What Happens when a Page is Statically Included in Another JSP Page

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An include directive tells the JSP engine to include the contents of another file (HTML, JSP, etc.) in the current page. This process of including a file is also called as static include.

When a page is statically included in another JSP page in Java, it means that the content of one JSP page is directly included in another at the time the main page is translated into a servlet. This process is known as static inclusion or static import.

Here’s what happens when a page is statically included in another JSP page:

  1. Compilation: Both the main JSP page and the included JSP page are compiled into separate servlets.
  2. Combination: The generated servlets are then combined to create a single servlet class.
  3. Execution: When a request is made for the main JSP page, the combined servlet is executed. During execution, the included JSP page’s content is effectively copied and pasted into the generated servlet at the point where the include directive was specified in the main JSP page.
  4. Response: The combined servlet processes the request and generates the response, which is then sent back to the client.

In summary, static inclusion is a way to merge the content of two JSP pages at the time of compilation, resulting in a single servlet that combines the functionality of both pages. This process can be beneficial for code reuse and modular design.