Servlets are one of the older APIs that is now part of Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE). Look at JSF, Struts, Tapestry, Velocity, Shale, or any of the other Java EE or Java based web frameworks and you will see servlets at the core.

The servlet API has stood the test of time because it was designed good from the start and has evolved slowly. As part of Java EE 5.0 servlets will be undergoing a maintenance release. At the same time the servlet EG is starting to think about the direction to take the next major Servlet release in the future.

Some suggestions we have had that we are looking into for the next major release of servlets include:

• Multipart-Support - File upload support.
• Improved Security - This has been an area where we have wanted to refine for sometime. This may includes APIs for programatic login.
• Self Registration - The ability to create accounts and have a remember me cookie.
• Annotation Support - Make servlets easier to define by reducing the number of artifacts a developer needs to create.

The list above is not an exhaustive list but should give an idea as to the direction we see the Servlet API going. As the Servlet specification lead I would also like to invite suggestions from the community at large.

How are you using Servlets? Where do you want them to go?