javajarwar

Difference between jar and war in Java

What is the difference between a .jar and a .war file?
Is it only the file extension or is there something more?

Solution

  • From Java Tips: Difference between ear jar and war files:

    These files are simply zipped files using the java jar tool. These files are created for different purposes. Here is the description of these files:

    • .jar files: The .jar files contain libraries, resources and accessories files like property files.

    • .war files: The war file contains the web application that can be deployed on any servlet/jsp container. The .war file contains jsp, html, javascript and other files necessary for the development of web applications.

    Official Sun/Oracle descriptions:

    Wikipedia articles: