Local interface between web-application and session bean

[tom.baeyens]

Hi,
I'm using jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3
I'm trying to create a session bean and access it from a web-application using the session bean's local interface.
Is it impossible to do that ?
Anybody a suggestion on how to solve the error ?
As documentation I used the dtd's in ${JBOSS_HOME}/lib/jboss.jar, is there other documentation or examples available ?
Thanks for your attention, Tom.

=== error shown when the web-application is deployed =========================================================================================
18:15:16,988 INFO [MainDeployer] Starting deployment of package: file:/C:/JavaFiles/jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3/server/default/deploy/walitest.war
18:15:17,028 INFO [EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX] deploy, ctxPath=/walitest, warUrl=file:/C:/JavaFiles/jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3/server/default/tmp/deploy/server/default/deploy/walitest.war/96.walitest.war
18:15:17,058 INFO [Engine] WebappLoader[/walitest]: Deploying class repositories to work directory C:\JavaFiles\jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3\catalina\work\localhost\walitest
18:15:17,058 INFO [Engine] StandardManager[/walitest]: Seeding random number generator class java.security.SecureRandom
18:15:17,058 INFO [Engine] StandardManager[/walitest]: Seeding of random number generator has been completed
18:15:17,128 INFO [Engine] ContextConfig[/walitest]: Added certificates -> request attribute Valve
18:15:17,178 INFO [EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX] Using Java2 parent classloader delegation: true
18:15:17,188 ERROR [EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX] Failed to setup web application ENC
javax.naming.NamingException: ejb-local-ref: ejb/LiTest, target not found, add valid ejb-link
at org.jboss.web.AbstractWebContainer.linkEjbLocalRefs(AbstractWebContainer.java:758)
at org.jboss.web.AbstractWebContainer.parseWebAppDescriptors(AbstractWebContainer.java:568)
at org.jboss.web.AbstractWebContainer$DescriptorParser.parseWebAppDescriptors(AbstractWebContainer.java:1051)
at org.jboss.web.catalina.EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.contextInit(EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.java:382)
at org.jboss.web.catalina.EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.access$000(EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.java:74)
at org.jboss.web.catalina.EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX$1.lifecycleEvent(EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.java:310)
at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleSupport.fireLifecycleEvent(LifecycleSupport.java:155)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1131)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:3345)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.addChild(ContainerBase.java:785)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.addChild(StandardHost.java:454)
at org.jboss.web.catalina.EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.createWebContext(EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.java:318)
at org.jboss.web.catalina.EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.performDeploy(EmbeddedCatalinaServiceSX.java:238)
at org.jboss.web.AbstractWebContainer.start(AbstractWebContainer.java:406)
at org.jboss.deployment.MainDeployer.start(MainDeployer.java:692)
at org.jboss.deployment.MainDeployer.deploy(MainDeployer.java:527)
at org.jboss.deployment.MainDeployer.deploy(MainDeployer.java:490)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
at org.jboss.mx.capability.ReflectedMBeanDispatcher.invoke(ReflectedMBeanDispatcher.java:284)
at org.jboss.mx.server.MBeanServerImpl.invoke(MBeanServerImpl.java:491)
at org.jboss.util.jmx.MBeanProxy.invoke(MBeanProxy.java:174)
at $Proxy4.deploy(Unknown Source)
at org.jboss.deployment.scanner.URLDeploymentScanner.deploy(URLDeploymentScanner.java:405)
at org.jboss.deployment.scanner.URLDeploymentScanner.scanDirectory(URLDeploymentScanner.java:586)
at org.jboss.deployment.scanner.URLDeploymentScanner.scan(URLDeploymentScanner.java:465)
at org.jboss.deployment.scanner.AbstractDeploymentScanner$ScannerThread.loop(AbstractDeploymentScanner.java:202)
at org.jboss.deployment.scanner.AbstractDeploymentScanner$ScannerThread.run(AbstractDeploymentScanner.java:191)
18:15:17,188 INFO [Engine] StandardWrapper[/walitest:default]: Loading container servlet default
18:15:17,188 INFO [Engine] default: init
18:15:17,188 INFO [Engine] StandardWrapper[/walitest:invoker]: Loading container servlet invoker
18:15:17,188 INFO [Engine] invoker: init
18:15:17,188 INFO [Engine] jsp: init
18:15:17,208 INFO [MainDeployer] Successfully completed deployment of package: file:/C:/JavaFiles/jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3/server/default/deploy/walitest.war
==============================================================================================================================================


Session bean deployment descriptors (packed in litest.jar) :

=== ejb-jar.xml =========================================
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ejb-jar>
litest
<display-name>litest</display-name>
<enterprise-beans>

<ejb-name>LiTest</ejb-name>
<local-home>be.sdco.litest.LiTestHome</local-home>
be.sdco.litest.LiTestLocal
<ejb-class>be.sdco.litest.LiTestBean</ejb-class>
<session-type>Stateful</session-type>
<transaction-type>Container</transaction-type>

</enterprise-beans>
</ejb-jar>
=========================================================

=== jboss.xml ===========================================
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<enterprise-beans>

<ejb-name>LiTest</ejb-name>
<local-jndi-name>ejb/LiTest</local-jndi-name>

</enterprise-beans>

=========================================================


Web app deployment descriptors (packed in walitest.war):

=== web.xml =============================================
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE web-app
PUBLIC "-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Web Application 2.3//EN"
"http://java.sun.com/dtd/web-app_2_3.dtd">
<web-app>
<ejb-local-ref>
<ejb-ref-name>ejb/LiTest</ejb-ref-name>
<ejb-ref-type>Session</ejb-ref-type>
<local-home>be.sdco.litest.LiTestHome</local-home>
be.sdco.litest.LiTestLocal
<ejb-link>ejb/LiTest</ejb-link>
</ejb-local-ref>
</web-app>
=========================================================

=== jboss-web.xml =======================================
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<jboss-web>
<ejb-ref>
<ejb-ref-name>ejb/LiTest</ejb-ref-name>
<jndi-name>ejb/LiTest</jndi-name>
</ejb-ref>
</jboss-web>
=========================================================

[davidjencks]

It isn't clear to me whether the ejb jar is getting deployed before the war. Is it? Can you see the local interface bound in jndi before you deploy the war?

[adrian.brock]

Your <ejb-link> should be the <ejb-name>
i.e. LiTest not ejb/LiTest

Regards,
Adrian

[tom.baeyens]

The ejb jar (litest.jar) is deployed first.
=== output when deploying litest.jar ==================================================
09:45:56,707 INFO [MainDeployer] Starting deployment of package: file:/C:/JavaFiles/jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3/server/default/deploy/litest.jar
09:45:56,787 INFO [EjbModule] Creating
09:45:56,807 INFO [EjbModule] Deploying LiTest
09:45:57,338 INFO [EjbModule] Created
09:45:57,338 INFO [EjbModule] Starting
09:45:57,348 INFO [EjbModule] Started
09:45:57,348 INFO [MainDeployer] Successfully completed deployment of package: file:/C:/JavaFiles/jboss-3.0.0RC2_tomcat-4.0.3/server/default/deploy/litest.jar
=============================================================================

Should there be some output about jndi-binding ?
Regards, Tom.

[tom.baeyens]

OK, I got it working.

Before I posted this question, I tried also the correct ejb-name in the ejb-link but then it did not work. Just now I found in the documentation that ejb-link is for internal references (http://www.jboss.org/online-manual/HTML/ch07s22.html). If I understand correctly internal references can only be created between modules in the same deployment-unit. That was my problem. After changing the ejb-link and packing the web application and the session bean into an ear-file, it worked.

What still seems strange to me is that in order to use local references between a web application and a bean, I have to provide 2 separate references in the deployment descriptors of the web application : the ejb-link (in web.xml) and the ejb-ref (in jboss-web.xml). If there is a simple explanation, please let me know.

Another question still open is : Is it possible to use local interfaces between a web application and an ejb in two separate deployment units ?

Thanks already a lot.
I hope I can be of service for one day...
Regards, Tom.

[frankseidinger]

Hi Tom,

you can even use local interfaces of ejb components, that are not packaged with your ear files. It took me quite a while to realize, that local ejb components are always mapped to the jndi context 'local'.

Considering the following deployment descriptor would lead to an ejb component with a local interface, that can be obtained with the jndi name 'local/Person'. Where Person is the name of the ejb component. Your webapp needn't declare a <ejb-local-ref> to work.

== ejb-jar.xml ============================
<ejb-jar>
...
<enterprise-beans>
...

...
<ejb-name>Person</ejb-name>
<local-home>person.PersonHome</local-home>
person.Person
...

...
</enterprise-beans>
...
</ejb-jar>
===========================================

The hint to the name mapping comes from the server logs. You should find a line for your bean similar to:

...
2002-05-19 01:23:36,677 DEBUG [org.jboss.ejb.EntityContainer] Begin java:comp/env for EJB: Person
2002-05-19 01:23:36,677 DEBUG [org.jboss.ejb.EntityContainer] TCL: java.net.URLClassLoader@48ecc
2002-05-19 01:23:36,677 DEBUG [org.jboss.ejb.EntityContainer] End java:comp/env for EJB: Person
2002-05-19 01:23:36,677 DEBUG [org.jboss.ejb.plugins.local.BaseLocalContainerInvoker] Bound EJBLocalHome of Person to local/Person
...

Best regards,

Frank.