Java Servlet technology is likewise growing in popularity, recognized as the cornerstone of Web development on the Java platform. Coward commended those in the audience who had participated in offering comments on earlier versions of the JSP and Java Servlet specifications. Tomcat 4.0 is the highly useful, extremely popular, open-source RI for the JSP and Java Servlet specification. A new component framework allows for dynamically intercepting and modifying requests and responses. Filters can now be applied to Web components, for example, to block access from users, track users, or transform content depending on the type of requests coming in.
Filters can also perform custom authentication and data compression.
In addition, new configuration syntax has been added to the deployment descriptor. The second feature, Listening, allows for the discovery of such events as when a Web application starts up, when it shuts down, and whether there are attribution changes. As a key component of J2EE technology and an extension of Java Servlet technology, JSP technology offers a simplified, fast way to dynamically generate Web content in the form of HTML and XML pages. Pelegri-Llopart refreshed the audience's memory on the history of the JSP specification. And more comprehensive, too.