Java Web Development is the practice of building web applications and websites using the Java programming language. Java is one of the oldest and most popular languages for backend (server-side) development, trusted by organizations worldwide to power everything from small websites to large enterprise systems.
A web application is a software program that runs on a web server and is accessed by users through a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Safari).
Java for Web Development
Java is mainly used on the server-side of a web application. Java is popular for web development for the following reasons:
- Platform independence: Thanks to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), Java applications can run on any operating system (Windows, Linux, macOS) without changing the code.
- Scalability: Java can handle large numbers of users and huge workloads, making it a favorite for enterprise applications.
- Security: Java provides built-in security features, making it reliable for applications where data protection is key (banking or healthcare apps).
- Robust ecosystem: Java has a huge number of libraries, tools, and frameworks that speed up development.
It is responsible for handling below mentioned things:
- Processing user input (like login forms)
- Interacting with databases (like fetching and storing information)
- Applying business rules (like calculating discounts)
- Managing sessions (like keeping a user logged in)
When a user clicks a button or submits a form on a webpage, their browser sends a request to the server. The Java-based server-side program receives this request, processes it, and returns the appropriate response (such as an HTML page, JSON data, or some other output).
Components of Java Web Development
- Servlets: Java classes that handle HTTP requests and responses. Servlets are at the core of Java web applications.
- JSP (JavaServer Pages): A technology that allows you to embed Java code into HTML pages to create dynamic content.
- Frameworks
- Spring Boot: Simplifies building web applications with Java.
- Jakarta EE (formerly Java EE): A set of specifications for building large-scale, enterprise-grade web applications.
- Hibernate: Helps in interacting with databases by simplifying SQL tasks.
Process Flow (Client-Server Model)
- A user visits a website (client) by entering a URL.
- The browser sends an HTTP request to the web server.
- The web server passes the request to a Java servlet or Java framework (like Spring Boot).
- The Java code processes the request—fetches data, applies logic, etc.
- The Java code creates a response (like an HTML page or JSON) and sends it back to the browser.
- The browser displays the result to the user.
Examples of Java Web Applications
- Online Banking Systems
- E-commerce Platforms
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools
- Social Media Platforms
- API backends for mobile applications
