In computing, Jasper is the name of the JSP Engine of Apache Tomcat since version 4.x. Apache Tomcat 5.x uses Jasper 2, which is an implementation of the Sun Microsystems's JavaServer Pages 2.0 specification. Jasper parses JSP files to compile them into Java code as servlets (that can be handled by Tomcat Catalina). At runtime, Jasper is able to automatically detect JSP file changes and recompile them. From Jasper to Jasper 2, important features have been added :
- JSP Tag library Pooling - Each tag markup in JSP file is handled by a tag handler class. Tag handler class objects can be pooled and reused in the whole JSP servlet.
- Background JSP compilation - While recompiling modified JSP Java code, the older version is still available for server requests. The older JSP servlet is deleted once the new JSP servlet has been recompiled.
- Recompile JSP when included page changes - Pages can be inserted and included into a JSP at compile time. The JSP will not only be automatically recompiled with JSP file changes but also with included page changes.
- JDT Java compiler - Jasper 2 can use the Eclipse JDT Java compiler instead of Ant and javac.
