lundi novembre 23, 2009 
lundi novembre 23, 2009 GlassFish Embedded Reloaded, an appserver in your pocket
It wasn't enough for GlassFish v3 to be broken into 200+ OSGi bundles executable on different OSGi implementations such as Felix or Equinox (or even without OSGi, i.e. in "Static" mode), we also had to make it embeddable.
In a previous entry, I discussed EJBContainer.createEJBContainer() (a standard EJB 3.1 API) which is really a specific use-case of the more generic case of using the GlassFish Embedded API. The latter is the topic of this newer post and whichever you decide to use, you should remember that this is all one code-base offering different facets with as many entry points.
GlassFish embedded is in-process integration of the GlassFish v3 features (not just the web container) using an API to start/stop/configure the server and its containers and to deploy/undeploy applications.
While this definition and the use-cases (testing, shipping shrink-wrapped apps, ...) has not changed since GlassFish v3 Prelude which shipped a year ago, the API has substantially evolved (up to promoted build 65 in late September I believe) as you can read below and can now be considered stable. As you'll see later in this post, the deployment can be trivial.
An overview of the API
Main classes are :
org.glassfish.api.embedded.Server
org.glassfish.api.embedded.EmbeddedFileSystem
org.glassfish.api.embedded.ContainerBuilder
org.glassfish.api.embedded.EmbeddedDeployer
org.glassfish.api.deployment.DeployCommandParameters
The API offer a flexible inner-class Builder pattern :
EmbeddedFileSystem.Builder efsb = new EmbeddedFileSystem.Builder();
efsb.installRoot(EmbeddedServerUtils.getServerLocation());
Let me walk you through a simple example which deploys an existing WAR from a main() which in turn would let you ship and start the entire app using a JAR (full source here). I'll leave it as a simple exercise to the reader to adapt it to the testing use-case.
First the logic :
foo.Embedded myGlassFish = new foo.Embedded("myArchive.war"); // init with the archive name
myGlassFish.start();
boolean deployed = myGlassFish.deploy();
if (deployed) {
// TODO: do something useful like wait for a shutdown order
}
myGlassFish.undeployAndStop(); // stops and exits the JVM
The startup process :
public void start() throws IOException {
Server.Builder builder = new Server.Builder("testBuilder");
// get the builder for EmbeddedFileSystem
EmbeddedFileSystem.Builder efsb = new EmbeddedFileSystem.Builder();
EmbeddedFileSystem efs = efsb.build();
builder.embeddedFileSystem(efs);
// Start the embedded server (should take no more than a few of seconds)
server = builder.build();
// Add a WEB container (other containers include ejb, jpa, all, ...)
ContainerBuilder containerBuilder = server.createConfig(ContainerBuilder.Type.web);
server.addContainer(containerBuilder);
containerBuilder.create(server);
server.createPort(port); // Starts grizzly on the given port
}
The deployment :
public boolean deploy() {
// Setup machinery to deploy
deployer = server.getDeployer(); // type is EmbeddedDeployer
DeployCommandParameters deployParams = new DeployCommandParameters();
deployParams.name = "myApplication"; // needed for undeploy
deployParams.contextroot = context; // overrides whatever the WAR contains
// Creates default virtual server, web listener, does the deploy and
// returns the applicationName as a String (null means something went wrong)
// duration depends on application size and nature. Heavy lifting done here.
File archive = new File(archiveName);
applicationName = deployer.deploy(archive, deployParams);
return (applicationName == null) ? false : true;
}
... and the cleaning up :
public void undeployAndStop() throws LifecycleException {
deployer.undeploy(applicationName, null); // Could have undeploy params like cascade, ...
server.stop(); // May take a little while to clean everything up
System.exit(0); // to kill any threads left running
}
The above example is only scratching the surface. You can deploy exploded archives (check out the org.glassfish.api.embedded.ScatteredArchive API) or reuse an existing domain.xml configuration file for instance. I'd like to encourage you to look around the various Embedded tests to find out more about the richness of the API.
There are two modes for running GlassFish Embedded :
• implanted: this uses an existing GlassFish installation and requires having glassfish/lib/embedded/glassfish-embedded-static-shell.jar in your classpath. The JAR itself is an empty shell with relative references to all the JARs in the GlassFish v3 distribution. This is approach taken by NetBeans project tests for example.
• autonomous: for easier distribution an all-in-one JAR file is available in two flavors: full profile (40 MB) and web profile (30 MB). Not bad for a full-blown app server! The complete application+runtime bundle can then be deployed using Maven, an installer (such as IzPack), a jar file (eventually wrapped in an .exe) or even via Java Web Start.
Still early daysWhether you're using the implanted or autonomous mode (using the uber-jar), you'll be running the same code, simply using different entry paths. Because of the different packaging and the temporary filesystem layout the autonomous mode uses, differences are always possible. Many issues were fixed in the past couple of months thanks, including some by users themselves.
Note that there is no OSGi involved in the embedded mode (I don't think this is a limitation, but it's certainly an important data point). It is much like running in static mode (same classloader hierarchy). There are also some limitations such as TimerEJB not being supported for the time being. But other than that, a non-trivial application like Hudson deploys to GlassFish embedded like a charm.
If this sounds interesting to you, please use a recent promoted build (b73 and above) or wait (a few weeks) for the GlassFish v3 final release in December (2009) and certainly ask questions on the USERS mailing list (or forum), and share your experience via blogs, tweets, etc...
( nov. 23 2009, 04:38:56 PM CET ) Permalink Comments [0]
mercredi novembre 11, 2009 Atmosphere jeudi, Devoxx lundi
Pas le temps de respirer, demain Jeudi Jean-François Arcand sera là au ParisJUG pour vous donner un cours de bon français et pour vous parler d'Atmosphere, le framework multi-serveur pour faire du Comet (AjaxPush). Il y sera également question de comparaison avec Servlet 3.0 (ne pas oublier de s'inscrire, il doit rester des places).
Lundi, direction Anvers pour la conférence Devoxx. J'y présente avec notre Antonio Goncalves national (enfin c'est surtout lui qui fait le gros du boulot!) une session de trois heures sur Java EE 6 (dont les JSR sont approuvées les unes après les autres ces jours-ci). Entre consolidation des slides, mise au point des démos, et ajouts de dernière minute, on n'est pas tout à fait près...
Avec servlet 3, managed beans, bean validation, etc... cette session ira clairement au delà du contenu du bouquin d'Antonio (pourtant déjà très riche). Reste la question du JSR 299 qui mérite une session à lui tout seul (difficile de ne faire qu'une intro, la technologie a un ticket d'entrée non négligeable). En tout cas je trouve la progression dans la douzaine de démos plutôt sympa (une idée d'Antonio).
Pour ce qui est du contenu GlassFish (keynote, sessions, etc...): les détails sont ici.
( nov. 11 2009, 11:24:55 AM CET ) Permalink Comments [1]
lundi novembre 09, 2009 La présentation du séminaire GlassFish
vendredi novembre 06, 2009
My friend Julien announces that IzPack 4.3.2 has just been released.
As a cherry on the cake, he also refreshed the GlassFish v2 IzPack installer to v2.1.1 which was just release a few days ago. Thanks Julien!
mardi novembre 03, 2009 Webinar GlassFish - aujourd'hui à 16h
La présentation en ligne GlassFish est toujours prévue pour aujourd'hui (mardi 3 novembre) à 16h00 (heure de Paris, amis francophones du monde entier vous êtes les bienvenus!). Il n'est pas trop tard pour s'inscrire.
Jérôme Dochez (l'architecte de GlassFish) et Didier Burkhalter (la cheville ouvrière de nombreux projets GlassFish en entreprise) seront là pour m'aider à répondre au question pendant et après la présentation qui sera relativement courte (environ 30 minutes). A tout à l'heure.
( nov. 03 2009, 08:26:21 AM CET ) Permalink Comments [0]
samedi octobre 31, 2009
If anything, the traffic on the "issues" GlassFish mailing list should be a hint on the stabilization work going on before v3 is declared final later this year.
At the same time the FishCAT team is also busy testing the latest releases.
jeudi octobre 29, 2009 Je ne sais pas si c'est pour fêter la sortie de GlassFish v2.1.1, mais Oracle vient de publier des nouvelles largement rassurantes sur GlassFish dans une nouvelle FAQ sur l'avenir de plusieurs produits Sun dans l'eco-système Oracle une fois l'acquisition finalisée. Il y est entre autre question de continuer un support actif à la communauté et aux clients GlassFish ainsi que d'alignements technologiques entre GlassFish Enterprise et Weblogic. Pour qui connaît les deux offres, je pense que cela apparaîtra assez naturel.
On notera qu'aujourd'hui déjà GlassFish utilise EclipseLink (l'implémentation de référence de JPA) alors que WebLogic 10g et 11g utilisent de multiples technologies de GlassFish comme en témoigne ces pages de modifications apportées par Oracle.
Quoi qu'il en soit, comme je le disais en début de billet, c'est la version 2.1.1 qui est rendue aujourd'hui disponible en même temps que Sun GlassFish Communication Server 2.0 (Sailfin 2.0), l'offre de serveur d'application Telco (SIP, Diameter, etc...) développée avec Ericsson. En attendant la version 3 en décembre, voici donc une version pour tous les clients actuels de GlassFish qui attendent avant tout des évolutions mineures (pour eux, plus de 200 bugs corrigés ce n'est pas mineur) pour leurs systèmes en production plus que des nouveautés comme v3 en apportera. Rarement l'équipe GlassFish aura été aussi sollicitée.
GlassFish 2.1.1 est une mise à jour de la version la plus largement déployée de GlassFish en production (niveau d'API Java EE 5). On y trouve de nouvelles versions de composants importants (Java MQ 4.4 / Jersey 1.0.3 / JSF 1.2_13 / Grizzly 1.0.30 / Metro 1.1.6), le support de AIX 6 et de mod_jk ainsi qu'une nouvelle option de partage de charge (par connexion) dans l'ORB. Enfin, le méchanisme de gestion de groupe Shoal propose des améliorations des node agents pour une meilleure détection (plus rapide, plus fiable) des noeuds d'un cluster. Bien entendu cette version continue de proposer une extreme simplicité pour la mise en place d'un cluster et les outils de gestion production GlassFish Enterprise Manager.
Téléchargement de GlassFish 2.1.1 ici: https://glassfish.dev.java.net/downloads/v2.1.1-final.html et n'oubliez pas le séminaire en ligne GlassFish de la semaine prochaine.
( oct. 29 2009, 08:39:57 AM CET ) Permalink Comments [3]
mercredi octobre 28, 2009 On don't think this will quite stop people from asking (me and others on the team) the same question, but this new FAQ from Oracle certainly has some positive information on GlassFish's future. The blogosphere and twitosphere have been quite active on that news today...
( oct. 28 2009, 11:55:28 PM CET ) Permalink Comments [2]Séminaire en ligne GlassFish la semaine prochaine
Avec l'activité autour de GlassFish (sortie imminente de v2.1.1, v3 dans quelques semaines avec Java EE 6) et le succès du livre blanc, il nous a semblé opportun d'organiser un séminaire en ligne pour faire le point sur l'avancement du projet et pour répondre à vos questions. Ce sera donc le
Mardi le 3 novembre 2009 (dans une semaine) à 16h00
Le format est classique: 45 minutes de présentation et le reste de questions/réponses. N'oubliez pas de vous inscrire pour obtenir les détails (URL et mot de passe).
( oct. 28 2009, 09:47:46 AM CET ) Permalink Comments [1]
mercredi octobre 07, 2009
• Servlet 3.0 (JSR 315) support in Maia
• How to install and use JRebel with Glassfish and Eclipse IDE
• ColdFusion - Installation, deployment, and platforms
• New Java-monitor probe for Glassfish users.
I think I also saw something recently on either EHCache or TerraCotta as well...
Attending and presenting at Java2Days this week in Sofia
I'll be attending the Java2Days conference at the end of this week in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The conference is quite geared towards server-side Java with Spring and Java EE getting great coverage with SpringSource employees and Java EE expert group member Reza Rahman.
My first talk on Thursday is on GlassFish v3 while the second is on portability of J2EE/JavaEE applications (lessons learned while migrating customer applications to GlassFish). Should be fun!
( oct. 07 2009, 10:13:50 AM CEST ) Permalink Comments [0]
lundi octobre 05, 2009 Using the EJBContainer API with or without Maven (but with GlassFish v3)
Updated this blog on October 28th as you no longer need to have a full GlassFish install to test EJBs
The typical way to start GlassFish is to use $asadmin start-domain but you could also start it using java -jar modules/glassfish.jar. Both start a standalone instance of GlassFish. The following paragraphs discuss GlassFish Embedded (i.e. start it using an API).
There are at least two ways to start GlassFish in embedded mode: using org.glassfish.api.embedded.Server and associated classes but also using the (now standard in EJB 3.1) EJBContainer.createEJBContainer() API. Let me describe here the latter one and reserve the more general embedded case for a later blog entry.
The goal is to write something like as simple as this to test your EJB :
EJBContainer c = EJBContainer.createEJBContainer(); // new in EJB 3.1!
Context ic = c.getContext();
SimpleEjb ejb = (SimpleEjb) ic.lookup("java:global/sample/SimpleEjb");
ejb.sayHello();
EJB's found in the classpath of the running code above will automatically be deployed and made available via lookups.
Calls to EJBContainer.createEJBContainer() are likely to be made from your tests. If you're making those calls by constructing yourself the execution classpath, then you simply need to add glassfish/lib/embedded/glassfish-embedded-static-shell.jar, an empty jar with a Class-Path: listing the required jars and that is part of the GlassFish distro. In fact, if you're using recent builds of NetBeans 6.8 (and the soon-to-be-released beta), the IDE does this for you when GlassFish is the target server. If you are using Maven, it's a bit trickier.
To use EJBContainer.createEJBContainer() from Maven tests, you'll need to add the following dependency to your POM (updated to promoted b70):
<groupId>org.glassfish.extras</groupId>
<artifactId>glassfish-embedded-all</artifactId>
<version>3.0-b70</version>
<scope>test</scope>
You could restrict this to a smaller set of GlassFish artifacts but for non-trivial tests (if you use JPA for instance), you would start to have a fairly long list of dependencies so the above sounds like a reasonable thing to do. This will require Maven to download the GlassFish All-in-one JAR file (40MB or so). The reason I wrote it would be trickier with maven is that you need to pass a property during the createEJBContainer() call indicating the location of a GlassFish v3 install. The above Java code would need to read something like this:
Map
p.put ("org.glassfish.ejb.embedded.glassfish.installation.root",
"/path/to/glassfish"); // include trailing "/glassfish"
ec = EJBContainer.createEJBContainer(p);
As of build 69 (maybe 70?), this is no longer needed - i.e. you can simply have glassfish-embedded-all.jar as a dependency or simply in your classpath. A full install of GlassFish is no longer required (although it may be interesting if you want to use JDBC configurations). Read this blog by Thomas for another interesting approach: Nice follow-up blog here: http://ctpjava.blogspot.com/2009/10/unit-testing-ejbs-and-jpa-with.html
Starting the appserver this way (with or without Maven) exercises the actual GlassFish code, not another implementation or a customized fork. There are some limitations to what you can run and in particular port configuration is ignored (not listening on any) and only local EJB interfaces are available (the spec only requires EJB 3.1 lite support). On the other hand, JPA calls are very much possible.
This should all work with v3 promoted build 66 (I just tested this with promoted build 70, see above simplification). Adam Bien beat me to covering that topic, but I hope you get some additional info here. In my case the start-up, setup, deploy and shutdown of GlassFish Embedded are worth about 6 seconds. Note that there is no OSGi involved here.
For a complete working example with JPA calls, check out this sample code.
The EJB 3.1 specification has a chapter (#22) on "Embeddable Usage". Check it out for further details about EJBContainer.
lundi septembre 28, 2009 "Le futur de Java" ce jeudi à l'OpenWorldForum
Ce jeudi, vous êtes conviés à venir à l'Open World Forum qui se tient à Paris (Eurosites George V dans le 8ème) et en particulier à la series de courtes sessions autour de Java.
Avec l'imminence du rachat par Oracle de Sun, un point sur Java semblait intéressant et utile. Au programme, le chemin parcouru par Java SE depuis sa mise en Open Source et les avancées prochaines de JDK7, une table ronde sur les langages dynamiques sur la JVM (Groovy, Scala, Fan, et Clojure, ou Jython, JRuby et PHP?), et enfin un point sur Java EE 6 et son implémentation de référence GlassFish v3. Notre Guillaume Laforge sera de la partie pour la table ronde.
Ce sera bref (1h30 au total), mais une occasion concrète de faire le point sur les travaux en cours et sur ce que le futur proche nous réserve.
• Programme: http://openworldforum.org/program/floss-java.
• Enregistrement, c'est ici: http://openworldforum.org/Register.
vendredi septembre 18, 2009 GlassFish tip: customize directory listings
With GlassFish being a very capable HTTP server out of the bowser (thank you Grizzly!), it was time for v3 to offer the ability to configure directory listings. It is now possible to have pages listing files per NAME (default), SIZE, or LAST_MODIFIED.
Configuration can be done inside web.xml (in the form of an additional init-param to the DefaultServlet servlet called sortedBy). This would hold true for a given application and support dynamic reloading (no full redeploy, no restart to take changes into account).
You might find it more convenient to have it be part of default-web.xml (located in domains/domain1/config/). Of course that would require restarting the container. In both cases, the listing should be explicitly allowed or else the user will see a 404 Not Found error. Here's an example to configure the listing presentation in either config files :
<servlet>
<servlet-name>default</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>org.apache.catalina.servlets.DefaultServlet</servlet-class>
<init-param>
<param-name>debug</param-name>
<param-value>0</param-value>
</init-param>
<init-param>
<param-name>listings</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</init-param>
<init-param>
<param-name>sortedBy</param-name>
<param-value>LAST_MODIFIED</param-value>
</init-param>
<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
Of course there's also the XSLT approach to have yet more control over the presentation. Check the use of localXsltFile and globalXsltFile in the default-web.xml file itself.
mercredi septembre 16, 2009 JavaZone presentation posted (video)
My GlassFish v3 presentation from last week's JavaZone is already posted along with many others. If you're interested in the demos, feel free to skip right to them:
Demo #1 (developer features) @ 7:01
Demo #2 (Java EE 6) @ 21:00
Demo #3 (GlassFish à la carte) @ 26:00
Demo #4 (OSGi) @ 36:50
Demo #5 (RESTful admin) @ 49:00
There's also an offline version (close to 200MB of MPEG-4 for QuickTime in 640x480 format).
( sept. 16 2009, 11:06:04 AM CEST ) Permalink Comments [2]
