Head First Servlets and JSP, 2nd Edition

How it looks in code (what makes a servlet a servlet)

Note

Notice... no main() method. The servlet’s lifecycle methods (like doGet()) are called by the Container.

There are no Dumb Questions

Q:	Q: I remember seeing doGet() and doPost(), but on the previous page, you show a service() method? Where did the service() method come from?
A:	A: Your servlet inherited it from HttpServlet, which inherited it from GenericServlet which inherited it from... ahhh, we’ll do class hierarchies to death in the Being a Servlet chapter, so you just need a little more patience.
Q:	Q: You wimped out on explaining how the container found the correct servlet... like, how does a URL relate to a servlet? Does the user have to type in the exact path and class file name of the servlet?
A:	A: No. Good question, though. But it points to a Really Big Topic (servlet mapping and URL patterns), so we’ll take only a quick look on the next few pages, but go into much more detail later in the book (in the Deployment chapter).