I agree as well. There is a lot of documentation out there. Is it always in the form that I find most easily digestable? Probably not. Do I have to rely on examples, the source code, and some judicious tinkering? Probably.
However, complaining about it and asking generic questions like "URGENT - WHY DOESN'T THIS WORK?" doesn't get the questions answered. Here are the assumptions I work under. Be aware that they are assumptions . . . . 1. Tomcat is a reasonably complex piece of software. 2. Members of the list have varying levels of expertise. 3. Members of the list contribute time and energy without material compensation. So, when I run into a problem with (pick your favorite Apache technology), there is a systematic way I go about things. 0. Read the documentation. 1. Start with "baby" steps. This means find an Apache example that is similar to what I'm doing, and attempt to understand it one step at a time. 2. Change one thing at a time. 3. When stuck, reproduce the problem with the smallest amount of extra 'code'. 4. Search the archives for problems similar to mine. Remember that people will often arrive at the same problem from different directions, so search accordingly. 5. Ask a succinct (not like this message!) question of the mailing list. As a courtesy, as you have been helped, so shall you help. If you're fairly new to this stuff like myself (at least in any real depth), then keep your answers simple, and base it on your direct experience. Finally, if the document is really insufficient write your own based on your own experience. If people find it helpful, return the document to the Jakarta project. That way we all benefit. New people get up to speed faster, the mailing list does not get [as many] repeat questions, and we all get to attack more complex problems with Tomcat. /mde/ just my two cents . . . . PS - Yes, this is freely available software, and there is not necessarily a staff of engineers to help you understand it. This means you must do more of the work yourself in understanding the system. I happen to think that this is a benefit, since you now have knowledge of the principles behind JSP / Servlets, and their containers. This knowledge of the principles can be leveraged in understanding other web application environments. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
