I just got a small contract of a few months developing some Java Server Pages and Servlets and some other stuff. I never did go into JSP before and when I look on the Internet now mostly I find material that is at least a few years old. It seems like nothing much is happening with JSP and not many people are using it.
So is JSP dying? Is it a waste of time and energy delving into JSP/Servlets beyond what I need for this specific task?
“Dying” is kind of a harsh word. The bloom is off the Java rose and then some. A lot of Java programmers have gone on to other things, but that mainly affects smaller projects. The big businesses that have invested in JSP will continue to do so for a while. Trying to predict how long “a while” is going to be is of course difficult. But once the programmers fall in love with other things (Ajax and such), then it’s only a matter of time before management gets into “let’s ride the next buzzword wave” mode.
I think of all of the Java/JSP/J2EE as being in the “no longer growing significantly” class. Which in computer terms could be viewed as dying.
If someone is willing to pay you good money to program in some environment and you have no better offers, then take the “bird in the hand” approach.
Myself, I hope I never have to write another Java program as long as I live. (Which makes my Java 2 cert useless, not that it was ever useful.)