About web.xml The
servlet specification mandates the DD file- web.xml to be a part of every Web application. Please note that with Java EE 5, the Web application DD is optional for simple applications containing
JSP pages and static files. If your web module does not contain any servlets, filter, or listener components then it does not need a DD.
About META-INF When a Web application is deployed as a WAR, the container creates a directory called META-INF inside the document root, the META-INF contains dependencies and information useful to Java archive tools.
Regards,
Kunal Jaggi<br />Author of <a href="http://www.tatamcgrawhill.com/html/titleDetail.jsp?isbn=9780070249103.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">"SCWCD Exam Guide"</a>, SCWCD 5 (exam 310-083 and 310-084), <a href="http://www.tatamcgrawhill.com/html/titleDetail.jsp?isbn=9780070249103.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">McGraw-Hill</a><br /><a href="http://javaevangelist.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://javaevangelist.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/2669" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/2669</a>