Apache Tomcat is an open source piece of software written in the Java programming language and designed to provide users with a native Java environment for running web apps. It is widely known for powering large-scale and mission-critical web applications across a wide range of organizations and industries.
Features at a glance
It is an open source implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies, which are developed under the Java Community Process. When developing web apps, you will need to add dynamic content to an existing Apache web server, which is provided by Tomcat.
Tomcat is also widely used for running Java code and applets on an Apache web server, especially be web developers who want to build dynamic websites and applications using the aforementioned Java technologies.
The software comprises of a JSP (JavaServer Pages) engine, a HTTP connector, as well as the Catalina servlet container. While the JSP engine is in charge of the dynamic content of a web app, the servlet container has been engineered to interact with the Java apps.
Under the hood, supported OSes and availability
As mentioned the project is written entirely in the Java programming language, which means that it will run well on GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. It is available for download as binary and source archives for the aforementioned OSes. Supported architectures include both 32-bit and 64-bit.
Bottom line
Summing up, Apache Tomcat is a reliable solution for anyone who wants to develop rich web applications using open source technologies. It is an important part of the Apache project, which develops the world’s most popular and used web server software.
