JBridge: Certification Question Of The Day

Identify true statements about the following servlet code (the line numbers are not part of the code) (2 correct answers)

11  RequestDispatcher rd = request.getRequestDispatcher("/InventoryServlet");
12  PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();
13  out.write("Inventory Report");
14  rd.forward(request, response);
15  out.flush();
16  out.close();

The Answer

B and F are the correct answers.
The output from InventoryServlet is the only thing returned to the requester; the output from the current servlet is abandoned (that is the nature of a forward). However, lines 15 and 16 do execute, and this is not container-dependent. (So answers E and G are wrong).
The servlet compiles just fine, invalidating answer A.
The words "Inventory Report" from this servlet are ignored after the forward takes place, and so not returned to the requester; answer C is wrong.
Answer D is wrong: line 14 does not give rise a runtime error - this would only occur if the response from the current servlet had been committed (flushed) prior to the forward being invoked.
Finally, answer H is meant to make you think this is the root cause of the compilation error (or perhaps gives rise to a runtime error). The opposite of the truth is stated here. A RequestDispatcher returned from ServletContext does require "/" at the beginning of parameters to getRequestDispatcher. However, the opposite of this is not true: a RequestDispatcher returned from the Request can legitimately have "/" (or not) at the beginnng of parameters to getRequestDispatcher.