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JSP, Servlets and JDBC for Beginners: Build a Database App (Udemy.com)

JSP: Covers JSP 2.3 and Servlets 3.1 - Most Popular JSP/Servlet course

Created by: Chad Darby

Last updated July 2026

Our take

Based on the ratings of 12,657 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in July 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.

Chad Darby's course teaches JSP and Servlets by building one thing, a database web app that can create, read, update and delete records. It runs 9.2 hours over 117 lectures. The early sections set up Tomcat and Eclipse, then cover scripting elements, form data, sessions, JSTL and MVC. The last five sections build the JDBC app. It is aimed at people who already know basic Java and want to get into server-side web work.

Reviewers like the pacing and the clarity. One calls Darby methodical, with a touch of humor, and another says the speed suits a beginner. A .NET developer used it to get up to speed on legacy JSP apps. The complaints are small. One reviewer wanted ServletContext and ServletConfig covered. Another wanted more sample projects, such as a shopping cart. A third felt the MVC section could be folded into the JDBC part. Of 12,657 ratings, 7,614 are five stars and only 193 are one or two.

The syllabus has no quizzes or coding exercises, so all practice comes from typing along with the videos. The course was refreshed in July 2026, which helps for something first published in 2015, though it still teaches JSP 2.3 and Servlet 3.1. It is a solid pick if you want a guided first build in classic Java web, and a poor one if Spring is the goal.

Best forJava learners who want one guided JSP and Servlet build, typed along with the instructor, ending in a working CRUD app.
Skip it ifYou want Spring Boot or modern Java web tooling, or you have never written any Java at all.

Pros

  • Builds one full MVC and DAO style CRUD app, with five sections on the JDBC part
  • Reviewers call Darby's teaching clear, methodical and paced well for beginners
  • Covers Tomcat and Eclipse setup, sessions, cookies, JSTL and i18n before the big build
  • Updated July 2026, with a very high share of 4 and 5 star ratings

Cons

  • No quizzes or coding exercises, so practice is only typing along with the videos
  • Only one main project, and one reviewer wanted a shopping cart or booking example
  • Some gaps reported, such as ServletContext and ServletConfig, and one reviewer hit terms used too early
Excellent course. The presentation is nicely paced for a beginner like me.
GS Bhuvaneshwar, a student

Labeled all levels, but basic Java is required, so it suits Java beginners rather than people new to programming.

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What you will learn

  • Build a fully functioning JSP and Servlets web application from scratch
  • Set up your JSP/Servlet development environment with Tomcat and Eclipse
  • Explore JSP scripting elements: Expressions, Scriptlets and Declarations
  • Read HTML form data with JSP and Servlets
  • Manage application state with Sessions to track unique user actions
  • Leverage Cookies to personalize a web site for a specific user
  • Integrate the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) to minimize scriptlet code
  • Build a Multi-Lingual app using Internationalization and JSTL
  • Build an MVC application with JSP and Servlets
  • Generate HTML Tables with JSP and Servlets
  • Add database support with JDBC: query, insert, update and delete
  • Build a complete database web app with JDBC

Course content

18 sections · 117 lectures · 9.2 hours of video 32 articles

  1. 1Course Introduction 1 free preview5 lectures · 3 min
  2. 2Getting Started with JSP 7 free previews9 lectures · 28 min
  3. 3JSP Fundamentals 7 free previews7 lectures · 45 min
  4. 4Reading HTML Form Data with JSP 1 free preview7 lectures · 34 min
  5. 5State Management with JSP 1 free preview10 lectures · 55 min
  6. 6JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) - Core Tags 1 free preview11 lectures · 42 min
  7. 7JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) - Function Tags2 lectures · 13 min
  8. 8Build a Multi-Lingual App with JSTL - i18n Tags 1 free preview5 lectures · 34 min
  9. 9Servlet Fundamentals 2 free previews10 lectures · 45 min
  10. 10MVC - Build an MVC App with Servlets and JSP 2 free previews7 lectures · 36 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • The course is appropriate for all Java developers: beginners to advanced

What you need before you start

  • Basic Java knowledge is required
  • Basic HTML knowledge is helpful

How it compares

Against the other 231 rated Udemy courses in Java on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 71% of them
  • Reviews12,657#22 of 232 by number of reviews
  • Length9.2 hoursshorter than 51% of them
  • Last updatedJuly 2026more recently than 86% of them

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Quality Score

Content Quality
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Video Quality
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Qualified Instructor
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Course Pace
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Course Depth & Coverage
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Overall Score : 92 / 100

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Course Description

The Most Popular JSP/Servlet course!

Join 56,000+ students that are already enrolled!

Over 11,000+ Reviews! (the most reviews for any JSP/Servlet course on Udemy)

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Build a JDBC Database Web App with JSP and Servlets - CRUD: query, insert, update and delete

By the end of this course, you will create all of the source code for a complete MVC CRUD application.

You will type in every line of code with me in the videos ... all from scratch.

I explain every line of code that we create. So this isn't a copy/paste exercise, you will have a full understanding of the code.

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Sample Reviews

★★★★★

Excellent JSP Primer. The code works flawlessly ... top notch quality! - Zac Smith


★★★★★

The Best JSP course for any Beginner. This course will meet or exceed your expectations! - Macuei Mathiang


★★★★★

I am really enjoying learning JSP from this wonderful tutorials and the way Chad explains them with such a great simplicity makes me feel like I am in a classroom with him and he is mentoring me face to face. - Vishal Rangras
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Covers JSP 2.3 and Servlet 3.1

Live Coding - Watch me code all of the projects from scratch

Responsive Instructor - All questions answered within 24 hours

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All source code is available for download

PDFs of all the slides available for download

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Professional video and audio recordings (check the free previews)

Closed-Captions / Subtitles available for English (new!)

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What Is Java Server Pages (JSP)?

JSP (JavaServer Pages) is a popular web application solution for Java. JSP helps developers create dynamically generated HTML web pages on the fly. JSP is similar to PHP, but it uses the powerful Java programming language instead.


Benefits of Taking This JSP/Servlets Course

Knowing JSP and Servlets can get you a job or improve the one you have. It's a skill that will put you more in demand in the modern web development industry, and make your software life easier, that's why it's so popular and backed by Oracle.

This course will help you quickly get up to speed with JSP and Servlets. I will demystify the technology and help you understand the essential concepts to build a real JSP/Servlet web application from scratch.


Build a Real JSP/Servlet Application from Scratch

This course is project based and you will build a fully functioning JSP/Servlet web application from scratch.

We start off with a brief overview of JSP and Servlets. Then I show you how to setup your development for JSP by installing Tomcat and Eclipse. Next, I show you how to connect Eclipse and Tomcat for rapid application development.

We cover the key JSP scripting elements: Expressions, Scriptlets and Declaration. For each scripting element, I show you working code examples along with the appropriate use-case and best practices.

You learn about the built-in objects available in JSP. Code examples demonstrate the most common built-in objects.

Next, we cover how to read HTML form data with JSP. This includes reading form data for text fields, drop-down lists, radio buttons and checkboxes.

Then you learn how to manage application state with Sessions and Cookies. You make use of the built-in session object to keep track of actions for a unique user. You also leverage Cookies to personalize a web site for a specific user.

Finally, the course includes JDBC database integration. You learn how to leverage JDBC queries, inserts, updates and deletes in a JSP/Servlet web application.

At the end of this course, you will have a fully functional JSP/Servlet web application that connects to a database. You can use this application as a starting point for your project.

All of the source code and database scripts are provided.


You Will Learn How To

  • Build a fully functioning JSP/Servlet web application from scratch

  • Set up your JSP/Servlet development environment with Tomcat and Eclipse

  • Explore JSP scripting elements: Expressions, Scriptlets and Declarations

  • Read HTML form data with JSP and Servlets

  • Include additional files in your JSP file for a standard look-and-feel

  • Manage application state with Sessions to track unique user actions

  • Leverage Cookies to personalize a web site for a specific user

  • Build a Multi-Lingual app using Internationlization with JSTL

  • Build an MVC application with JSP and Servlets

  • Add database support with JDBC: query, insert, update and delete

  • Build a complete database web app with JDBC


Student Reviews Prove This Course's Worth

Those who have reviewed the course have pointed out that the instruction is clear and easy to follow, as well as thorough and highly informative.

Other students enjoy the use of relevant examples throughout the course, as these make the content even easier to comprehend.

Many students had also taken other JSP courses in the past, only to find that this JSP course was their favorite. They enjoyed the structure of the content and the high quality audio/video.

Check out all of the great reviews in the review section ... a lot of happy students :-)

Compared to other JSP/Servlet courses 

Most importantly, this course is project based and you'll build a real JSP/Servlets web application that connects to a database ... all from scratch.

I am a very responsive instructor and I am available to answer your questions and help you work through any problems.

Finally, all source code is provided with the course along with setup instructions.

Quality Material

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Instructor Details

Chad Darby

Chád (shod) Darby is an author, instructor and speaker in the Java development world. 

Chád is a contributing author to several Java books, including  Professional Java E-Commerce (Wrox Press), Beginning Java Networking  (Wrox Press), and XML and Web Services Unleashed (Sams Publishing). 

Chád has Java certifications from Oracle and IBM. 

He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University. 

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Reviews

4.6

12,657 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Sivaji Sai Rama Reddy on 3/28/2026

Using concepts which are not explained yet.

By Muku Kulkarni on 6/6/2023

Best course for beginners. It contains a good amount of hands-on practice and great conceptual knowledge. In the end, you will understand how the website works (high-level idea), you'll understand basic design patterns like MVC and DAO, and will actually build an application based on these patterns. 4.5 start just because you will have to prepare notes by searching some online websites, cause this course is more focused on practical implementation. Just go for it, it's worth it!

By Stefan Jankovic on 5/16/2021

Based on amount of time this course lasts, I would say it is amazing! You will get a basic understanding of using Servlets, JSP and JDBC with the use of MVC concept. Course is very practical and its project already gave me ideas on how to write small CRUD apps. Instructor is energetic, easy to understand and knowledgeable. Instructors on Q/A section are also very responsive. Note: You will not "truly" understand JSPs and Servlets, but rather gain practical knowledge with some basic distinctions. So, I suggest to read some books while going through this course (Head First's Servlets & JSP helped me a lot).

By hasan foraty on 12/20/2020

one of best course ever

By Harita Ravindranath on 12/20/2020

Happy with the way Chad teaches. Easy to follow

By SHANKHA SHUBHRA Sanyal on 12/6/2020

The best thing about your courses is.. u guys never delay in solving doubts of ur students.
Thanks a lot!!! :)

By Ede Kelechukwu Innocent on 11/25/2020

I am indeed very impressed so far with every of the topic bundle unraveled by Java guru, Chad Darby! The lectures already treated were satisfying and I really love every part of this training because of its practicality and self explanatory! Thanks dear, Chad, you have been doing a great job here.

By KUMAR SANU on 11/22/2020

NICELY EXPLAINED, POINT TO POINT.

By Tanisha Pradhan on 11/16/2020

great course

By Naveen Kumar on 11/8/2020

Excellent course.

By Horacio Rodriguez Cobian on 11/8/2020

Yes it was a good match for me, great course

By Jay Paig on 10/27/2020

Awesome, good for beginners and those who are sort of reviewing having not programmed for quite awhile.

Showing 12 of 349 reviews