Articles : JavaBoutique's Introduction to Java : Q and A :
Comparing Different Web Application Development Technologies :

Follow-up #1

Q

Someone here at my company pointed me to your article that compared ASP, Perl, Java, etc. I thought you did a good job covering all the various options, but it was a shame that you summed JSP up in such a quick manner.

In my opinion, JSP is the best option for server-side programming, and will not only overtake ASP, but will remain the leader for years to come. JSP is nothing but Java code embedded in HTML. When the JSP page is called by the server, it is compiled into a servlet.

Development time with JSP is faster than with Java servlets because much of the work is done for you, yet it has the full use of the Java language. If you can do it in Java, you do it the same way in JSP, except they've added some shortcuts. There are more than 10 different JSP engines now, including a free one that comes with Apache. We are using it here and development time has just been incredible, and it has helped improve the ease of maintaining and updating the code.

A

Ha ha ha! I knew I would get it for that post :) I am willing to back down just a bit, but I still think that Servlets will win out over JSP because:

1. It seems easier to integrate EJB into servlets than JSP pages.
2. It seems easier to maintain state in Servlets.
3. Servlets allow more networking capabilities such as persistent sockets.
4. Servlet application "architecture" is more object oriented.

I also think that ASP will take a larger market share because I don't think Sun will be able to maintain a focussed marketing campaign around JSP long enough to withhold the IIS onslaught.

Finally, I think CGI/Perl will outlast them all because the average web developer (who is not part of a large corporation will still need the simplicity of CGI/Perl and the average ISP with virtual hosting accounts will only offer CGI services to the common person.

JSP and Servlets will make some headway into the corporate world, but they will have to battle IIS/ASP all the way.

In the end, I don't think server side include technology is the right way to go web application development because it breaks up the code into to many little pieces which are hard to maintain and extend.

But, these are only my opinions and take them for what they are worth! I've been wrong before...er...many times before....

Follow-up

Selena Sol contributes to the JavaBoutique's Introduction to Java. Selena curently works for Barclays Capital in London, one of the leading global investment banks in Europe and has worked as a software developer for the National Center for Human Genome research, Microline Software, Neuron Data, and Electric Eye in Singapore. Selena is perhaps best-known for creating the Public Domain Web Script Archive (Extropia) and writing several books on Web Programming (Perl, CGI, Java).
Email: selena@extropia.com

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