what's the point of WEB-INF folder

on my account (shared host) i have WEB-INF folder which has 3 folders in it

classes
jsp
lib

i figured classes folder is for classes. but my host doesnt allow ssh so how do i convert .java to .class?

what's jsp folder for? i think i can put .jsp files anywhere for them to work

and the lib i've no idea. for libraries?

You are right the classes directory is for classes that you have developed for your application.

The lib directory is for any .jar or .zip files that you use as part of you application. Example if you used log4j in your app you would need a log4j.jar to be part of you application and you would place it in the lib directory.

I am not sure about the jsp directory, it might be a directory to put custom tag libraries for your jsps, if you have them. You might want to consult your hosts documentation/support.

In the olden days you would just put all of your resources in a single directory and run the app. But as apps get older and gain features it helps to separate the differant resourses into categorical directories. This makes the directories less cluttered.

alright.thanks =)