To simply explain the difference,
response.sendRedirect(“login.jsp”);
doesn’t prepend the contextpath (refers to the application/module in which the servlet is bundled)
but, whereas
request.getRequestDispathcer(“login.jsp”).forward(request, response);
will prepend the contextpath of the respective application
Furthermore, Redirect request is used to redirect to resources to different servers or domains. This transfer of control task is delegated to the browser by the container. That is, the redirect sends a header back to the browser / client. This header contains the resource url to be redirected by the browser. Then the browser initiates a new request to the given url.
Forward request is used to forward to resources available within the server from where the call is made. This transfer of control is done by the container internally and browser / client is not involved.
forward
Control can be forward to resources available within the server from where the call is made. This transfer of control is done by the container internally and browser / client is not involved. This is the major difference between forward and sendRedirect. When the forward is done, the original request and response objects are transfered along with additional parameters if needed.
redirect
Control can be redirect to resources to different servers or domains. This transfer of control task is delegated to the browser by the container. That is, the redirect sends a header back to the browser / client. This header contains the resource url to be redirected by the browser. Then the browser initiates a new request to the given url. Since it is a new request, the old request and response object is lost.
For example, sendRedirect can transfer control from http://google.com to http://anydomain.com but forward cannot do this.
‘session’ is not lost in both forward and redirect.
To feel the difference between forward and sendRedirect visually see the address bar of your browser,
in forward, you will not see the forwarded address (since the browser is not involved)
in redirect, you can see the redirected address.