Explain the Servlet life cycle.

7.C] Explain the Servlet life cycle

Answer:-

The web container maintains the life cycle of a servlet instance.

1. Loading Servlet Class :
   • A Servlet class is loaded when first request for the servlet is received by the Web Container.
2. Servlet instance creation :
   • After the Servlet class is loaded, Web Container creates the instance of it. Servlet instance is created only once in the life cycle.
3. Call to the init() method :
   • init() method is called by the Web Container on servlet instance to initialize the servlet.
   • public void init(ServletConfig config) throws ServletException
4. Call to the service() method :
   • The containers call the service() method each time the request for servlet is received.
   • The service() method will then call the doGet() or doPost() methods based on the type of the HTTP request, as explained in previous lessons.
   • public void service(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException
5. Call to destroy() method: The Web Container call the destroy() method before removing servlet instance, giving it a chance for cleanup activity.