Confusion over whether Tomcat is an application server tends to result in heated discussion among Java developers -- some claiming it absolutely is and some that it definitely is not. In truth, Tomcat often is used as an app server, and for some scenarios it is perfectly suited to that role. For developers using Tomcat as an application server, it makes sense to classify it as such, regardless of formal definition.
In this article I tackle the question of whether Tomcat is an application server. I start by explaining the distinctions between app servers, Web servers, and Java EE containers, and then look at some scenarios where a Web server like Tomcat could be used appropriately as an app server. I show a scaled architecture, starting with the sort of lightweight implementation where Tomcat shines, and concluding with a complex service-oriented architecture, where you would be better off with a full-fledged Java EE application server...
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