While ASP and JSP technologies are similar in many ways, they also differ significantly in some ways. Both the technologies follow the same model of separating programming logic from page design through the use of components that are called from the page itself. And both provide developers an easier and faster alternative to creating web applications using CGI scripts. The biggest difference between JSP and ASP technologies lies in the approach to the software design. Portability A Portable application environment gives organizations the flexibility to migrate servers and swap tools, as business needs change.
Portability also enables developers to share their work with a wider audience.
JSP is being developed through an industry-wide initiative led by Sun Microsystems and is designed to be both platform and server independent. In contrast, ASP is purely a Microsoft based technology deployed primarily on Windows NT servers. JSP technology was designed to support numerous servers, browsers and tools. So, having to hosting a web application on a robust UNIX OS with JSP is not a distant dream. JSP is also being supported on the NT platform using third party components.