Jakarta Standard Taglibs (JSTL)

Description:

The Jakarta Java Server Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL) project encapsulates the core functionality common to many Web applications as simple tags. JSTL supports common, structural tasks such as iteration and conditionals, and contains tags for manipulating XML documents, internationalization, and SQL. It also provides a framework for integrating existing custom tags with JSTL tags.

Jakarta JSTL introduces a new expression language to simplify page development, and it provides an API (Application Programming Interface) for developers to simplify the configuration of JSTL tags and the development of custom tags that conform to JSTL conventions. Much like Tomcat, the JSTL is a Jakarta project that serves as one of the Sun standard reference implementations. This tag library is essentially a subset of all the existing tag libraries chosen to become a standard for implementation by all the JSP/servlet container vendors.

Use this tag library to ensure code portability across Tomcat, WebLogic, WebSphere, etc. with minimal additional work.