What is the difference of .jar file vs .war file in Java?

These files are simply zipped files using the java jar tool. These files are created for different purposes. Here is the description of these files:

.jar files: The .jar files contain libraries, resources and accessories files like property files.
.war files: The war file contains the web application that can be deployed on any servlet/jsp container. The .war file contains jsp, html, javascript and other files necessary for the development of web applications.

More info is at the links:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5871053/java-war-vs-jar-what-is-the-difference
http://www.java-tips.org/java-ee-tips/enterprise-java-beans/difference-between-ear-jar-and-war.html