Place for class files : install_dir/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes or install_dir/shared/classes

[akaash singh]

Hello ,

I have just started learning servlet and jsp . I am using tomcat version 5.5.31 , jdk 1.6 and vista . I configured tomcat according to the tutorial on http://www.coreservlets.com/Apache-Tomcat-Tutorial/tomcat-5.5.html.

After compiling a very basic servlet example I placed the class file in install_dir/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes as prescribed in the tutorial.
But the servlet did not run.
After that i placed it in install_dir/shared/classes and it ran .

But surprisingly when I ran other servlet examples they did not run from install_dir/shared/classes but from install_dir/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes. And i am totally confused . I had followed every step carefully . Please explain this result. Why did i have to change directory after the first servlet execution ?

Thanks and Regards
Akash Singh

[Bear Bibeault]

WEB-INF/classes is the correct location for you class files. There's no need to put them anywhere else.

Be sure that your servlet is in a package other then the default, and make sure that the folder hierarchy under WEB-INF/lib reflects that package structure.

[akaash singh]

Hello Bear

It was just a dummy servlet to check whether everything's configured right . I compiled it in a different directory and just placed the .class file in install_dir/webapps/ROOT/WEB-INF/classes. There were no packages involved .

[Bear Bibeault]

"And that" as Yoda says, "is why you fail."