Getting Started: Software and Server Setup
  1. Obtain and Install the Servlet and JSP Development Kits
  2. Install a Servlet-Capable Web Server
  1. Servlet and JSP Tutorial: Top

1. Obtain and Install the Servlet and JSP Development Kits

Your first step is to download software that implements the Java Servlet 2.1 or 2.2 and Java Server Pages 1.0 or 1.1 specifications. You can get a free version from Sun, known as the JavaServer Web Development Kit (JSWDK), at http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/.

Next, you need to tell javac where to find the servlet and JSP classes when you compile a servlet file. The JSWDK installation instructions explain this, but it basically amounts to putting servlet.jar and jsp.jar (which come with the JSWDK) on your CLASSPATH. If you've never dealt with the CLASSPATH before, it is the variable that specifies where Java looks for classes. If it is unspecified, Java looks in the current directory and the standard system libraries. If you set it yourself, you need to be sure to include ".", signifying the current directory. Here's a quick summary of how to set it on a couple of different platforms:

Unix (C Shell)

setenv CLASSPATH .:servlet_dir/servlet.jar:servlet_dir/jsp.jar
Add ":$CLASSPATH" to the end of the setenv line if your CLASSPATH is already set, and you want to add more to it, not replace it. Note that you use colons to separate directories, while you use semicolons on Windows. To make this setting permanent, you'd typically put this statement in your .cshrc file.

Windows 95/98/NT

set CLASSPATH=.;servlet_dir/servlet.jar;servlet_dir/jsp.jar
Add ";%CLASSPATH%" to the end of the above line if your CLASSPATH is already set. Note that you use semicolons to separate directories, while you use colons on Unix. To make this setting permanent in Windows 95/98 you'd typically put this statement in your autoexec.bat file. On Windows NT, you'd go to the Start menu, select Settings, select Control Panel, select System, select Environment, then enter the variable and value.

Finally, as you'll see in the next section, you probably want to put your servlets into packages to avoid name conflicts with servlets other people write for the same Web or application server. In that case, you may find it convenient to add the top-level directory of your package hierarchy to the CLASSPATH as well. See the section on first servlets for details.

2. Install a Servlet-Capable Web Server

Your next step is to obtain and install a Web server that supports Java servlets, or to install a servlet package in your existing Web server. If you are using an up-to-date Web or application server, there is a good chance that it already has everything you need. Check your server documentation or see the latest list of servers that supports servlets at http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/industry.html. Although you’ll eventually want to deploy in a commercial-quality server, when first learning it is useful to have a free system that you can install on your desktop machine for development and testing purposes. Here are some of the most popular options:

This page is part of my Tutorial on Servlets and JSP. © 1999 Marty Hall. All source code freely available for unrestricted use. Created for for work in the Research and Technology Development Center of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, for courses in the Johns Hopkins Part-Time MS Program in Computer Science, and for various industry seminars and on-site Java short courses.