JSP is a server-side language. It’s using simple tag-based codes that embedded into the HTML or XML pages to make it more interactive. By putting this code into your HTML or XML pages, you created a platform independent webpage.

It means no matter which browsers that your visitors use when they visits your website, they would see the exact same layout and contents. This is the biggest differences if you compare it with any HTML or XML webpage that has no JSP embedded codes in it.

By using the JSP web developers and designers could get more creative by combining JSP codes with the HTML layout to create a better user interface. JSP is quite different with other CGI scripts. If the CGI scripts require you to create your entire website in one program, JSP allow you to build the dynamic parts of your website separately. So, you don’t have to stick with the same program that you don’t even understand to operate it to create your entire websites.

If you’re one of the web designer that already tired repeating the process of creating the work that you already done, JSP hosting is the right choice for you. This JSP hosting will be very useful especially if you work on a team.

One of the benefits of JSP is that you don’t have to learn any Java language or program. The Java itself practically attached inside Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, so you could make it easier to insert Java codes into your HTML or XML pages.

Here are some of the tags that being used in the Java codes that you need to know:

- Actions: This is an XML-style tag that you can use to perform any slew of functions
- Declarations: <%!declaration%> Use this to declare methods or variables that you have throughout the page
- Expressions: <%=expression%> Expressions could be used to produce results which could be inserted into output stream
- Directives: <%@directive%> This is the instructions processed that should be done when the page is compiled
- Scriptlets: <%scriptlet%> This is a piece of code that can access any declared variables and execute it
- Hidden Comments: <–comment–> The notes that you put on the page and can’t be seen by client

CGI and Java Scripts commonly used in the website to increase the user experience of particular website. Java Scripts is a script or code that could be embedded into your webpage to manipulate the browser in the client side. While in CGI, the manipulation will happen in the server before it sends back to the browser. Before we figure out about the functions of these two, let’s get some deeper information for each of them.

1. Java Script

Java Script is a very common script that being used by the web designer to enhance the user experience from the client browser. Java Script could also used to change the page elements like webpage color, or changing the display. You could also change the navigation of your browser by using this Java Script. One of many benefits of Java Script is a faster loading page. Since the changing only occurs in the client computer and don’t require any access to server, user could see the results faster. However, the data that been put in this Java Script could be manipulated easily by users and it could doubt the data validation.

2. CGI

Common Gateway Interface, often abbreviated as CGI, is commonly used in website pages to process the data that been inputted by the user to processed in server. One of the benefits by using CGI is that the data processing is much secure because it processed in the server. If the process happens in client computer, the data could be manipulated directly by users. However, there are also disadvantages by using CGI in your website. One of them is a loading time that lasts longer. It’s because the data that needs to be processed will be sent to the server, manipulated in there, and then sends it back to the browser. This process will take much time to complete, especially when the server is busy.

The best way to use Java Script and CGI is to combine both of them. If you want your users to put any information that you intend to put in your database, use CGI. CGI is much safer to handle the data and it could have a high security. Java Script could be used for your users convenient. For example, you could give your users the choices to change the website background or navigation easily and fast. By combining both of these tools you could create a powerful website.