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| <!DOCTYPE document [ |
| <!ENTITY project SYSTEM "project.xml"> |
| ]> |
| <document url="introduction.html"> |
| |
| &project; |
| |
| <properties> |
| <author email="rslifka@sfu.ca">Robert Slifka</author> |
| <title>Introduction</title> |
| </properties> |
| |
| <body> |
| |
| <section name="Table of Contents"> |
| <toc/> |
| </section> |
| |
| <section name="Introduction"> |
| |
| <p>For administrators and web developers alike, there are some important bits |
| of information you should familiarize yourself with before starting out. This |
| document serves as a brief introduction to some of the concepts and |
| terminology behind the Tomcat container. As well, where to go when you need |
| help.</p> |
| |
| </section> |
| |
| |
| <section name="Terminology"> |
| |
| <p>In the course of reading these documents, you'll run across a number of |
| terms; some specific to Tomcat, and others defined by the |
| <a href="http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/">Servlet</a> or |
| <a href="http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/">JSP</a> specifications.</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><strong>Context</strong> - In a nutshell, a Context is a |
| web application.</li> |
| <li><strong>Term2</strong> - This is it.</li> |
| <li><strong>Term3</strong> - This is it!</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| </section> |
| |
| |
| <section name="Directories and Files"> |
| |
| <p>Throughout the docs, you'll notice there are numerous references to |
| <strong>$CATALINA_HOME</strong>. This represents the root of your Tomcat |
| installation. When we say, "This information can be found in your |
| $CATALINA_HOME/README.txt file" we mean to look at the README.txt file at the |
| root of your Tomcat install.</p> |
| |
| <p>These are some of the key tomcat directories, all relative |
| to <strong>$CATALINA_HOME</strong>:</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><strong>/bin</strong> - Startup, shutdown, and other scripts. The |
| <code>*.sh</code> files (for Unix systems) are functional duplicates of |
| the <code>*.bat</code> files (for Windows systems). Since the Win32 |
| command-line lacks certain functionality, there are some additional |
| files in here.</li> |
| <li><strong>/conf</strong> - Configuration files and related DTDs. The most |
| important file in here is server.xml. It is the main configuration file |
| for the container.</li> |
| <li><strong>/logs</strong> - Log files are here by default.</li> |
| <li><strong>/webapps</strong> - This is where your webapps go.</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| </section> |
| |
| |
| <section name="Configuring Tomcat"> |
| |
| <p>This section will acquaint you with the basic information used during |
| the configuration of the container.</p> |
| |
| <p>All of the information in the configuration files is read at startup, |
| meaning that any change to the files necessitates a restart of the container. |
| </p> |
| |
| </section> |
| |
| |
| <section name="Where to Go for Help"> |
| |
| <p>While we've done our best to ensure that these documents are clearly |
| written and easy to understand, we may have missed something. Provided |
| below are various web sites and mailing lists in case you get stuck.</p> |
| |
| <p>As Tomcat 5 is a new release of Tomcat, keep in mind that some of the |
| issues and solutions vary between the major versions of Tomcat (4.x versus |
| 5). As you search around the web, there will be some documentation that |
| is not relevant to Tomcat 5, but 3.x and 4.x. Doing 3.x or 4.x things to 5 |
| will probably not work in most cases as the server.xml files are very |
| different.</p> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li>Current document - most documents will list potential hangups. Be sure |
| to fully read the relevant documentation as it will save you much time |
| and effort. There's nothing like scouring the web only to find out that |
| the answer was right in front of you all along!</li> |
| <li><a href="http://tomcat.apache.org/faq/">Tomcat FAQ</a> as maintained by the developers.</li> |
| <li><a href="http://wiki.apache.org/tomcat/">Tomcat WIKI</a></li> |
| <li>Tomcat FAQ at <a href="http://www.jguru.com/faq/home.jsp?topic=Tomcat">jGuru</a></li> |
| <li>Tomcat mailing list archives - numerous sites archive the Tomcat mailing |
| lists. Since the links change over time, clicking here will search |
| <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=tomcat+mailing+list+archives">Google</a>. |
| </li> |
| <li>The TOMCAT-USER mailing list, which you can subscribe to |
| <a href="http://tomcat.apache.org/lists.html">here</a>. If you don't |
| get a reply, then there's a good chance that your question was probably |
| answered in the list archives or one of the FAQs. Although questions |
| about web application development in general are sometimes asked and |
| answered, please focus your questions on Tomcat-specific issues.</li> |
| <li>The TOMCAT-DEV mailing list, which you can subscribe to |
| <a href="http://tomcat.apache.org/lists.html">here</a>. This list is |
| <strong>reserved</strong> for discussions about the development of Tomcat |
| itself. Questions about Tomcat configuration, and the problems you run |
| into while developing and running applications, will normally be more |
| appropriate on the TOMCAT-USER list instead.</li> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <p>And, if you think something should be in the docs, by all means let us know |
| on the TOMCAT-DEV list, or send one of the doc authors email.</p> |
| |
| </section> |
| |
| </body> |
| |
| </document> |