JSP (JavaServer Pages) and Servlets are both Java technologies used to create dynamic web applications. While they work together and are closely related, they serve different primary roles:

Servlet:

• What it is: A Java class that extends the capabilities of a server (usually a web server) to handle incoming requests and generate dynamic content. It's a core component of Java web applications.
• Focus: Handling the business logic and controlling the flow of the application. Servlets receive requests, process data (potentially interacting with databases or other resources), and then determine the response to send back to the client.
• Content Generation: Servlets primarily generate dynamic content programmatically in Java. This often involves using PrintWriter to write HTML or other markup directly into the response.
• Structure: Java code-centric. HTML or other presentation markup is typically embedded within the Java code.
• Life Cycle: Managed by the Servlet container (e.g., Tomcat). The container handles the creation, initialization, processing of requests, and destruction of servlet instances.
• Role in MVC: In the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, Servlets often act as Controllers, handling user input and updating the Model, then selecting the appropriate View to display.

JSP (JavaServer Pages):

• What it is: A technology that allows you to embed Java code snippets (scriptlets), special tags (JSP tags), and expressions directly within HTML (or XML, etc.) pages.
• Focus: Handling the presentation of information to the user. JSPs are designed to make it easier to create user interfaces with dynamic content.
• Content Generation: Primarily HTML-centric. Dynamic content is generated by the embedded Java code and JSP tags, which are executed on the server before the page is sent to the client.
• Structure: HTML-centric with embedded Java code and JSP-specific elements.
• Life Cycle: When a JSP is first requested, the JSP container translates it into a Servlet. Subsequent requests are handled by this generated Servlet. The JSP life cycle includes translation, compilation into a servlet, class loading, instantiation, initialization, request processing, and destruction.
• Role in MVC: In the MVC pattern, JSPs typically act as Views, responsible for displaying the data provided by the Controller (Servlet).