Changes in conf/server.xml does not seem to have any effect during runtime - eclipse

Here's what I know:
When uploading files given by users, we should put them in a folder
outside the deployment folder. Let me call it D:\uploads.
We should (somehow) add that folder (D:\uploads) as a web app context.
Here's what I did:
I upload my files to the folder D:\uploads.
I tried adding the web app context as it's mentionned here by adding the following row to TOMCAT_DIR/conf/server.xml:
<Context docBase="D:\uploads" path="/uploads"/>
But that doesn't have any effect. When consulting http://localhost:8080/uploads/file.png or http://localhost:8080/uploads I get a HTTP Status 404 error.
So what I want to know:
What did I do wrong ? How can I add my upload folder to Tomcat?
Is there any better approach when it comes to uploading files ?
Because I'm wondering what should I change if I want to deploy my
application to another server where there's no D:\uploads.

Change the docBase attribute. Use D:/uploads (with slash) instead of D:\uploads (with backslash).
When dealing with files in Java, you can safely use / (slash, not backslash) on all platforms.
Regarding the differences you mentioned in the comments when starting the Tomcat from the IDE and from bin/startup.bat: It's very likely when you start the Tomcat from the IDE, it is not using the same context.xml your Tomcat is using. Just review the Tomcat settings in the IDE.
How to store uploaded files is a common topic at Stack Overflow. Just look around and you'll get surprised in how this topic is popular.
If you aren't happy enough in storing your files in D:/uploads or you'll have other servers accessing the files, you could consider storing them in some location in your network. Depending on your requirements, you can have one dedicated server to store your files or just share the folder which contains the files in your current server. The right decision will always depend on your requirements.

Related

Where to find current standalone configuration?

I have a fully working JBoss 6.3.3.GA instance but one of my colleagues unwittingly connected to my Development server instead of his, and updated my Standalone.xml file.
He made a lot of changes and there's no way (at least I didn't find any one) to get my old file back.
Now I need to restart my server, and I'm afraid I'll loose my current configuration forever since his update will be taken into account.
My question is : Is there anyway I can find my current XML Standalone configuration in any temporary folder or something like that ?
Under your jboss directory go to : standalone/configuration/standalone_xml_history.
You should find different versions : standalone.boot.xml, standalone.initial.xml, standalone.last.xml ... etc
You will also find old configurations of your standalone stored in folders which names include the date when you made those configurations includig a folder containing your current configuration.

IBM Liberty issue

An architect is having issues bringing Liberty up. Currently, an individual is running a server on his local computer and they want to move it to a shared server. When he tries to deploy a simple “helloworld” it’s failing and he is receiving an error “Context Root Not Found”. He is not sure what to set in server.xml file to have wlp recognize the application. They have ODM 8.5 on the mainframe. He thinks it might help if he saw an example of an EAR or WAR file deployed. Any ideas or suggestions?
Either put your application in the dropins folder, it will be detected and started automatically, or put it in the apps folder and configure in server.xml like this:
<webApplication id="HelloApp" location="HelloApp.war" name="HelloApp"/>
by default context root is application file name without extension, but you can change it by adding contextRoot="mycontext" attribute.

Is it Common to use MEF with a config file for specifying a plugin path?

I have heard that MEF reduces the need for creating config files, but if I have a few different plugin paths that vary depending on the client running the app, is it common and a good idea to have a config file that specifies the correct path. I want to avoid looping through all the DLLs.
Generally people have a well known plugin directory under the where the application is running from, i.e. \Extensions. However that said there isn't any particular reason you cannot do a configuration file for directories or exact extension assemblies.

How to distribute my Java program so that it is runnable by double-clicking a single file?

I have a Java rich client desktop app. that I want to distribute on some computers at work, but I've never done something like this before. People aren't too computer-savy at my workplace and since it is a student job, I won't be there for much longer and I'd like it if I could make my program easy to run by making it runnable when people double-click on it.
I also don't want to have to manually install a JRE to have it run. Basically, what I'd like to know is how to make my java application runnable easily by double-clicking (even if it's only on windows, it's okay). I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to package the correct JRE version alongside, but I don't know what's the correct way of doing this.
I read on some sites that you should not package a JRE along with your program because it makes people have multiple different versions, some of which are outdated, and it causes security issues, but this is not a problem in this case since the computers that are going to run my application are not connected to the internet and are only used to run this program anyway.
Somewhat related question: Since my application is currently an Eclipse project, I get my resources such as icons, images, SQLite database (for read and write), etc. using relative paths (e.g.: img/test.png).
Am I going to have to change any of those paths to have them keep working even while packaged?
What you're looking for is a JAR file. In eclipse, it's quite easy to make a Jar file. Specifically, you'll want to right click on your project, go to Export, and then select "Runnable Jar." Be careful with paths to folders. You may need to keep a resources folder next to the Jar file. You may need to provide some more specifics to get an exact answer on that. Typically, a Resources folder is located in the same spot as the JAR file (in the same folder on your computer).
A better option for easy install of a Java app. with a GUI is to launch it using Java Web Start. For the user, JWS is the 'one click' installation option that can (install & launch the app. then) add desktop shortcuts and menu items. A JWS launch would mean some more work for you, but it is a breeze for the end user.
To ensure a suitable JRE is present to run the app., use deployJava.js (see the JWS link for more details). The script would need to be reconfigured to get the JRE installer from your local network - the default is to get it from Oracle.
Most of the resources should be packaged in Jar files and supplied along with the app., but for the DB, use the JNLP ExtensionInstallerService to call the DB installer.
..Java Web Start is kind of a link (or I can make it a shortcut on the desktop) that the users will click to either install the JRE and run the program if the JRE isn't installed, or just run the program if the JRE is present on the computer.
The way it would work is to have a web page on the local intranet. When the user visits the page, the script checks for a suitable JRE.
If it is present, it writes the link to the launch file.
If there is no JRE, or the version is too low, it will guide the user through installing it (just a matter of them clicking 'OK' when prompted). Then it will put the link to the app.
I can then configure the link to grab the JRE from the server on our network.
That's the part where you need to reconfigure the script. AFAIR the script exposes an URL at which to look for JREs - that can be changed to point to a place on the intranet.
..So "Web" is only just in the name, the computers don't have to be connected to the internet to have this work, right?
Yes. JWS is a great launch technology for Java rich clients, but is a poorly chosen name.
To make the problem run by double clicking it you can distribute it as a jar file or a batch file to call the jar file.
For the installation part you can make a batch file that checks if java is present and then call the installer if it isn't.
Edit:
The batch code:
IF DEFINED JAVA GOTO ok
java-installer.exe
GOTO end
:ok
your-application.jar
:end
If you are finding it tough to implement the above mentioned methods. You can proceed with this simple approach.
Create a folder lib at a location. Place all the jars that your application uses into this. If you are able to create a jar for your application, you can very well place your application.jar into the lib folder too. Create a batch file at the same location that will contain the java command for your main class in it. The text within your batch might look something similiar to this :
set path="\lib\"
java -cp %path% package1.package2.MainClass
If you have any other dependencies, for ex: if you use images in your code under img/icon.jpg. Then you just have to shift the img folder to this location too.
Just zip these files using winrar and share it across. Running the batch file after extracting the zip would launch your java MainClass irrespective of the location in which it is placed in the client system.
PS : If you are unable to create a jar for your application and placing it in lib folder, just copy your bin folder with class files and paste it in the location and change the batch file accordingly to look for classes inside bin.

Synchronise files between Eclipse and FTP Site

I am currently coding with Eclipse PDT, and I need to synchronise the files on my workstation with the files on the FTP server.
I've installed RSE, but I can only download and edit files as far as I can see it. What I want to happen is when I hit save, the file is saved locally, and the file to be updated on the FTP site.
Any ideas of how I can achieve this?
Create an ant builder on your project. See this article about how to do that. The important things you should know after you read the article:
You can use Ant FTP task to
transfer the files.
You can define properties given by
the Eclipse platform to get project
root, list of changed files, change
type (add, modify, delete) and so on.
Use them wisely. You will need
project_loc, resource_loc and so on.
See picture at end to see how to get
other available variables that can be
passed to the script.
Tune your Ant script, since if it run
for each file update, then it can be
slow. If it is slow anyway, then you can create a builder plugin for eclipse, which is not so complicated. I created some before.
Be prepared, that ant script can get
not only one file as changed, but a
list.