How to compile and run Java Servlets

To get Java servlets up and running requires more than knowledge about Java in general or servlets in particular: one needs to know about servers, servlet containers, and XML. To get started, it is useful to have some "cookbook" instructions, however published books shy away from such instructions, in part because the technical details keep changing. A Web-based guide can be more current: this document is meant to get you started using the book "Java Servlet Programming". This guide takes a lowest-common-denominator platform using recent versions of free servlet-related software that you can run on your local computer as well as a low cost reliable Web-hosting arrangement for running your servlets from the Web.

Local operating system: Windows 98 Local Java Development Kit / Runtime Environment: Sun SDK Standard Edition 1.4.1_03 Local Servlet container: Tomcat 4.1.24 Servlet-friendly Web-hosting: Lunarpages.com

Preparing the environment on your local computer

Preparation: Your computer may already be littered with various old Sun Java Runtime environments (JREs) and Software Development Kits (SDKs). You may want to simplify your system by uninstalling some of these. Downloading SDK/JRE: The Sun SDK Standard Edition version 1.4.1_03 can be downloaded from here. (The Enterprise Edition is not chosen for these instructions because it does not support Windows 98. Beta versions are not chosen since they are less reliable and their newer capabilities are not referred to in the published book.) Installing SDK/JRE: The default installation directory is c:\j2sdk1.4.1_03. Installing here has advantages over more conventional locations such as in "Program Files" because spaces are not used in the path; spaces can cause problems. Accept the choice to install the JRE unless you have the current JRE installed already. Download Tomcat: The Tomcat servlet container version 4.1.24 can be downloaded from here. (Beta versions are not chosen since they are less reliable and their newer capabilities are not referred to in the published book.) Choose the jakarta-tomcat4.1.24.exe version since it contains the whole package and installs itself. Install Tomcat: The default installation directory is c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1, the form used in this document. Accept the default installation with HTTP/1.1 Connection 8080 and choose an administrator password. Set up a Java compiler: Sun's "javac" will work but you may want to use your existing Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It is possible to use a variety of IDEs, even old ones that do not come with any servlet support: o Sun's "javac": You should make sure your c:\Autoexec.bat file includes the path for the javac program: SET PATH=c:\j2sdk1.4.1_03\bin\; This takes effect after re-booting and frees you from having to specify the path for javac all the time. You may need to increase your DOS environment space if you already have a long PATH command. You should also set the CLASSPATH in

c:\Autoexec.bat to include the servlet.jar file in Tomcat: SET CLASSPATH=.;c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\common\lib\servlet.jar; where the initial period includes the current directory in the classpath. This takes effect after re-booting and should free you from having to specify the classpath every time you invoke javac. However, there are circumstances in which this will not work (see Outdated Compilers below). In such cases you can specify the classpath every time you invoke javac using commands (or batch files) of the form: javac -classpath "c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\common\lib\servlet.jar" Hello.java o Outdated compilers: It is even possible to use a very old and non-standardscompliant Java 1 compiler to develop servlets. Here are instructions for the worst case scenario of people using Microsoft Visual J++ 6.0: For each project, set the classpath inside VJ++ using Project | ProjectName Properties | Classpath and select "All Configurations" from the Configuration choice and use the New button to add c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\common\lib\servlet.jar to the classpath. Start Tomcat: Tomcat creates an icon called "Start Tomcat" which uses Tomcat's "bootstrap.jar" application to start the server. It should start your server automatically; it rumbles along for a few seconds writing into a DOS window named "java". Test that your installation worked: Type the following URL into a Web browser: http://localhost:8080/ If all is well you should see a fancy page that congratulates you for having set up Tomcat properly and offers various resources. Stop Tomcat: When you are done, use the "Stop Tomcat" icon to stop the server.

Setting up Tomcat on your local computer for easy use:

Enable use of the "ROOT" folder: As described in Marty Hall's instructions uncomment the line: <Context path="" docBase="ROOT" debug="0"/> in the following Tomcat file: c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\conf\server.xml Enable running servlets without modifying a web.xml file: As described in Marty Hall's instructions un-comment the following lines: <servlet-mapping> <servlet-name>invoker</servlet-name> <url-pattern>/servlet/*</url-pattern> </servlet-mapping>

in the following Tomcat file: c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\conf\web.xml Create the classes folder: Create a classes folder as: c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\webapps\ROOT\WEB-INF\classes\ NOTE: You may need to change a Windows setting to see the proper capitalization. In Windows Explorer make sure this is selected as checked: View | Folder Options | View | Files and Folders | Allow all uppercase names.

Running a simple servlet

Compile a simple servlet: Compile one of the examples from Chapter 2 of "Java Servlet Programming" (code can be downloaded from here). You can do this in a folder separate from Tomcat. Start Tomcat: as above. Put the class file in the Tomcat folder and run the servlet: Put your servlet in the classes folder for ROOT: c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\webapps\ROOT\WEB-INF\classes\ and it should work when you type into a Web browser a URL such as: http://localhost:8080/servlet/HelloWorld It may be convenient to make an HTML file with a link using the URL. It should work. Stop Tomcat: When you are done, use the "Stop Tomcat" icon to stop the server.

Running a servlet needing a web.xml file Servlets often use "Deployment Descriptors" in a "web.xml" file found in the folder containing the "classes" folder. If you have never dealt with servlets or xml before these will be unfamiliar files containing instructions that will determine whether or not your servlets work properly. For this reason you need to work with these files even if you don't understand them yet. Here is how to get going:

Compile a servlet needing a web.xml file: Compile one of the examples from Chapter 3 of " Java Servlet Programming" such as InitCounter (example 3.4; InitCounter.java can be downloaded from here). Use the relevant web.xml file: For example 3.4 the relevant web.xml code (example 3.3; web.xml can be downloaded from here) specifies the <servlet-name> of counter. This file should be used as the web.xml file in: c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\webapps\ROOT\WEB-INF\ Put the class file on Tomcat: put the class file in: c:\Program Files\Apache Group\Tomcat 4.1\webapps\ROOT\WEB-INF\classes\ Start Tomcat: it is necessary to restart the server after changing a web.xml file. It is not necessary to restart the server after changing a class file. Run the servlet: using a URL such as: http://localhost:8080/servlet/counter or make an HTML file with a link using this URL. It should work.

Stop Tomcat: When you are done, use the "Stop Tomcat" icon to stop the server.

Running a servlet using commercial hosting Lunarpages.com offers domain hosting for $96 per year, and for an additional $24 per year you can specify Java servlet support. The servlet container is Resin. Follow these directions to get your servlets running on the Web:

Class file placement and URLs: To get a URL of the form: mydomain.com/servlet/classname put your classes in: /home/domainID/public-html/WEB-INF/classes To do this you have to create the classes folder yourself. If you are unable to create the classes folder contact Lunarpages support and they will have someone enable the relevant permissions. Although you can use Microsoft FrontPage to create your Web site, Lunarpages recommends using their Web-based file manager program or an FTP program to upload servlet-related files. Writing files on the server: To write a file from a servlet you need to specify the path to your file area. Here is how to specify the path to "my_file.txt" in the "WEB-INF" folder: fileWriter = new FileWriter(getServletContext().getRealPath("/") + File.separator + "WEB-INF" + File.separator + "my_file.txt"); Saving your folders from being deleted: If you leave an empty folder within: /home/domainID/public-html/WEB-INF/ it seems to get deleted. Placing a file within a folder, even a dummy index.html file, prevents this.

JSP Introduction

In this JSP tutorial, you will learn about JSP, usage of JSP, process of development, independency of layers and simplification of process. JSP or Java Server Pages, was developed by Sun Microsystems. JSP technology is objectoriented programming language and is based on Java language. In this section you will learn about JSP and some its important features. Usage of JSP: JSP is widely used for developing dynamic web sites. JSP is used for creating database driven web applications because it provides superior server side scripting support. Some of the reasons for the popularity of JSP are Simplifies the process of development: It allows programmers to insert the Java code directly into the JSP file, making the development process easier. Although JSP files are HTML files, they use special tags containing the Java source code which provides a dynamic ability. Portability: The Java feature of write once, run anywhere is applicable to JSP. JSP is platform independent, making it portable across any platform and therefore, mulit-platform. It is possible for the programmer to take a JSP file and move it to another platform, JSP Servlet engine or web server. Because of Efficiency : As soon as the request is received, the JSP pages gets loaded into the web servers memory. The following transactions are then carried out within a minimal time period, handling JSP pages with efficiency. Reusability: JSP allow component reuse by using JavaBeans and EJBs. Robust: JSP offers a robust platform for web development Independency of Layers:

There is a clear separation between presentation and implementation layers. The HTML on the web browser of the client is displayed as a presentation layer. The JSP on the server is displayed in the implementation layer. Programmers who want to work with HTML can work independently without the work of the Java developers, working in the implementation layer, being affected. Java Server Pages, or JSP, is the way to separate the look of the web page from the corresponding content. Integration of JSP with Other source like JDBC, Servlet and so on: The combination of JDBC and JSP works very well. JSP is used for generating dynamic web pages. It is essential that data in these systems be maintained efficiently and securely. The programmer must have a good database and database connectivity. This is achieved by JDBC through its excellent database connectivity in heterogeneous database system. This database system is used for the integration of heterogeneous database management systems presenting a single query interface system. Simplification of Process: The JSP language has a simple development and maintenance process. A JSP file that has the extension .jsp is converted into a servlet .java which is dynamically compiled, loaded and executed. Only when there is a change in a JSP file, the Conversion, compilation, and loading process is then performed. Comparision with servlets: A Servlet is a Java class that is used to handle server side service. Though it is possible to write HTML code in servlet, it would require a great deal of statements for a programmer to achieve the same results as JSP. JSP handles HTML easily and converts to Servlets, enabling the functionality and features of servlet in addition to its own special features. Technically speaking, the source code of JSP runs in the JSP Servlet Engine on the web server. This JSP Servlet engine generates the HTML dynamically, displaying the output directly to the web browser of the client.