What is the DispatcherServlet and what is it used for?

The DispatcherServlet in Spring MVC is a crucial component that acts as the front controller for Spring-based web applications. It is responsible for managing the flow of web requests through the Spring MVC framework, ensuring that each request is handled efficiently by the appropriate components within the application.

Role and Functionality of DispatcherServlet

1. Central Controller: The DispatcherServlet serves as the central point of control and management for all incoming web requests. It intercepts requests and delegates them to other components for processing[1][2][3].

2. Request Routing: It determines which controller to route the request to by consulting one or more handler mappings. This routing is based on factors such as the URL or other attributes of the request[1][2].

3. View Resolution: After the request has been processed by the appropriate controller, the DispatcherServlet is responsible for resolving views using ViewResolvers. It maps the logical view names provided by controllers to actual view technologies (like JSP, Thymeleaf, etc.), which render the response[1][2].

4. Exception Handling: The DispatcherServlet handles exceptions that occur during the processing of a request by delegating to HandlerExceptionResolvers. These resolvers can manage specific exceptions and decide the response accordingly[6].

5. Integration with Spring’s IoC Container: It is fully integrated with the Spring Inversion of Control (IoC) container, which means it can use Spring’s features such as dependency injection to manage its dependencies and configuration[2][3].

Usage Scenarios

• Web Applications: DispatcherServlet is used to build robust web applications with Spring MVC. It supports both traditional web pages and RESTful web services[2].

• RESTful Services: In the case of RESTful service...