Overview of Web Technologies

• Static HTML files

  Here is a simple Java program that receives a request from a browser and writes out the request. It listens on port 1234. By default Web browsers submit a request to port 80 and most Web servers are configered to listen on port 80.

• Dynamic content

  • Client-side (e.g. javascript, java applets)

  • Server-side (what this class is about)

• Programs that write HTML

  Using Common Gateway Interface (CGI) to connect a program to a Web server

  For CGIs, each request requires starting a new process (i.e. a new running program).

• Templates for providing dynamic content

  • ColdFusion

  • Microsoft ASP

  • PHP

  Except for the latest version of ASP (ASP.net), these technologies use high-level code that must be interpreted to produce dynamic HTML content.

• Web technologies using Java

  • Java Applets (client-side program---runs in Web browser)

  • Java Servlets

    Servlets are components written in Java that generate HTML content

  • Java Server Pages (JSPs)

    JSPs work like templates but are efficiently translated into servlets and then compiled into Java byte code.

• JSPs and eXtended Markup Language (XML)

Discuss strengths and weaknesses of these technologies