Retrieving information from webpages that require login

Hi, I'm new here and not sure where to place this or exactly what I need to add for help but i'll try to be as descriptive as possible. I have some basic knowledge of Java and programming from intro courses at my University.

I am trying to write a piece of java code to:

a) Login to a website/server (not really sure, the login is done via .jsp when you login from a web browser) and retain the login credentials (via cookie perhaps?).

b) Access a webpage that is only accessible after you have logged in to the website and retrieve source code from the page.

My goal with all this is to first get the java code working 100%. I then want to port the code to an android app that will be used to periodically check the webpage for changes. I plan to implement this so that for example the app could login to the server, get the information and then check it against previous retrieved results. This will enable the app to let the user know via notification if new marks/exam venues/exam schedule is available and/or have changed.

The login page in question is located at: https://login.sun.ac.za/V2_customSSO/ui/login.jsp

I do not believe that I can provide you with login details to check for obvious reasons :P

Any tips/help/examples/sources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Can you please add more detail in the question you are asking.

I would like to know if someone could help me with the thought process into how to log in to the site via java code, keep that authentication ticket (cookie?) and use it to access other pages which requires that authentication ticket.

Dunno how else to phrase it. Hope it gave more clarity?