Java.Servlet.What is the difference between dynamic and static JSP content?

📜 Static vs Dynamic Content in JSP

Aspect	Static Content	Dynamic Content
Definition	Content that does not change for each user or request.	Content that can change depending on request parameters, user input, or backend logic.
Written as	Plain HTML, CSS, JavaScript inside the JSP page.	Embedded Java code, expressions, or custom tags inside the JSP page.
Processing	Directly copied into the servlet’s output (`out.write()`).	Evaluated at runtime, and result is inserted into the output.
Performance	Very fast — no calculation needed.	Slightly slower — because server has to execute Java code first.
Example	`<h1>Welcome to our website</h1>`	`<h1>Welcome, <%= user.getName() %>!</h1>`

🔥 Examples

<html>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome to our website</h1> <!-- Static: same for every visitor -->
  </body>
</html>

This HTML will be the same for everyone.

Server just copies it into the HTTP response.

Dynamic Content Example:

<html>
  <body>
    <h1>Welcome, <%= request.getParameter("username") %>!</h1> <!-- Dynamic -->
  </body>
</html>

If a user accesses hello.jsp?username=Stanley, they will see:

Welcome, Stanley!

If another user accesses hello.jsp?username=Marina, they will see:

Welcome, Marina!

Here, <%= request.getParameter("username") %> is evaluated during request processing.

When the server translates a JSP into a servlet:

Dynamic content becomes actual Java code execution inside the _jspService() method.

Example for Static:

out.write("<h1>Welcome to our website</h1>");

Example for Dynamic:

out.write("<h1>Welcome, " + request.getParameter("username") + "!</h1>");

Static content: Always the same, copied directly into response.
Dynamic content: Depends on request or server-side calculations, generated at runtime.

Both coexist in a typical JSP file to create web pages that are partly constant and partly personalized.