WebServiceContext.getUserPrincipal() Question

[Emil Jennings]

So I've seen a lot of talk regarding the example:

import javax.annotation.Resource;
import javax.jws.WebMethod;
import javax.jws.WebService;
import javax.xml.ws.WebServiceContext;

@WebService()
public class ListProducts {

  @Resource WebServiceContext context;

  @WebMethod(operationName = "listProducts")
  public String listProducts() {
    return context.getUserPrincipal().toString();
  }
}

And questions regarding what is returned by the service being null. The usual response is that the web.xml file has to be configured to handle security. My question is this: I don't care about security and authentication, is there a way I can have the service identify what client made the request? Specifically, I make a request to the server via a client and have the Web service determine the userID of the client. I'm trying to get the service to display something like "userID <userIdName> made a request to service <serviceName> from <IPAddress>." No authentication is needed, just information displayed from the service.

Thanks in advance.

[Ivan Krizsan]

Hi!
The IP address can be obtained from the HttpServletRequest, I believe. This will not be available if the web service is EJB-based.
Standard Java EE security will not supply the name of a user, but only that of the principal and the client needs to present credentials in order for the principal to be set.
There is, as far as I know, no mechanism in HTTP that enclose a user id with every request.
Best wishes!

[Emil Jennings]

Thanks Ivan, I made the changes (see below) based on your response and I'm now getting an IP address.

@WebService
public class MyService {

	@Resource
	WebServiceContext context;
	
	@WebMethod(operationName = "greetClient")
	@Logable(value = "SERVICE")
	public String greetClient(String userName) {
		String msg = null;
		MessageContext mc = context.getMessageContext();
		HttpServletRequest req = (HttpServletRequest)mc.get(MessageContext.SERVLET_REQUEST);
		StringBuilder stringBuilder = new StringBuilder();
		stringBuilder.append("Greetings ");
		stringBuilder.append(userName);
		stringBuilder.append("...\nClient IP: ");
		stringBuilder.append(req.getRemoteAddr());
		msg = stringBuilder.toString();
		return msg;
	}
}