The JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library (JSTL), is a component of the Java EE Web application

Web application

A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...

 development platform. It extends the JSP

JavaServer Pages

JavaServer Pages is a Java technology that helps software developers serve dynamically generated web pages based on HTML, XML, or other document types...

 specification by adding a tag library of JSP tags for common tasks, such as XML

XML

Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....

 data processing, conditional execution, loops and internationalization

Internationalization

In economics, internationalization has been viewed as a process of increasing involvement of enterprises in international markets, although there is no agreed definition of internationalization or international entrepreneurship...

. JSTL was developed under the Java Community Process

Java Community Process

The Java Community Process or JCP, established in 1998, is a formalized process that allows interested parties to get involved in the definition of future versions and features of the Java platform....

 (JCP) as Java Specification Request (JSR) 52. On May 8, 2006, JSTL 1.2 was released.

JSTL provides an effective way to embed logic within a JSP

JavaServer Pages

JavaServer Pages is a Java technology that helps software developers serve dynamically generated web pages based on HTML, XML, or other document types...

 page without using embedded Java

Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

 code directly. The use of a standardised tag set, rather than breaking in and out of Java code, leads to more maintainable code and enables separation of concerns

Separation of concerns

In computer science, separation of concerns is the process of separating a computer program into distinct features that overlap in functionality as little as possible. A concern is any piece of interest or focus in a program. Typically, concerns are synonymous with features or behaviors...

 between the development of the application

Application software

Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...

 code and user interface

User interface

The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...

.

In addition to JSTL, the JCP has the following JSRs to develop standard JSP tag libraries:

• JSR 128: JESI – JSP Tag Library for Edge Side Includes
  Edge Side Includes
  Edge Side Includes or ESI is a small markup language for edge level dynamic web content assembly. The purpose of ESI is to tackle the problem of web infrastructure scaling. It is an application of edge computing....
  
  (inactive)
• JSR 267: JSP Tag Library for Web Services

External links

• JSTL Specification
• JSR 52 (JSTL 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2)
• Jakarta Standard Taglib 1.1, an implementation of JSTL (retired)
• Apache Standard Taglib an implementation of the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) specification
• JSTL 1.0 Referenz (German)
• JSTL 1.2 home page
• JSTL 1.2 Tutorial
• Official Tutorial: The Java EE 5 Tutorial, Chapter 7, JavaServer Pages Standard Tag Library