What is an Application Server?
Which attributes from the following list are part of an application server? • Serves up web pages • Provides a container model for applications • Provides services for applications • Adheres to a specification controlled by industry • Distributes requests across multiple physical servers • Provides management and/or development tools Chances are good that the average reader thinks a Java application server basically provides an implementation of the servlet specification, probably an implementation of JavaServer Pages, and perhaps some more services like database connection pooling.1 An application server is more and less, at the same time: an application server provides an environment where applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do. The real definition of an application server in the Java EE world is more than servlets, JSP, database connection pooling. These are just a few pieces of the Java EE container model2, where an application is split into a ser
