> >> Correct, that's why it's not advisable to put it there.
> $CATALINA_HOME/lib
> >> is there just because sometimes you want to have libraries accessible
> by
> >> all your web applications WITHOUT putting them in
> $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext.
> >
> > Yes, there are lots of things that are not advisable. I'm just saying
> that
> > having a way to extend the places where I look for jar files for a web-
> app
> > is no worse than existence of the $CATALINA_HOME/lib.
>
> I tend to disagree with you. If you consider the fact that everything
> under
> $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext is considered "trusted" code by the VM when you
> install a SecurityManager, while code in $CATALINA_HOME/lib is not.
>
> $CATALINA_HOME/lib is there for a reason...
I'm not suggesting putting stuff in the ext directory. I'm suggesting adding
stuff to the classpath for a single web application and treat it as if it
were in the WEB-INF/lib directory.
> >> Yes, but at this point I don't quite get WHY you have to have a JAR
> file
> >> specifically tied to a single Web Application in a directory != from
> your
> >> WEB-INF/lib... It there a solid explanation on why you need this
> behavior?
> >>
> > We have a set of jar files used by several programs which are not web
> > applications. We have a single web app which uses some of the jar files.
> It
> > does not make sense for the programs that are not web applications to
> use
> > jar files in the WEB-INF/lib directory nor does it make sense for the
> web
> > application to use files outside that directory. So when we build a
> > production release we make sure we have copies of the jar files in the
> right
> > places. However, in development when I make a change to a source file
> there
> > is much less pain involved if I don't have to make sure to copy the
> > resulting change to the jar file into all of the places it is needed. It
> is
> > simply easier to point the applications that need it to the central
> > location. Please don't answer that I should have the build script make
> extra
> > copies of the jar files (which will cause configuration management
> issues)
> > and please don't answer that the central location be the WEB-INF/lib
> > directory because most of our developers don't see that directory. I
> simply
> > want to know if it is possible to extend the library path for a web
> > application. At this point, I'm sure the answer is no.
>
> Well, the answer IS of course "no"... :) If you imply such a configuration
> mechanism (like specify a "classpath" for every web-application) there
> might
Thanks.
> be issues from when you move stuff around (like, from your classpath, to
> WEB-INF/lib), especially in terms of security and class loading issues.
> I believe that it can be easily solved by putting down some symlinks in
> your
> WEB-INF/lib, so that when you jar up the final "release" you don't even
> care
> what you need to copy over or not...
>
> Pier
We're using Windows (yes too bad for us) so symlinks are out. I'll probably
just add a build target to make copies of the required jar files in the
WEB-INF\lib directory.
Dave Holscher
