What is the difference between GenericServlet, HttpServlet and a Servlet?

Servlet is an interface defining what a servlet must implement.
GenericServlet is just that, a generic, protocol-independent servlet.
HttpServlet is a servlet tied specifically to the HTTP protocol.

In general, you’d extend HttpServlet to implement an application’s web layer.

You might implement Servlet if you’re writing your own container or handling everything yourself. You might extend GenericServlet to handle a different protocol, but you might not.

javax.servlet.Servlet is interface, it defines methods for all the implementations - that’s what interfaces usually do.
javax.servlet.GenericServlet is protocol independent. It is abstract, so it is not to be directly instantiated. It is usable class to extend if you some day have to write servlet for protocol other than HTTP.
javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet is abstract class to be extended if you want to communicate over HTTP protocol. Most likely you only have to care about this one.

Servlet is a server-side web technology. As the name implies, it serves a client request and receives a response from the server. You have to implement javax.Servlet (Interface) to handle a servlet work.

javax.servlet.GenericServlet

Signature:

public abstract class GenericServlet extends java.lang.Object implements Servlet, ServletConfig, java.io.Serializable

• GenericServlet defines a generic, protocol-independent servlet.
• GenericServlet gives a blueprint and makes writing servlet easier.
• GenericServlet provides simple versions of the life-cycle methods init and destroy and of the methods in the ServletConfig interface.
• GenericServlet implements the log method, declared in the ServletContext interface.
• To write a generic servlet, it is sufficient to override the abstract service() method.

javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet

Signature:

public abstract class HttpServlet extends GenericServlet implements java.io.Serializable

• HttpServlet defines a HTTP protocol specific servlet.
• HttpServlet gives a blueprint for Http servlet and makes writing them easier.
• HttpServlet extends the GenericServlet and hence inherits the properties GenericServlet.

HttpServlet is specific to the HTTP protocol and hence it supplies methods for the HTTP verbs: doGet, doPost, etc, and a version of the generic service method that takes HTTP-specific request and response objects. It is a special type of Servlet which is actually a pretty minimal interface.
GenericServlet is the basic, protocol-neutral implementation of the Servlet interface. Often you’ll find similar basic implementations of interfaces in an API; in this case GenericServlet adds a bit of functionality to the Servlet API: getServletName, getServletInfo, and pass-through methods for the servlet init parameters. HttpServlet benefits from these additions by extending GenericServlet.

Generally everyone coding against this API is using HttpServlet for implementing HTTP web services, but one can also extend or use GenericServlet for implementing server/service functionality using a custom protocol, or another extant protocol, for example, FTP.

Servlet:-

• The Servlets runs as a thread in a web-container instead of in a seperate OS process.
• Only one object is created first time when first request comes, other request share the same object.
• Servlet is platform independent.
  
  • Servlet is fast.

GenericServlet:-

• General for all protocol.
• Implements Servlet Interface.
• Use Service method.

HttpServlet:-

• Only for HTTP Protocol.
• Inherit GenericServlet class.
• Use doPost, doGet method instead of service method.