Java 6, Apache Tomcat 6.
I greet new releases of software that we teach with a joy that the software is moving forward, but with an element of trepidation - "what's changed" I wonder. Although programming languages rarely change in that they render the old code incompatible, thre are often changes in default configuration files over and above any additions to the product.
Java 6 and Tomcat 6 are with us (well - at Beta release at least for Tomcat). Did I rush out and change all my courses? No people don't upgrade their servers with anything like any haste, and a course based on a product that is in advance of what there employer is running isn't doing them any favours in the short term.
So this week's course ran with Java 5 and Tomcat 5.5. But with one eye to the future. On one of the systems we were using for practicals, we downloaded the very VERY latest Betas that were available (thank goodness for our high internet-to-trainee speeds!) and installed them; had they blown up in our face, very little would have been lost but - as is usual - a few things are in different places, some of the sample / default config files have been changed but basically it's all much the same. And that means that the delagates leave knowing primarily about their current system, but also a little of where things are headed.
Apache Tomcat's main configuration files have been, and remain in the
conf subdirectory:
server.xml - the main file that configures the server, the service, the engine and the host (each via nested XML tags) and also the connectors. By default, shutdown, htttp and ajp connectors are swithed on, with comment samples for https and http proxy.
web.xml - the initially loaded file that's used for URL, MIME type mappings, and other web settings such as home page location (known as "welcome page") and session timeouts. This file is suplemented by settings in each web application's own web.xml
tomcat-users.xml - a file that defines realms and roles for users. We set it up on our courses to allow the manager application to be used to stop, start and deploy appications although we point the trainee at database and ldap alternatives too. The biggest change in the config files at release 6 is here, as the sample users provided in prior versions are no longer present.
(written 2007-01-21)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
J606 - Java Roadmap - Beyond the Fundamentals [1562] Java Compiler - needs all classes, compiles them all too - (2008-03-03)
[1910] Java - Generics - (2008-11-27)
[2036] Java Tag Libraries / how they work / Tomcat Deployment - (2009-02-11)
[3043] Gathering information - logging - with log4j. First steps. - (2010-11-12)
[4305] Learning to program in Java - yes, we can help. - (2014-09-26)
J601 - Java Introduction [25] Release numbers - (2004-08-23)
[111] Training notes available under Open Distribution license - (2004-11-07)
[124] PHP v Java - (2004-11-20)
[317] Programming languages - a comparison - (2005-05-20)
[792] Is Java the right language to learn? - (2006-07-04)
[871] Java oversold? - (2006-09-19)
[1158] Private Java Course - A customer's pictures - (2007-04-22)
[1418] A Golf Club Decision - Perl to Java - (2007-11-01)
[1466] Effective Java training - the bootcamp approach - (2007-12-09)
[1497] Training Season Starts again! - (2008-01-07)
[1557] Trying out our Java examples on our web site - (2008-02-27)
[1766] Diagrams to show you how - Tomcat, Java, PHP - (2008-08-22)
[1908] Java CLASSPATH explained - (2008-11-26)
[2115] Finding your java program - the CLASSPATH variable - (2009-04-02)
[2423] What is a JVM, a JRE, a JDK - components of the core Java Environment - (2009-09-26)
[2536] All the Cs ... and Java too - (2009-12-13)
[4332] First Java Application - calculating the weight of a tablecloth - (2014-11-29)
A652 - Web Application Deployment - Tomcat -Sourcing, Installing and Initial Testing [837] Tomcat - Shutdown port - (2006-08-18)
[1550] Java (JSP and Servlet examples) live on our server - (2008-02-23)
[2088] Changing the 404 - file not found - page in Tomcat - (2009-03-18)
[3819] Packing a tar, jar or war file - best practise - (2012-07-26)
Some other Articles
Sorting people by name in PHPLearning to write secure, maintainable PHPToo busy to blog it - but it's great (mostly)The HTML++ MetalanguageJava 6, Apache Tomcat 6.Getting rid of people - hotel techniquesMaintainable code - some positive adviceBounce, bounce, bounceBang! Train campaign hits homeCall for appropriate train services - Swindon, Bristol, Bath, West Wilts, Severn Beach etc