I am not sure if this is correct. Here:
http://www2.roguewave.com/support/docs/leif/leif/html/bobcatug/7-3.html
under 7.3.3. says:
A mapping that contains the pattern <url-pattern>/</url-patttern> matches a request if no other pattern matches.
Additionally, servlet 3.0 specs say (12.2, Specification of mappings):
The empty string ("") is a special URL pattern that exactly maps to the
application's context root, i.e., requests of the form
http://host:port/<context-
root>/. In this case the path info is ’/’ and the servlet path and context path is
empty string ("").
A string containing only the ’/’ character indicates the "default" servlet of the
application. In this case the servlet path is the request URI minus the context path
and the path info is null.
So, what you said about '/' mapping seems to be incorrect, and it is an empty '' mapping. Please correct me if I am wrong.
What I don't understand is this: I have a '/*' mapping, which catches all. If I have the default servlet '/' which is invoked when no other mapping matched, it is invoked - so it is also a catch-all. What is the difference between the two?