Tapestry is a comprehensive web application framework, written in Java.

Tapestry is not an application server. Tapestry is a framework designed to be used inside an application server.

Tapestry is not an application. Tapestry is a framework for creating web applications.

Tapestry is not a way of using JavaServer Pages. Tapestry is an alternative to using JavaServer Pages.

Tapestry is not a scripting environment. Tapestry uses a component object model, not simple scripting, to create highly dynamic, interactive web pages.

Tapestry is based on the Java Servlet API version 2.2 It is compatible with JDK 1.2 and above. Tapestry uses a sophisticated component model to divide a web application into a hierarchy of components. Each component has specific responsibilities for rendering web pages (that is, generating a portion of an HTML page) and responding to HTML queries (such as clicking on a link, or submitting a form).

The Tapestry framework takes on virtually all of the responsibilities for managing application flow and server-side client state. This allows developers to concentrate on the business and presentation aspects of the application.

Tapestry reconceptualizes web application development in terms of objects, methods and properties instead of URLs and query parameters.