Explain the role and purpose of the DispatcherServlet component within Spring Web MVC.

DispatcherServlet is the central component in the Spring Web MVC architecture responsible for handling all incoming HTTP requests. It acts as a front controller, receiving requests from clients and directing them to the appropriate handlers (controllers).

Main functions of DispatcherServlet:

• Receiving an HTTP request and determining which controller should handle it, using routing configuration (HandlerMapping).
• Calling the corresponding controller method to process the request.
• Obtaining the processing result (e.g., model and view name).
• Passing the result to the view mechanism (ViewResolver) to generate a response.
• Sending the generated HTTP response back to the client.

Thus, DispatcherServlet connects all Spring MVC components and provides centralized routing and request processing.