Servlet and jsp development with eclipse wtp

Servlet and JSP development with Eclipse
WTP - Tutorial
Lars Vogel
Version 2.1
Copyright © 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Lars Vogel
15.11.2012
Revision History
Revision 0.1 - 2.1 12.12.2007 - 15.11.2012 Lars
Vogel
bug fixing and improvem
Eclipse Web Tool Platform (WTP)
This tutorial describes the development of servlets and JSPs with Eclipse WTP. This
tutorial is based on Eclipse 3.7 (Indigo) and Tomcat 6.0 and JDK 1.6.
Table of Contents
1. Eclipse Web Tool Platform
2. Tomcat Installation
3. Installation of WTP
4. WTP Configuration
4.1. Setting up runtime environments
4.2. Server
5. Servlets
5.1. Project
5.2. Creating Data Access Object
5.3. Creating the Servlet
5.4. Run
6. JavaServer Pages (JSPs)
6.1. Create Project

6.2. Create the JSP
6.3. Run it
6.4. Adjust web.xml
7. JSP's and Servlets
7.1. Create Project
7.2. Create the Controller (servlet)
7.3. Create the Views (JSP)
7.4. Run it
8. Web Archive - How to create a war file from Eclipse
9. Additional Eclipse WTP resources
10. Support this website
10.1. Thank you
10.2. Questions and Discussion
11. Links and Literature
11.1. Source Code
11.2. Web development resources
11.3. vogella Resources
1. Eclipse Web Tool Platform
Eclipse WTP provides tools for developing standard Java web applications and Java EE
applications. Typical web artifacts in a Java environment are HTML pages, XML files,
webservices, servlets and JSPs. Eclipse WTP simplifies the creation these web artifacts
and provides runtime environments in which these artifacts can be deployed, started
and debugged.
In Eclipse WTP you create Dynamic Web Projects. These projects provide the
necessary functionality to run, debug and deploy Java web applications. If you are
completely new to Java web development, you may want to read Introduction to Java
Web development tutorial.
Eclipse WTP supports all major web containers, e.g., Jetty and Apache Tomcat as well
as the mayor Java EE application server. This tutorial uses Apache Tomcat as a web
container.
2. Tomcat Installation
Apache Tomcat Tutorial for instructions how to install Apache Tomcat.
After the installation, test if Tomcat is correctly installed by opening a browser
to http://localhost:8080/. This should open an information page of Tomcat.
Afterwards, stop Tomcat. Eclipse WTP needs to start Tomcat itself for its deployments.
3. Installation of WTP
In case you have downloaded an Eclipse version for Java development, you can update
it via the Eclipse Update Manager. Install all packages from the category "Web, XML,

Java EE Development and OSGi Enterprise Development" except "PHP Development"
and the "RAP" Tooling.
For an introduction in the Eclipse IDE please see the Eclipse IDE Tutorial.
4. WTP Configuration
4.1. Setting up runtime environments
To configure Eclipse WTP, select from the
menu Window → Preferences → Server → Runtime Environments. Press
the Add button.
Select your version of Tomcat.

To compile the JSP into servlets, you need to use the JDK. You can check your setup
by clicking on the Installed JRE button.

Press Finish and then OK. You are now ready to use Tomcat with WTP.
4.2. Server
During development, you will create your server. You can manage your server via
the Server view.

You can stop and start the server via the Window → Show View → Servers → Servers
menu menu.
5. Servlets
5.1. Project

We will create a servlet which works as a webpage counter. This servlet keeps track of
the number of visitors of a webpage. The servlet will persist the number of visitors in a
text file. Create a new Dynamic Web Project called de.vogella.wtp.filecounter by
selecting File → New → Other... → Web → Dynamic Web Project.

Press finished. If Eclipse asks you, to switch to the Java EE Perspective answer yes.
A new project has been created with the standard structure of a Java web application.
The WEB-INF/lib directory holds all the JAR files that the Java web application
requires.
5.2. Creating Data Access Object
Create a new package called de.vogella.wtp.filecounter.dao.
Create the Java class which will provide the number of visitors and write this value to a
file.

package de.vogella.wtp.filecounter.dao;
import java.io.BufferedReader;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileReader;
import java.io.FileWriter;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
public class FileDao {
public int getCount() {
int count = 0;
// Load the file with the counter
FileReader fileReader = null;
BufferedReader bufferedReader = null;
PrintWriter writer = null ;
try {
File f = new File("FileCounter.initial");
if (!f.exists()) {
f.createNewFile();
writer = new PrintWriter(new FileWriter(f));
writer.println(0);
}
if (writer !=null){
writer.close();
}
fileReader = new FileReader(f);
bufferedReader = new BufferedReader(fileReader);
String initial = bufferedReader.readLine();
count = Integer.parseInt(initial);
} catch (Exception ex) {
if (writer !=null){
writer.close();

}
}
if (bufferedReader != null) {
try {
bufferedReader.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
return count;
}
public void save(int count) throws Exception {
FileWriter fileWriter = null;
PrintWriter printWriter = null;
fileWriter = new FileWriter("FileCounter.initial");
printWriter = new PrintWriter(fileWriter);
printWriter.println(count);
// make sure to close the file
if (printWriter != null) {
printWriter.close();
}
}
}
Tip
This Java class is not a servlet, it is a normal Java class.
5.3. Creating the Servlet
Create a servlet. Right-click on the folder Webcontent and select New → Other.
Select Web → Servlet. Enter the following data.

Press finish.
You could also create a servlet without the wizard. The wizard creates a Java class
which extends thejavax.servlet.http.HttpServlet and adds the servlet settings to
the web.xml file.
Enter the following code.
package de.vogella.wtp.filecounter.servlets;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpSession;
import de.vogella.wtp.filecounter.dao.FileDao;
/**
* Servlet implementation class FileCounter
*/
public class FileCounter extends HttpServlet {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
int count;
private FileDao dao;
public void init() throws ServletException {
dao = new FileDao();
try {
count = dao.getCount();
} catch (Exception e) {
getServletContext().log("An exception occurred in
FileCounter", e);
throw new ServletException("An exception occurred in
FileCounter"
+ e.getMessage());
}
}
protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request,
HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException,
IOException {
// Set a cookie for the user, so that the counter does not
increate
// every time the user press refresh
HttpSession session = request.getSession(true);
// Set the session valid for 5 secs
session.setMaxInactiveInterval(5);
response.setContentType("text/plain");

PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();
if (session.isNew()) {
count++;
}
out.println("This site has been accessed " + count + " times.");
}
public void destroy() {
super.destroy();
try {
dao.save(count);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
This code will read the counter from a file on the server and return plain text to the
browser. The servlet will increase the counter if the user was inactive for 5 seconds.
5.4. Run
Select your servlet, right-click on it and select Run As → Run on Server.
Select your server and include your servlet so that is runs on the server.

Servlet and jsp development with eclipse wtp

Press Finish. You should see the Eclipse internal web browser displaying the count
number to you. If you wait 5 seconds and refresh, the number should increase.
Congratulations. You created your first working servlet with Eclipse WTP!
6. JavaServer Pages (JSPs)
6.1. Create Project

The following will demonstrate the creation and usage of a JaveServer Page. Create a
new Dynamic Web Project calledde.vogella.wtp.jspsimple and a package with the same
name.
6.2. Create the JSP
Select the folder "WebContent", right-click New → JSP. and create the JSP "FirstJSP".
Select the "New JSP File (html)" template.
Create the following coding.
<%@ page language="java" contentType="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
pageEncoding="ISO-8859-1"%>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-
8859-1">
<title>JSP with the current date</title>
</head>
<body>
<%java.text.DateFormat df = new
java.text.SimpleDateFormat("dd/MM/yyyy"); %>
<h1>Current Date: <%= df.format(new java.util.Date()) %> </h1>
</body>
</html>
6.3. Run it
Start your webapplication. You find your JSP under the
URL http://localhost:8080/de.vogella.wtp.jspsimple/FirstJSP.jsp.
6.4. Adjust web.xml
Set the JSP page as the welcome page for your application to have it automatically
opened if the application is started. Modify theWebContent/WEB-INF/web.xml file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee"
xmlns:web="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee
http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd" id="WebApp_ID"
version="2.5">
<display-name>de.vogella.wtp.jspsimple</display-name>
<welcome-file-list>
<welcome-file>FirstJSP.jsp</welcome-file>

</welcome-file-list>
</web-app>
This allows to start the JSP via the
URL http://localhost:8080/de.vogella.wtp.jspsimple.
7. JSP's and Servlets
7.1. Create Project
This example will demonstrate the usage of JSPs for the display and a servlet as the
controller for a web application. The servlet will dispatch the request to the correct JSP.
Create the Dynamic Web Project "de.vogella.wtp.jsp" and the package
"de.vogella.wtp.jsp"
7.2. Create the Controller (servlet)
Create a new servlet called Controller in the de.vogella.wtp.jsp.controller package.
package de.vogella.wtp.jsp.controller;
import java.util.Map;
import javax.servlet.RequestDispatcher;
import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
/**
* Servlet implementation class Controller
*/
public class Controller extends HttpServlet {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
private static String DELETE_JSP = "/Delete.jsp";
private static String EDIT_JSP = "/Edit.jsp";

private static String SHOWALL_JSP = "/ShowAll.jsp";
protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request,
HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
String forward="";
// Get a map of the request parameters
@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
Map parameters = request.getParameterMap();
if (parameters.containsKey("delete")){
forward = DELETE_JSP;
} else if (parameters.containsKey("edit")){
forward = EDIT_JSP;
} else {
forward = SHOWALL_JSP;
}
RequestDispatcher view = request.getRequestDispatcher(forward);
view.forward(request, response);
}
}
This controller checks which parameters are passed to the servlet and then forward the
request to the correct JSP.
7.3. Create the Views (JSP)
In the folder "WebContent" create the new JSP "ShowAll" with the following code.
<html>
<head>
8859-1">
<title>Show all names</title>

</head>
<body>
<form method="GET" action='Controller' name="showall">
<table>
<tr>
<td><input type="checkbox" name="id1" /></td>
<td>Jim</td>
<td>Knopf</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><input type="checkbox" name="id2" /></td>
<td>Jim</td>
<td>Bean</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><input type="submit" name="delete" value="delete" /> 
<input type="submit" name="edit" value="edit" /> 
<input type="reset"
value="reset" /></p>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Create the Delete.jsp JSP.

<html>
<head>
8859-1">
<title>Insert title here</title>
</head>
<body>
Delete successful
<form method="GET" action='Controller' name="delete_success"><input
type="submit" value="back"></form>
</body>
</html>
Create the JSP Edit.jsp.
<html>
<head>
8859-1">
<title>Insert title here</title>
</head>
<body>
<form method="GET" action='Controller' name="edit">
<table>
<tr>
<td>First name:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="firstName"></td>
</tr>
<tr>

<td>Last name:</td>
<td><input type="text" name="lastName"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><input type="submit" value="save"> <input
type="reset" value="reset"> <input type="submit" value="back">
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
</body>
</html>
7.4. Run it
Run your new application by running ShowAll.jsp on the server. You should be able
to navigate between the pages.
8. Web Archive - How to create a war file
from Eclipse
´The following describes how to create a Web Archive (WAR) from Eclipse.
Right-click on the project and select Export.

Specify the target directory and press Finish.

You can now import the WAR file to your production Tomcat system and test the web
application.
9. Additional Eclipse WTP resources
The development of webservices with Eclipse WTP is covered in Webservices with
Axis2 and the Eclipse Web Tool Platform (WTP) - Tutorial.
The development of JavaServerFaces is covered in JavaServer Faces (JSF)
development with Eclipse WTP JSF - Tutorialand JSF with Apache Myfaces
Trinidad and Eclipse.
10. Support this website
This tutorial is Open Content under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 DE license. Source code in
this tutorial is distributed under the Eclipse Public License. See the vogella
License page for details on the terms of reuse.

Writing and updating these tutorials is a lot of work. If this free community service was
helpful, you can support the cause by giving a tip as well as reporting typos and factual
errors.
10.1. Thank you
Please consider a contribution if this article helped you.
10.2. Questions and Discussion
If you find errors in this tutorial, please notify me (see the top of the page). Please note
that due to the high volume of feedback I receive, I cannot answer questions to your
implementation. Ensure you have read the vogella FAQ as I don't respond to questions
already answered there.
11. Links and Literature
11.1. Source Code
Source Code of Examples
11.2. Web development resources
Introduction into Java Web development
11.3. vogella Resources
vogella Training Android and Eclipse Training from the vogella team
Android Tutorial Introduction to Android Programming
GWT Tutorial Program in Java, compile to JavaScript and HTML
Eclipse RCP Tutorial Create native applications in Java
JUnit Tutorial Test your application
Git Tutorial Put all your files in a distributed version control system

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