RE: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Dan Thurman]

> From: Andrew Overholt [mailto:[e-mail]]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 10:29 AM
> To: Daniel B. Thurman
> Cc: Gary Benson; Fedora Java Development List (E-mail)
> Subject: RE: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?
>
>
> On Tue, 2005-12-20 at 09:48 -0800, Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
> > >From: fedora-devel-java-list-bounces(a)redhat.com
> > >[mailto:[e-mail]]On Behalf Of Gary
> > >Benson
> > >Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 9:12 AM
> > >To: Fedora Java Development List (E-mail)
> > >Subject: Re: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?
> > >
> > >
> > >Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
> > >> Hi Folks,
> > >> 
> > >> I finally am ready to test by application on Fedora using Eclipse
> > >> and I am at the point where I am trying to run my web-application
> > >> using Tomcat.
> > >> 
> > >> Of course, the Tomcat dialog box pops up and asks where the
> > >> Tomcat installation directory is.... ugh....  I have NO CLUE!
> > >> 
> > >> On windows, Tomcat is installed by Eclipse so I dont have to
> > >> figure this out....  but on Fedora, seems like I do.
> > >> 
> > >> Can someone tell me what to do?
> > >
> > >Well, I don't know what dialog box this is, but on Fedora the Tomcat
> > >installation directory (CATALINA_HOME) is /usr/share/tomcat5/.
> > >
> > >Cheers,
> > >Gary
> > >
> > 
> > Hmmm.. ok, so I have that - but this did not help.
> > 
> > The specific dialog box appears when you attempt to run the
> > web-application project (RunAs->Run on Server) and you
> > are then to choose the application server (tomcat 4,5,5.5)
> > and provide the tomcat installation directory otherwise
> > you cannot run the application.  I entered the pathname of
> > /usr/share/tomcat5 and it does not allow me to continue.
> > I tried different tomcat versions (5.0, 5.5) and neither
> > worked.
> > 
> > So- I am stuck - and cannot even get my application to run
> > at this time.  Any ideas?
>
> Is it trying to launch tomcat itself?  That won't work as it's supposed
> to run as root (or the tomcat user or whatever). 
Tomcat is a java servlet application server and yet developers
using eclipse are doing development work so why should it be a
"root" requirement to run and/or start it? Sure beats me...

But in any case and from what I can tell, no matter what I enter into
the "Tomcat installation directory" textbox, the eclipse program
keeps saying that the directory provided is not a valid tomcat installation
directory and will not allow me to continue.  I have used eclipse on windows
for awhile and tomcat (or other server) selections runs fine - "root" or not
and it even "installs" the server (along with Sun's version of their app
server
w/ DB support) which makes it pleasant for developers so why not follow the same
pathway for linux-based developers? Why force configuration make us jump through
hoops when all "we" care about is to develop applications? I *should* be able
to
choose *any* AS with Eclipse under Linux?

Anyone care to jump in and tell me how to get tomcat started under
Eclipse's control?

Dan

> Andrew
>
>
> -- 
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.1/207 - Release 
> Date: 12/19/2005
>  
>  
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No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.1/207 - Release Date: 12/19/2005

Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Fernando Lozano]

Hi Daniel,

First, you need to tell the list which plug-in you are using to run web 
apps inside Tomcat. The Eclipse SDK per se does not provide this 
capability, so you do have something else besides Eclipse and Tomcat. 
This plug-in may have specific requirements regarding yout Tomcat 
installation that may not be met by Fedora Tomcat installation, and this 
would be the plug-in fault as Fedora Tomcat works out-of-the-box and the 
Eclipse help system, which is based on Tomcat, also works fine.

About the requirement of running under root (or the tomcat user) it s a 
common requirement with server software under Linux. Running Tomcat 
using the default configuration provided by Fedora Core may need write 
access to some directories witch are owned by a system user, so you 
cannot start it using your regular user account, the same way you cannot 
start apache, sendmail or samba using your regular user accoint. Maybe 
to satisfy your plug-in needs you'll need to provide a different Tomcat 
installation under your home dir.

The standard Tomcat installation does not comply with Linux best 
practices of isolating read-only directoryes (like program executables 
and libraries) from read-write directories (like logs and config files) 
and so Fedora Tomcat uses a different file system layout. Your plug-in 
may not be able to accept /usr/share/tomcat5 as a Tomcat installation 
directory because not all Tomcat files are there.

[]s, Fernando Lozano


> >>>>Of course, the Tomcat dialog box pops up and asks
> where the
> >>>>Tomcat installation directory is.... ugh....  I have NO CLUE!
> >>>>
> >>>>On windows, Tomcat is installed by Eclipse so I dont have to
> >>>>figure this out....  but on Fedora, seems like I do.
> >>>>
> >>>>Can someone tell me what to do?
> >>>>          
> >>>>
> >>>Well, I don't know what dialog box this is, but on Fedora the Tomcat
> >>>installation directory (CATALINA_HOME) is /usr/share/tomcat5/.
> >>>
> >>>Cheers,
> >>>Gary
> >>>        
> >>>
> >>Hmmm.. ok, so I have that - but this did not help.
> >>
> >>The specific dialog box appears when you attempt to run the
> >>web-application project (RunAs->Run on Server) and you
> >>are then to choose the application server (tomcat 4,5,5.5)
> >>and provide the tomcat installation directory otherwise
> >>you cannot run the application.  I entered the pathname of
> >>/usr/share/tomcat5 and it does not allow me to continue.
> >>I tried different tomcat versions (5.0, 5.5) and neither
> >>worked.
> >>
> >>So- I am stuck - and cannot even get my application to run
> >>at this time.  Any ideas?
> >>      
> >>
> >Is it trying to launch tomcat itself?  That won't work as it's supposed
> >to run as root (or the tomcat user or whatever).
> >    
> >
>
> Tomcat is a java servlet application server and yet developers
> using eclipse are doing development work so why should it be a
> "root" requirement to run and/or start it? Sure beats me...
>
> But in any case and from what I can tell, no matter what I enter into
> the "Tomcat installation directory" textbox, the eclipse program
> keeps saying that the directory provided is not a valid tomcat installation
> directory and will not allow me to continue.  I have used eclipse on windows
> for awhile and tomcat (or other server) selections runs fine - "root" or not
> and it even "installs" the server (along with Sun's version of their app
> server
> w/ DB support) which makes it pleasant for developers so why not follow the same
> pathway for linux-based developers? Why force configuration make us jump through
> hoops when all "we" care about is to develop applications? I *should* be able
> to
> choose *any* AS with Eclipse under Linux?
>
> Anyone care to jump in and tell me how to get tomcat started under
> Eclipse's control?
>
> Dan
>   
>

Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Robert Schuster]

Hi.
It is possible to run tomcat with your userid. All you need is a stripped down
version of the tomcat directory somewhere in your home dir where you have read &
write access.

Then you have to set up some environment variables:
CATALINA_HOME= your tomcat installation directory
CATALINA_BASE= a directory containing the conf, logs, temp, webapps and work
directory which you can find in CATALINA_HOME

You can copy it from there and adjust it to your needs.

I am sure the tomcat documentation can tell you more about this but at least you
now know how its meant to work.

cya
Robert

Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
> >From: Andrew Overholt [mailto:[e-mail]]
> >Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 10:29 AM
> >To: Daniel B. Thurman
> >Cc: Gary Benson; Fedora Java Development List (E-mail)
> >Subject: RE: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?
> >
> >
> >On Tue, 2005-12-20 at 09:48 -0800, Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
> >
> >>>From: fedora-devel-java-list-bounces(a)redhat.com
> >>>[mailto:[e-mail]]On Behalf Of Gary
> >>>Benson
> >>>Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 9:12 AM
> >>>To: Fedora Java Development List (E-mail)
> >>>Subject: Re: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>Hi Folks,
> >>>>
> >>>>I finally am ready to test by application on Fedora using Eclipse
> >>>>and I am at the point where I am trying to run my web-application
> >>>>using Tomcat.
> >>>>
> >>>>Of course, the Tomcat dialog box pops up and asks where the
> >>>>Tomcat installation directory is.... ugh....  I have NO CLUE!
> >>>>
> >>>>On windows, Tomcat is installed by Eclipse so I dont have to
> >>>>figure this out....  but on Fedora, seems like I do.
> >>>>
> >>>>Can someone tell me what to do?
> >>>
> >>>Well, I don't know what dialog box this is, but on Fedora the Tomcat
> >>>installation directory (CATALINA_HOME) is /usr/share/tomcat5/.
> >>>
> >>>Cheers,
> >>>Gary
> >>>
> >>
> >>Hmmm.. ok, so I have that - but this did not help.
> >>
> >>The specific dialog box appears when you attempt to run the
> >>web-application project (RunAs->Run on Server) and you
> >>are then to choose the application server (tomcat 4,5,5.5)
> >>and provide the tomcat installation directory otherwise
> >>you cannot run the application.  I entered the pathname of
> >>/usr/share/tomcat5 and it does not allow me to continue.
> >>I tried different tomcat versions (5.0, 5.5) and neither
> >>worked.
> >>
> >>So- I am stuck - and cannot even get my application to run
> >>at this time.  Any ideas?
> >
> >Is it trying to launch tomcat itself?  That won't work as it's supposed
> >to run as root (or the tomcat user or whatever).
>  
>  
>  Tomcat is a java servlet application server and yet developers
>  using eclipse are doing development work so why should it be a
>  "root" requirement to run and/or start it? Sure beats me...
>  
>  But in any case and from what I can tell, no matter what I enter into
>  the "Tomcat installation directory" textbox, the eclipse program
>  keeps saying that the directory provided is not a valid tomcat installation
>  directory and will not allow me to continue.  I have used eclipse on windows
>  for awhile and tomcat (or other server) selections runs fine - "root" or not
>  and it even "installs" the server (along with Sun's version of their app
> server
>  w/ DB support) which makes it pleasant for developers so why not follow the same
>  pathway for linux-based developers? Why force configuration make us jump through
>  hoops when all "we" care about is to develop applications? I *should* be able
> to
>  choose *any* AS with Eclipse under Linux?
>  
>  Anyone care to jump in and tell me how to get tomcat started under
>  Eclipse's control?
>  
>  Dan
>  
>  
> >Andrew
> >
> >
> >-- 
> >No virus found in this incoming message.
> >Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> >Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.1/207 - Release 
> >Date: 12/19/2005
> >
> >
>  
>

Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Kenneth Porter]

--On Wednesday, December 21, 2005 1:12 AM +0100 Robert Schuster 
<theBohemian(a)gmx.net&gt; wrote:

>  It is possible to run tomcat with your userid. All you need is a
> stripped
>  down version of the tomcat directory somewhere in your home dir where you
>  have read & write access. 
I'm tinkering with Open For Business (http://www.ofbiz.org/) and I've 
checked out the latest code from their Subversion repository. The startup 
script runs a local copy of tomcat (v4, I think) for testing. I haven't 
gotten it to work yet (I get "no host configured" when connecting to its 
port) but that does suggest that this is the normal way to debug servlets 
without being root.

Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Ryan McDougall]

On Tue, 2005-12-20 at 10:59 -0800, Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
>  >From: Andrew Overholt [mailto:[e-mail]]
>  >Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 10:29 AM
>  >To: Daniel B. Thurman
>  >Cc: Gary Benson; Fedora Java Development List (E-mail)
>  >Subject: RE: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?
>  >
>  >
>  >On Tue, 2005-12-20 at 09:48 -0800, Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
>  >> >From: fedora-devel-java-list-bounces(a)redhat.com
>  >> >[mailto:[e-mail]]On Behalf Of Gary
>  >> >Benson
>  >> >Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 9:12 AM
>  >> >To: Fedora Java Development List (E-mail)
>  >> >Subject: Re: [fedora-java] Eclipse and Tomcat - where?
>  >> >
>  >> >
>  >> >Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
>  >> >> Hi Folks,
>  >> >> 
>  >> >> I finally am ready to test by application on Fedora using Eclipse
>  >> >> and I am at the point where I am trying to run my web-application
>  >> >> using Tomcat.
>  >> >> 
>  >> >> Of course, the Tomcat dialog box pops up and asks where the
>  >> >> Tomcat installation directory is.... ugh....  I have NO CLUE!
>  >> >> 
>  >> >> On windows, Tomcat is installed by Eclipse so I dont have to
>  >> >> figure this out....  but on Fedora, seems like I do.
>  >> >> 
>  >> >> Can someone tell me what to do?
>  >> >
>  >> >Well, I don't know what dialog box this is, but on Fedora the Tomcat
>  >> >installation directory (CATALINA_HOME) is /usr/share/tomcat5/.
>  >> >
>  >> >Cheers,
>  >> >Gary
>  >> >
>  >> 
>  >> Hmmm.. ok, so I have that - but this did not help.
>  >> 
>  >> The specific dialog box appears when you attempt to run the
>  >> web-application project (RunAs->Run on Server) and you
>  >> are then to choose the application server (tomcat 4,5,5.5)
>  >> and provide the tomcat installation directory otherwise
>  >> you cannot run the application.  I entered the pathname of
>  >> /usr/share/tomcat5 and it does not allow me to continue.
>  >> I tried different tomcat versions (5.0, 5.5) and neither
>  >> worked.
>  >> 
>  >> So- I am stuck - and cannot even get my application to run
>  >> at this time.  Any ideas?
>  >
>  >Is it trying to launch tomcat itself?  That won't work as it's supposed
>  >to run as root (or the tomcat user or whatever).
>  
>  Tomcat is a java servlet application server and yet developers
>  using eclipse are doing development work so why should it be a
>  "root" requirement to run and/or start it? Sure beats me...
>  
>  But in any case and from what I can tell, no matter what I enter into
>  the "Tomcat installation directory" textbox, the eclipse program
>  keeps saying that the directory provided is not a valid tomcat installation
>  directory and will not allow me to continue.  I have used eclipse on windows
>  for awhile and tomcat (or other server) selections runs fine - "root" or not
>  and it even "installs" the server (along with Sun's version of their app
> server
>  w/ DB support) which makes it pleasant for developers so why not follow the same
>  pathway for linux-based developers? Why force configuration make us jump through
>  hoops when all "we" care about is to develop applications? I *should* be able
> to
>  choose *any* AS with Eclipse under Linux?
>  
>  Anyone care to jump in and tell me how to get tomcat started under
>  Eclipse's control?
>  
>  Dan
>  
>  >
>  >Andrew
>  > 
Perhaps you might be better off removing the fedora versions (which as
others have mentioned is setup according to how the fedora developers
think best) and compiling tomcat from scratch (thats how you install it
in windows right?) There are probably tonnes of good tutorials which are
variations on the theme of "unzip; configure
--prefix=/whereever/you/want && make && make install", which will set
up
tomcat according to the layout you expect on windows.

Personally, when Im developing tomcat on fedora, I only use eclipse for
source editing. I have one terminal open where I type: ant && ant
deploy, and when I need to restart (almost never) I can
type /sbin/service tomcat restart, which is a fedora standard way of
restarting servers. I have also used the tomcat5 manager app to deploy
at localhost:8080/manager, which is quite convenient.

Cheers,
Ryan

Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Adam Batkin]

Okay, here goes.

You CAN in fact run Tomcat under Eclipse, despite the fact that your 
default Tomcat installation may be set to run as root (and by default 
may require root privileges). This is because when Eclipse (and I assume 
you are also using the WTP/WST which is what actually provides the 
Tomcat integration) launches Tomcat with an alternate configuration 
file, it passes some extra command line options (setting catalina.base 
to your Tomcat installation directory, and setting catalina.home to a 
hidden Eclipse directory that it manages, and which contains an 
alternate configuration file). Without Eclipse, catalina.base and 
catalina.home usually point to the same place.

Anyway, those details aren't important, it just explains to everyone 
else how in the world Eclipse manages to launch Tomcat without root 
privileges (because they seemed to doubt it was possible).

So here's some guidance on fixing your problem (invalid tomcat 
installation directory).

See: http://www.eclipsezone.com/eclipse/forums/t33013.html

The basic summary is that Eclipse is looking for certain files inside 
your tomcat directory:
common/lib/servlet-api.jar
common/lib/naming-common.jar
bin/bootstrap.jar
conf
webapps

But at least one of those files doesn't exist because it is named 
something different (the article suggests servlet-api.jar is named 
"[servletapi5].jar", and from what I can remember with the same problem 
a few months ago on Fedora, I agree). The simple solution is to create a 
properly named symbolic link to that file, then you should be set.

Good luck!

-Adam Batkin


>  Tomcat is a java servlet application server and yet developers
>  using eclipse are doing development work so why should it be a
>  "root" requirement to run and/or start it? Sure beats me...
>  
>  But in any case and from what I can tell, no matter what I enter into
>  the "Tomcat installation directory" textbox, the eclipse program
>  keeps saying that the directory provided is not a valid tomcat installation
>  directory and will not allow me to continue.  I have used eclipse on windows
>  for awhile and tomcat (or other server) selections runs fine - "root" or not
>  and it even "installs" the server (along with Sun's version of their app
> server
>  w/ DB support) which makes it pleasant for developers so why not follow the same
>  pathway for linux-based developers? Why force configuration make us jump through
>  hoops when all "we" care about is to develop applications? I *should* be able
> to
>  choose *any* AS with Eclipse under Linux?
>  
>  Anyone care to jump in and tell me how to get tomcat started under
>  Eclipse's control?

Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[David Walluck]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Adam Batkin wrote:

>  But at least one of those files doesn't exist because it is
> named
>  something different (the article suggests servlet-api.jar is named
>  "[servletapi5].jar", and from what I can remember with the same problem
>  a few months ago on Fedora, I agree). The simple solution is to create a
>  properly named symbolic link to that file, then you should be set. 
There can be plenty of jars named using brackets (due to how
build-jar-repository works). The better solution is that FC apply a
patch to have it not check for any jars. Actually, given that both
eclipse and tomcat are managed by rpm, it doesn't need to check for
anything.

- --
Sincerely,

David Walluck
<david(a)zarb.org&gt;
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Eclipse and Tomcat - where?

[Gary Benson]

Daniel B. Thurman wrote:
>  Why force configuration make us jump through hoops when all
> "we"
>  care about is to develop applications? I *should* be able to choose
>  *any* AS with Eclipse under Linux? 
It's not a question of forcing you to do anything.  Most likely the
problem is that noboby has tried to do whatever you are trying to do
before, so the issues you have have not had their wrinkles ironed out.

Cheers,
Gary