Java Servlet Programming, 2nd Edition

Appendix A. Servlet API Quick Reference

The javax.servlet package is the core of the Servlet API. It includes the basic Servlet interface, which all servlets must implement in one form or another, and an abstract GenericServlet class for developing basic servlets. It also includes classes for communicating with the host server and client (ServletRequest and ServletResponse) and communicating with the client (ServletInputStream and ServletOutputStream). The class hierarchy of the javax.servlet package is shown in Figure A-1. Servlets should confine themselves to the classes in this package in situations in which the underlying protocol is unknown.

Figure A-1. The java.servlet package