The init method is all about the initialization parameters.
A Servlet is interesting not because of the fact that it is a servlet, but because of the fact that it can be initalized with a unique set of parameters, as defined in the web.xml file. You can't access the initialized, InitParameters in the constructor, but you can in the init method. This is really the key.
A Servlet isn't a Servlet just because it has a constructor. It isn't a Servlet until it is also described as a Servlet in the web.xml file. It's like the Sperm and the Egg - the two really have to go together to get some life out of your code (the web container is the ovary, I guess). Init gives you access to the merging of the web.xml and the
Java code.
-Cameron McKenzie