Problems with Spring - how can i load .js .css or even .jpg files ?

[kokos kokouin]

Hello all,

I'm new to spring but not new to MVC. I'm mostly a PHP developer working with Zend Framework. Spring seems a bit different to me that's why I need your help.

It seems that every time I try to call a file (.js/.css/.jpg etc.) located on a public folder under WEB-INF I get 404 error. I'm guessing spring is redirecting everything to the dispatcher. I checked my .xml config files and there's nothing there to that says to redirect everything other than the .html requests.

I'm I missing something here ?
Thanks

[Mark Spritzler]

Not Spring related really.

"a public folder under WEB-INF"

WEB-INF folder isn't "public" you can't just go access a file directly in that directory. That is not defined by Spring.

So what do you really mean when you say you are trying to access the file. Is it through a jsp page? Or are you trying a direct URL with something like "www.mysite.com/WEB-INF/mypicture.jpg". In the last case you can't do anywhere.

Mark

[kokos kokouin]

Hey Mark,

Well, I'm trying to access http://domain/js/file.js

the 'js' directory is under WEB-INF. There is also a 'jsp' directory there. I tried having the .js file under both 'jsp' and under 'WEB-INF'. I still cant call it though. I get a 404 page not found.

I tried with this structure:

WEB-INF
---> jsp
---> js/file.js


and with this one:

WEB-INF
---> jsp/js/file.js

Note that I tried all the possible combination. Even those that make no sense.
http://domain/js/file.js
http://domain/jsp/js/file.js
http://domain/file.js
// These make no sense but I tried them
http://domain/WEB-INF/js/file.js
http://domain/WEB-INF/jsp/js/file.js
http://domain/WEB-INF/file.js


Any ideas why? This happens only when I use Spring. I tried with no framework and everything is ok.

[Mark Spritzler]

Again, and I could be wrong. I am wrong all the time.

But I thought you put files in WEB-INF so that no one can access them directly. That those image files would be protected from someone trying to get them with something like...

http://domain/js/file.js
http://domain/jsp/js/file.js
http://domain/file.js
// These make no sense but I tried them
http://domain/WEB-INF/js/file.js
http://domain/WEB-INF/jsp/js/file.js
http://domain/WEB-INF/file.js

Mark

[kokos kokouin]

Hey Mark,

no..I want them to be accessible. It just happens to be that Spring does something so I cannot access them!

[Mark Spritzler]

Originally posted by kokos kokouin:


no..I want them to be accessible.

What I mean is that you can want whatever you want, but the Servlet spec is written that that directory is protected. That is why you put files in WEB-INF because they aren't accessible directly.

https://coderanch.com/t/357149/Servlets/java/WEB-INF-directory

The browser will never be able to access files in the WEB-INF directory directly, ever.

Mark
[ November 17, 2008: Message edited by: Mark Spritzler ]

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

The JSPs under WEB-INF aren't being accessed directly. If you think about it, you'll realize that must be so, since a JSP is Java code has to actually be compiled to a servlet before being executed. Your web app is just set up in such a way that files in WEB-INF/jsp are mapped to /*.jsp URLs. Mark is quite right here -- by definition, the container will not serve files directly from /WEB-INF.

Instead, make your js directory next to WEB-INF -- i.e.,


/ROOT
------js/
------images/
----- WEB-INF/
-------------jsp/

[kokos kokouin]

ok guys, that solved it. Thanks for your time and support!

[Yong Gong]

hey,man.how did you solve the problem.i get the same problem and moving the js files out of the WEB-INF file also makes no sense.