Where do we put them?

• We can write JSPs and Servlets in Forte or NetBeans.  Then, we have to be able to use them.
• We deploy them in software that handles JSPs and Servelts.  This software is often called a servlet container, application server, etc.
• Some of the more popular application servers include:
• BEA WebLogic (tied for #1)
• IBM WebSphere (tied for #1)
• Oracle 9i Application Server (from the same Oracle Corporation that previously employed me)
• Sun/Netscape iPlanet (the thing that gives you the annoying prompt when you start Forte')
• Apache Tomcat (an open-source, i.e. free, servlet container)
• JBoss (an open-source app server)
• Many of these are written in Java.
• Think about it... last week we talked about server sockets.  At the high level, these just run sockets listening at a certain port, and then send the output stream generated from your JSP/Servlet to that socket.  That's really all there is to it.
• Of course, the real value comes with management of the operation, scalability, performance, etc.  That is where the different competitors differentiate themselves.
• App servers are expensive.
• Ballpark: $40,000/CPU.
• JBoss and Tomcat are free.
• At UC, we have a special academic agreement with Oracle Corp, and we are able to run there 9iAS at little to no cost.  This is good, 9iAS is a very fast and secure app server (from an unbiased source lol).
• But, at home and on your out of class projects, you'll see Tomcat quite a bit.
• It runs well on many platforms.  I have yet to see a Windows platform, 95 or later, on which it does not run.
• Personally, I've used it on 95, NT, XP, Me, and Linux.
• Setup is very easy.
• And, of course, it is free.
• I recommend you use Tomcat at home for your projects.
• Let's try to install it here.  Not sure how this will work, given the lockdown of our computers, but it is worth a try.

Created by:  Brandan Jones December 17, 2001