web server and web container

[harsha addala]

what is the difference between web server and web container?
When a request is made from the client what is the flow in web server and container till the response is received?

[Scheepers de Bruin]

The web container lives INSIDE the web server.

The web server can serve straight forward files like HTML and images that require no processing.

The web container, on the other hand handles special resources that require server processing, like .jsp

Flow:
The web server receives the request. If the request requires special processing, it hands the request to the web container that calls the relevant resource, like a servlet, to handle the request. The resource generates a response, sticks something typically HTML (might be an image) in it, and hands it to the server. The server sends it back to the requestor.

[Paul Sturrock]

The web container lives INSIDE the web server.

This is misleading. Apache Http Server (which is arguably the most common Web Server used) does not contain a Web Container.

[Bauke Scholtz]

I guess we are talking about Java application servers here.

Web container = the runtime which can contain servlets, backing beans, EJB's, etc.
Web server = the execution infrastructure which handles requests and responses (mainly type of HTTP) between the web container and the client.

[Scheepers de Bruin]

'k. Scratch that.

The web container possibly lives WITH the web server.
(And they have two ADORABLE puppies and garden gnomes)

[Ben Souther]

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_server
or search this, the JSP, and the, Apache/Tomcat forums on this site.
This question gets askes several times a week here.

[Stan James]

I just never use those words. We have IHS, a servlet container, an EJB container, a database server ...