Specifying file location in web.xml

[Michael Cleary]

Within my servlet I need to read a line of text from a .txt file. How do I specify the location of this file in the deployment descriptor? I've tried using an init-param with the value being the location of the file:
<init-param>
<param-name>Testfile</param-name>
<param-value>/mywebapp/file.txt</param-value>
</init-param>
When I run the servlet, the value of the param is "null".
I tried using "url-pattern" instead of value, but I get the same result.
Obviously, I'm very new to servlets... How can I specify the location in the web.xml file?
Thanks,
Mike

[Prakash Dwivedi]

Hi Michael
you can put that line of text in a property file, and add that property file to your classpath(also you can put that property file in your classes folder.
In case you want to keep it as a text file only(and not property file). You can use getResourceAsStream() method of servlet context(If that text file is located inside your web application).
Also can you provide the code where you are trying to retireve this init param.
[ January 26, 2004: Message edited by: Prakash Dwivedi ]

[Michael Cleary]

Thanks - I like the idea of using getResourceAsStream() myself. But, this is a small part of a class project, and the text has to be "maintained in a file whose location is to be specified as servlet initialization data within the deployment descriptor". Then I have to derive the text from the file and add it to one of the web pages associated w/ my servlet. If I can just somehow specify the absolute path in the web.xml file, I can pass the path to a FileReader, then use a BufferedReader to read in the whole line. Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike

[Vijay Rajaram]

Michel,
Your approach of using in init-param should be working, may be the code snippet which tries to get the initialisation parameter might need to be reviewed. So post that code. Mean while, you have a special provision for these kind of requirement in the web.xml. i.e you can use environmental entries in the web.xml. as given below

   <web-app>
      <servlet>
         <servlet-name>MyServlet</servlet-name>
         <servlet-class>com.myapp.servlets </servlet-class>
      </servlet>
      <env-entry>
         <env-entry-name>ConfigFile</env-entry-name>
         <env-entry-value>/MyDir/SomeFloder/Config.txt</env-entry-value>
         <env-entry-type>java.lang.String</env-entry-type>
      </env-entry> 
</web-app>

Then you can use this environment entry anywhere in your application as given below

InitialContext initialcontext = new InitialContext();
String ConfigFileLocation = (String) initialcontext.lookup("java:comp/env/ConfigFile");

Hope this would meet your requirement.
- VJ
[ January 26, 2004: Message edited by: Vijay Rajaram ]

[Frank Carver]

I think what you may be missing is that you need the full path to the file in the init parameter. Hardly any of the examples I've seen so far look like full paths.
On windows, I would expect to see something like c:\projects\java\mywebapp\file.txt
On Linux/Unix I would expect to see something like /usr/mcc/projects/java/mywebapp/file.txt
Obviously you need to substitute your actual directories, but the point is that the filename should start from the "root" of the filesystem.
Can you tell us where the file you want to read is located?

[Michael Cleary]

Thanks all! The full path is C:\tomcat4.1.29\webapps\myapp\testfile.txt
I had not tried the <env-entry> before, mainly because I wasn't aware of it...
I had been getting the parameters with the following code which is in my service method:
Enumeration parameters = m_config.getInitParameterNames();
while(parameters.hasMoreElements())
{
String param = (String) parameters.nextElement();
System.out.println("Parameter name: " + param);
System.out.println("Parameter value: " + config.getInitParameter(param));
}
I was only using the println statements so I could see some output in the console.
Thanks again!
Mike

[Bosun Bello]

I am reading a properties file via web.xml as follows:
web.xml entry:
<init-param>
<param-name>
passwordFile
</param-name>
<param-value>
C:\server directory...\WEB-INF\passwords.properties
</param-value>
</init-param>
my Init:
public void init(ServletConfig config)
throws ServletException {
super.init(config);
try {
passwordFile = config.getInitParameter("passwordFile");
passwords = new Properties();
passwords.load(new FileInputStream(passwordFile));
} catch(IOException ioe) {}
}

[Michael Cleary]

Thanks Bosun! I used something similar and it works great! Only, I did not retrieve the parameter in the init method, but in the service method. I did this because I wanted to be able to change the text in the text file "on the fly", w/o having to restart the server. If I remember correctly, the init method is only called once. Subsequent calls to the servlet do not call the init method again. Please correct me if I'm wrong...
Thanks again,
Mike

[Prakash Dwivedi]

You are right Michael that init method is called only once in the life cycle of a servlet. But what u r passing in init method is just the name of the text file and not the text itself. Also it appears that u dont have any plan to change the name of the file. So u can still change the text of the file and u dont have to restart the server.
u can retrieve init parameter from the service method as well.
Alternatively u can retrieve this parameter in init() method and save the values as an instance variable.

[Michael Cleary]

Dooh..... Of course, I didn't think about that - I have no need to change the name of the file (or it's location). As long as I read the file in the service method I can just grab the location in init.
Thanks!
Mike

[R. Shellbay]

If the file is located within your servlet context, u can use the following approach to achieve the full path
String resource = "smallpath/text.txt"
java.net.URL u = context.getResource(resource);
String fullpath = u.toString();