. In this, the
flow starts from the view layer, where the request is raised and processed in the
controller layer. This is then sent to the model layer to insert data and get back the
success or failure message.

27.   What is a JSP Declaration?

The tags used in declaring variables are called JSP Declaration tags. These are used in
declaring functions and variables. They are enclosed in <%!%> tag. Following is the
syntax for JSP Declaration:

<%@page contentType=”text/html” %>

<html>
<body>
<%!
int a=0;
private int getCount(){
a++;
return a;
}
%>
<p>Values of a are:</p>
<p><%=getCount()%></p>
</body>
</html>

Conclusion
28.   Conclusion

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 JSP Interview Questions

The Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) takes the task of building an Internet presence
and transforms it to the point where developers can use Java to efficiently create
multi-tier, server-side applications. In late 1999, Sun Microsystems added a new
element to the collection of Enterprise Java tools, called the JavaServer Pages (JSP).
The JSP, built on top of Java servlets, is designed to increase the efficiency in which
programmers, and even nonprogrammers, can create web content.
JavaServer Pages helps in developing web pages that include dynamic content. A JSP
page can change its content based on any number of variable items. A JSP page not
only contains standard markup language elements like a regular web page but also
contains special JSP elements that allow the server to insert dynamic content in the
page. This combination of standard elements and custom elements allows for the
creation of powerful web apps. 
References:
JavaServer Pages, 3rd Edition, O'Reilly.
Web Development with JavaServer Pages, by Duane and Mark.

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