JSP Interview Questions

February 18, 2022 ยท View on GitHub

Q. What is JSP Implicit Object?

  • request: This is the HttpServletRequest object associated with the request.

Example: index.jsp

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
  <title>Implicit Objects</title>
</head>
<body>
  <form action="request.jsp">
    <input type="text" name="username">
    <input type="submit" value="submit">
  </form>
</body>
</html>

request.jsp

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
  <title>Implicit Objects</title>
</head>
<body>
  <%  String username = request.getParameter("username");
      out.println("Welcome "+ username);
   %>
</body>
</html>
  • response: This is the HttpServletResponse object associated with the response to the client.

Example:

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
    <title>Implicit Objects</title>
  </head>
<body>
    <%response.setContentType("text/html"); %>
</body>
</html>
  • session: This is the HttpSession object associated with the request.

Example: index.jsp

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <% session.setAttribute("user","Pradeep"); %>
    <a href="session.jsp">Click here to get user name</a>
</body>
</html>

session.jsp

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <% String name = (String)session.getAttribute("user");
        out.println("User Name is " +name);
    %>
</body>
</html>
  • out: This is the PrintWriter object used to send output to the client.

Example:

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <% int num1=10;int num2=20;
        out.println("num1 is " +num1);
        out.println("num2 is "+num2);
    %>
</body>
</html>
  • application: This is the ServletContext object associated with the application context.

Example:

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <% application.getContextPath(); %>
</body>
</html>
  • config: This is the ServletConfig object associated with the page.

Example: web.xml

<web-app xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee
         http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_3_1.xsd"
         version="3.1">
    <servlet>
        <servlet-name>comingsoon</servlet-name>
        <servlet-class>mysite.server.ComingSoonServlet</servlet-class>
    </servlet>
    <servlet-mapping>
        <servlet-name>comingsoon</servlet-name>
        <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
    </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

index.jsp

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <% String servletName = config.getServletName();
        out.println("Servlet Name is " +servletName);%>
</body>
</html>

  • pageContext: It is used to get, set and remove the attributes from a particular scope.

  • page: Page implicit variable holds the currently executed servlet object for the corresponding jsp. Acts as this object for current jsp page.

Example:

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <% String pageName = page.toString();
        out.println("Page Name is " +pageName);
    %>
</body>
</html>
  • Exception: It is used for exception handling in JSP.

Example:

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1" isErrorPage="true"%>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
        <title>Implicit Objects</title>
    </head>
<body>
    <%  int[] num1={1,2,3,4};
        out.println(num1[5]);
    %>
    <%= exception %>
</body>
</html>

Q. How JSP pages are processed, from the request to the server to the response to the user?

When the user page.jsp follows the link to the page , he sends an http request to the server GET /page.jsp. Then, based on this request and the text of the page itself, the server generates a java class, compiles it and executes the resulting servlet, which forms a response to the user in the form of a representation of this page, which the server redirects back to the user.

Q. What are the phases of the JSP life cycle?

The JSP life cycle consists of several phases that are managed by the JSP container:

  • Translation - checking and parsing the JSP page code to create the servlet code.
  • Compilation - compilation of the servlet source code.
  • Class Loading - loading a compiled class into memory.
  • Instantiation - the implementation of the constructor without the parameter of the loaded class for initialization in memory.
  • Initialization - calling the init() method of the JSP class object and initializing the servlet configuration with the initial parameters that are specified in the deployment descriptor (web.xml). After this phase, the JSP is able to handle client requests. Typically, these phases occur after the first client request (i.e., lazy loading), but you can configure the loading and initialization of JSP at the start of the application, similar to servlets.
  • Request Processing - the long life cycle of processing client requests with a JSP page. Processing is multithreaded and similar to servlets - for each request a new thread, objects are created, ServletRequest and the ServletResponseservice methods are executed.
  • Destroy is the last phase of the JSP life cycle in which its class is removed from memory. This usually happens when you turn off the server or unload the application.

Q. What are the JSP life cycle methods?

A servlet container (for example, Tomcat, GlassFish) creates a servlet class from a JSP page that inherits interface properties javax.servlet.jsp.HttpJspBase and includes the following methods:

  • jspInit()- the method is declared in the JSP page and is implemented using the container. This method is called once in the JSP life cycle in order to initialize the configuration parameters specified in the deployment descriptor. You can override this method by defining a JSP scripting element and specifying the necessary parameters for initialization;
  • _jspService()- the method is automatically overridden by the container and corresponds directly to the JSP code described on the page. This method is defined in the interface HttpJspPage, its name begins with an underscore, and it differs from other life cycle methods in that it cannot be redefined;
  • jspDestroy()- the method is called by the container to remove the object from memory (at the last phase of the JSP life cycle is Destroy). The method is called only once and is available for redefinition, providing the ability to free resources that were created in jspInit().

Q. How can I prevent direct access to the JSP page from a browser?

There is no direct access to the directory /WEB-INF/ from the web application. Therefore, JSP pages can be located inside this folder and thereby restrict access to the page from the browser. However, by analogy with the description of servlets, it will be necessary to configure the deployment descriptor:

<servlet>
    <servlet-name> Example </servlet-name>
    <jsp-file> /WEB-INF/example.jsp </jsp-file>
    <init-param>
        <param-name> exampleParameter </param-name>
        <param-value> parameterValue </param-value>
    </init-param>
</servlet>
    
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name> Example </servlet-name>
    <url-pattern> /example.jsp </url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

Q. What are the main types of JSP tags?

  • JSP expression: <%= expression %>- expression that will be processed with redirecting the result to the output;
  • JSP Scriptlet: <% code %>- The code to add to the method service().
  • JSP declaration: <%! code %>- code added to the servlet class body outside the method service().
  • JSP page<%@ page att="value" %> directive: - directives for the servlet container with parameter information.
  • JSP directive include: <%@ include file="url" %>- a file on the local system that is included when translating the JSP into the servlet.
  • JSP Comment: <%-- comment --%>- Comment; ignored when translating a JSP page to a servlet.

Q. What are the JSP action tags and JSP Action Elements?

Action tag and JSP Action Elements provide methods for working with Java Beans, connecting resources, forwarding queries and creating dynamic XML elements. Such elements always begin with recording jsp:and are used directly inside the JSP page without the need for third-party libraries or additional settings.

The most commonly used JSP Action Elements are:

  • jsp:useBean
  • jsp:include
  • jsp:setProperty
  • jsp:getProperty
  • jsp:forward
  • jsp:plugin
  • jsp:attribute
  • jsp:body
  • jsp:text
  • jsp:param
  • jsp:attribute
  • jsp:output

1. jsp:useBean

This action name is used when we want to use beans in the JSP page. With this tag, we can easily invoke a bean.

<jsp:useBean id="" class="" />

Example:

<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
    pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
<html>
 <head>
 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
 <title>Action JSP1</title>
 </head>
<body>
    <jsp:useBean id="name" class="demotest.DemoClass">
</body>
</html>

2. jsp:include

It also used to insert a jsp file into another file, just like include directive. It is added during request processing phase

<jsp:include page="page URL" flush="true/false">

3. jsp:setProperty

This property is used to set the property of the bean. We need to define a bean before setting the property

<jsp:setproperty name="" property="">

4. jsp:getProperty

This property is used to get the property of the bean. It converts into a string and finally inserts into the output.

<jsp:getAttribute name="" property="">

5. jsp:forward

It is used to forward the request to another jsp or any static page. Here the request can be forwarded with no parameters or with parameters.

<jsp:forward page="value">

6. jsp:plugin

It is used to introduce Java components into jsp, i.e., the java components can be either an applet or bean. It detects the browser and adds or tags into the file

<jsp:plugin type="applet/bean" code="objectcode" codebase="objectcodebase">

7. jsp:param

This is child object of the plugin object described above. It must contain one or more actions to provide additional parameters.

<jsp:params>
    <jsp:param name="val" value="val"/>
</jsp:params>

8. jsp:body

This tag is used to define the XML dynamically i.e., the elements can generate during request time than compilation time. It actually defines the XML, which is generated dynamically element body.

<jsp:body></jsp:body>

9. jsp:attribute

This tag is used to define the XML dynamically i.e. the elements can be generated during request time than compilation time It actually defines the attribute of XML which will be generated dynamically.

<jsp:attribute></jsp:attribute>

10. jsp:text

It is used to template text in JSP pages. Its body does not contain any other elements, and it contains only text and EL expressions.

<jsp:text>template text</jsp:text>

11. jsp:output

It specifies the XML declaration or the DOCTYPE declaration of jsp. The XML declaration and DOCTYPE are declared by the output

<jsp:output doctype-root-element="" doctype-system="">

Q. JSP - Servlet - JSP interaction?

"JSP - servlet - JSP" architecture for building applications is called MVC (Model / View / Controller) :

  • Model - data classes and business logic;
  • View - JSP pages;
  • Controller - servlets.

Q. What do you know about PageContext and what are the benefits of using it?

Implicit JSP object - an instance of a class javax.servlet.jsp.PageContext provides access to all namespaces associated with a JSP page, as well as its various attributes. The remaining implicit objects are added to pageContext automatically.

A class PageContext is an abstract class, and its instance can be obtained through a method call JspFactory.getPageContext(), and released through a method call JspFactory.releasePageContext().

PageContext has the following set of features and capabilities:

  • a single API for serving namespaces of various scopes;
  • several convenient APIs for accessing various public objects;
  • JspWriter output mechanism for output;
  • page session use service mechanism;
  • mechanism for exposing ("showing") the attributes of the directive to page the scripting environment;
  • mechanisms for sending or including the current request into other application components;
  • mechanism for handling exception processes on error page errorpage;

Q. What do you know about the JSP Expression Language (EL)?

JSP Expression Language (EL) is a scripted expression language that allows you to access Java components (JavaBeans) from JSP. Starting with JSP 2.0, it is used inside JSP tags to separate Java code from the JSP to provide easy access to Java components, while reducing the amount of Java code in JSP pages, or even completely eliminating it.

The development of EL was aimed at making it easier for designers who have minimal knowledge of the Java programming language. Before the advent of the expression language, JSP had several special tags such as scriptlets (English), expressions, etc. that allowed you to write Java code directly on the page. Using an expression language, a web designer only needs to know how to organize the call of the corresponding java methods.

The JSP 2.0 expression language includes:

  • Create and modify variables.
  • Program flow control: branching, performing various types of iterations, etc.
  • Simplified access to embedded JSPs.
  • Ability to create your own functions.

An expression language is used inside a construct ${ ... }. A similar construction can be placed either separately or on the right side of the tag attribute setting expression.

Q. How is error handling using JSTL?

JSTL Core Tags c:catchand are used to catch and handle exceptions in the service methods of the class c:if.

The tag c:catchcatches the exception and wraps it in a variable exception available for processing in the tag c:if

<c:catch var ="exception">
   <% int x = 42/0;%>
</c:catch>  
<c:if test = "${exception ne null}">
   <p>Exception is : ${exception} <br />
   Exception Message: ${exception.message}</p>
</c:if>

Q. How JSP is configured in the deployment descriptor?

To configure various parameters of JSP pages, an element is used jsp-configthat is responsible for:

  • management of scriptlet elements on the page;
  • control of execution in the language of expressions;
  • URL pattern definition for encoding;
  • determining the size of the buffer used for objects on the page;
  • designation of resource groups corresponding to the URL pattern that should be processed as an XML document.
<jsp-config>
    <taglib>
        <taglib-uri> http://company.xyz/jsp/tlds/customtags </ taglib-uri>
        <taglib-location> /WEB-INF/exampleTag.tld </ taglib-location>
    </ taglib>
</ jsp-config>

Q. Is a session object always created on a JSP page, can I disable its creation?

The jsp page, by default, always creates a session. Using a directive pagewith an attribute, sessionyou can change this behavior:

<%@ page session ="false" %>

Q. What is the difference between JSPWriter and PrintWriter?

PrintWriter is the object responsible for recording the contents of the response to the request. JspWriter uses an object PrintWriter to buffer. When the buffer is full or flushed, it JspWriteruses the object PrintWriter to write the content in response.

Q. How to disable caching on back button of the browser?

for this, once the session is invalidated, in your respective jsp page add following code snippet

<%
    response.setHeader("Cache-Control","no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate");
    response.setHeader("Pragma","no-cache");
    response.setHeader ("Expires", 0);
    response.setDateHeader ("Expires", -1);
    if(session.getAttribute("token")==null){
        response.sendRedirect(request.getContextPath() + "/login.jsp");
    }
%>

token can be any valid session attribute used for validation

Cache-Control : HTTP 1.1 header filed holds directives (in requests and responses) that control caching in browsers and shared chaches eg. proxies , CDNs.

  • no-cache : allows caches to store a response, but requires them to revalidate it before reuse.
  • no-store : any caches of any kind (private or shared) should not store this request and corresponding response.
  • must-revalidate: cache either revalidates the stored response with the origin server, or if that's not possible it generates a 504 (Gateway Timeout) response to prevent reuse of stale responses when they are disconnected from the origin server.

Pragma : HTTP 1.0 header is an implementation-specific header that may have various effects along the request-response chain to prevent the client from caching the response.

  • no-cache: Forces caches to submit the request to the origin server for validation before a cached copy is released.

Expires: HTTP header contains the date/time after which the response is considered expired.

  • Invalid expiration dates with value 0 represent a date in the past and mean that the resource is already expired.
  • setDateHeader() used in case to prevent caching on proxy servers

Q. What are the different tags provided in JSTL?

Q. How is JSP better than Servlet technology?

Q. What are the differences between include directive and include action?

Q. Explain the jspDestroy() method.

Q. What is busy spin? Why should you use it?

Q. There are two classes B extends A and C extends B, Can we cast B into C e.g. C = (C) B;

Q. Is ++ operator is thread-safe in Java?

Q. Difference between a = a + b and a += b ?

Q. Can I store a double value in a long variable without casting?

Q. What will this return 3*0.1 == 0.3? true or false?

Q. Which one will take more memory, an int or Integer?

Q. Which containers use a border layout as their default layout?

Q. Which containers use a FlowLayout as their default layout?

Q. What are peerless components?

Q. Is there is any difference between a Scrollbar and a ScrollPane?

Q. What is a lightweight and heavyweight component?