How to Run a JSP Program in Apache Tomcat (Linux)

See Apache: Tips and Tricks for similar articles.

A Java Server Page, or JSP, program is a crucial part of a Java web application because the JSP will send a response back to the server in the form of a web page. For example, a JSP might display the line items of an order to the browser user. In this topic, you will create a very simple JSP and learn how to run the program at the Tomcat server.

To learn how to run a JSP in Apache Tomcat in a Linux environment, follow these 7 steps:

  1. In your text editor, you will develop a simple JSP that creates a web page to display the current date. Type in the following statements in a new file: 
    
<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html"%>
<%@ page import="java.text.*,java.util.*" %>
<html>
<head>
<title>Date JSP</title>
</head>
<% SimpleDateFormat sdf=new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy"); %>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to Tomcat! Today is </h1>
</body>
</html>
    The program contains <%@ tags that provide metadata about the JSP and import directives. The JSP also contains HTML tags that will be rendered by the browser in the usual way. Note the <% tags that encapsulate Java code. The snippets of Java code are referred to as "scriplets." When the JSP is requested by the browser, the program will be converted into a servlet by a program in the Tomcat container (Jasper) and the HTML output will be sent to the browser.
  2. Save your file as DateJSP.jsp.
  3. Copy your file to CATALINA_BASE/webapps/ROOT, e.g., /var/lib/tomcat7/webapps/ROOT.
  4. Start the Tomcat server.
  5. Start your browser if it is not already running.
  6. In the address area of the browser, type http://localhost:8080/DateJSP.jsp and submit that address to the browser.
  7. The output of your JSP page will be displayed: Date JSP