"request" is an implicit reference to the request object. The container makes that (along with other implicit references like "response") available in the jsp service method. When you write a scriptlet <% %> , the code inside the <% %> goes into the jsp service method, and so has access to those implicit references.
Just remember that the container makes a
servlet from the jsp page, then compiles the servlet into a class, and that class is a servlet just like any other servlet in the web app.
[ October 15, 2004: Message edited by: Wally Flint ]