init-param and context-param

Question

What is the difference between and !?

Answer 1

Consider the below definition in web.xml

    HelloWorld
    TestServlet
    
        myprop
        value
    

You can see that init-param is defined inside a servlet element. This means it is only available to the servlet under declaration and not to other parts of the web application. If you want this parameter to be available to other parts of the application say a JSP this needs to be explicitly passed to the JSP. For instance passed as request.setAttribute(). This is highly inefficient and difficult to code.

So if you want to get access to global values from anywhere within the application without explicitly passing those values, you need to use Context Init parameters.

Consider the following definition in web.xml

 
      
           myprop
           value
      
 

This context param is available to all parts of the web application and it can be retrieved from the Context object. For instance, getServletContext().getInitParameter(“dbname”);

From a JSP you can access the context parameter using the application implicit object. For example, application.getAttribute(“dbname”);