JSP class file generation

At runtime, the WebSphere® Application Server JavaServer Pages (JSP) engine loads JSP class files from either the WebSphere Application Server temp directory or a web module's WEB-INF/classes directory. The JSP engine first searches for a class file in the temp directory and then it searches in the web module's WEB-INF/classes directory.

In a default installation, the WebSphere Application Server temp directory is typically profile_root/temp. Figure 1 shows the processing logic of the JSP engine at runtime.

important

The batch compiler supports the generation of class files in both the WebSphere Application Server temp directory and a web module's WEB-INF/classes directory, depending on the type of batch compiler target. In addition, the batch compiler enables the generation of class files into any directory on the filesystem, outside of the target application. Generating class files into a web module's WEB-INF/classes directory enables you to deploy the web module as a self-contained web application archive (WAR) file, or a WAR file inside an enterprise archive (EAR) file. The following table shows the batch compiler's behavior when compiling class files.

Table 1. Batch compiler behavior . Batch compiler behavior when compiling class files
	ear.path or war.path supplied	enterpriseApp.name supplied
`compileToDir` not supplied; `compileToWebInf` not supplied, or is true	The class files are compiled into the web module's WEB-INF/classes directory.	The class files are compiled into the web module's WEB-INF/classes directory.
`compileToDir` not supplied; `compileToWebInf` is false	The class files are compiled into the web module's WEB-INF/classes directory.	The class files are compiled into the WebSphere Application Server temp directory, usually `profile_root`/temp.
`compileToDir` is supplied; `compileToWebInf` not supplied, or is either true or false	The class files are compiled into the directory indicated by `compileToDir`.	The class files are compiled into the directory indicated by `compileToDir`.