Servlets are compiled Java programs which help in creating dynamic web content. It acts as a layer between the requests generated from the HTTP clients and the applications or database on the HTTP server. JSP or Java Server Pages is a technology which helps in creating a platform-independent and dynamic method to build web pages or web-based application. In short, JSP is Java in HTML while Servlet is HTML in Java. Hence there are significant differences in the characteristics and utility between Servlets and JSP. Let us discuss different parameters for our better understanding of the difference between JSP and Servlet:
| Parameters for Differentiation | Servlet | JSP |
| Type of code | Servlet is written in Java based code. Hence for functioning, Servlet used Java approach. | JSP is written in HTML based code. It is an extension of Servlet. It is basically a webpage scripting language which is used for generating dynamic web pages. |
| The difficulty level in code writing | Servlet codes are more complex to write than JSP. | JSP codes are easier to write than servlet. |
| Speed | Servlets can run faster than JSP. | JSP needs more time than Servlets because before compilation can take place, JSP needs to be translated to easy-to-decipher Java code. |
| Role in the MVC approach (Model, View, Controller) | Servlet work as a controller in this approach. | JSP takes up the role of a view as it needs to show the output. |
| Request management | All of the protocol requests are managed and accepted by Servlet. | Only HTTP requests are managed and accepted by JSP. |
| The service(method over-riding) | In this case, there are possibilities for over-riding the service(method). | For JSP there are no possibilities for over-riding the service(method). |
| Presentation and business logic | Here, both of the presentation logic and business logic needs to be implemented in one servlet file, they cannot be separated. | In JSP, by using JavaBeans, presentation logic and business logic can be separated from each other. |
| Session management | In Servlet, the users need to enable the session management explicitly as it is not active by default. | In JSP, session management is automatically enabled. |
| Time consumption for modification | For Servlet, the modification is extremely time-consuming as the process for modification involves several steps like reloading, recompiling etc for the server. | Here modification can be done only by clicking the refresh button. Hence the procedure is easy and quick for JSP. |
| Importing the packages | Here the packages need to be imported on the top of Servlet. | In JSP, the packages can be imported at the top, middle or bottom. |
| Running condition | The entry of the servlet mapping has to be into the web.xml file or the deployment descriptor file to run the Servlet. | There is no such condition to run JSP. |
| Execution procedure | Web server is needed to execute Servlet. | Before execution, JSP needs to be compiled into Java Servlets. Then it is executed by the web server. |
The above table clearly points out the main differences between the functionality and utility of JSP and Servlet. Hence this discussion should help to choose and apply the suitable concept.