More Servlets and JavaServer Pages™

10.2. Example: Initializing Commonly Used Data

Suppose that you are developing a Web site for a dot-com company that is a hot commodity. So hot, in fact, that it is constantly being bought out by larger companies. As a result, the company name keeps changing. Rather than changing zillions of separate servlets and JSP pages each time you change the company name, you could read the company name when the Web application is loaded, store the value in the servlet context, and design all your servlets and JSP pages to read the name from this location. To prevent confusion among customers, the site can also prominently display the former company name, initializing and using it in a manner similar to the current company name.

The following steps summarize ...