Looking for a development environment to learn or produce commercial-quality Java code, JSP's and Servlets? Prefer not to spend a small fortune for the software?

Here's a great alternative to high-priced, commercial software and you just can't beat the price! It's all either free and open source (or just free) and available for downloading on the internet (for commercial work, some of the components may have a price tag). Just to make it easy, the table below has the links you will need. The friendly folks who wrote Core Servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP) have put together a Preconfigured Tomcat Version that saves time by including many of the changes you probably will want. After it's all set up you'll be able to make changes to your JSP's and see the effects in a browser. You'll also have many of the debugging features of the Eclipse environment available and the console will be live along with the Tomcat logs for bug tracing.

You can easily develop WAR files (Java Web Archive files) which can be dropped into the webapps folder of a Tomcat server. Tomcat will magically “explode” the WAR file into the appropriate folders. This makes transferring your website between servers a snap. If you select the option to include the java files you can also pass your WAR file to other developers who can unzip the WAR into a project inside Eclipse for further development.

This tutorial covers the basics of a JSP development environment. It is recommended you learn these basics before moving on to Struts, Tiles, Validation and the other frameworks.

The following are the steps to load Java, a Tomcat JSP container which works as a server, the Eclipse IDE, and a MySQL database server. The versions were generally up-to-date as of Spring, 2007. Newer versions may be available but remember to confirm all the components will work together (especially important: make sure the Sysdeo plugin is compatible with Eclipse and the MySQL JDBC driver works with the version of MySQL). After the downloads are unzipped, installed and setup you will have eaten 600+ mb's. Even more as you begin to set up the workspaces and databases for development -- plan on a gigabyte of hard-drive space.

I suggest at least 512 mb's of RAM an XP computer. Eclipse really flies with a gigabyte of RAM and Windows XP. In my experience, Vista requires a dual-core processor and 2 gigabytes of RAM to equal the less powerful XP machine -- but, hey, that's progress (and why nerds like us are taking another long look at Ubuntu)!

Download: java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp

Download and install your chosen version of the Java JDK (Java Development Kit). You must install the JDK version -- which includes the javac compiler -- not just the JRE (Java Runtime Environment). In fact, the JDK includes a JRE in its directory structure. I downloaded JDK Version 6u1 and chose jdk-6u1-windows-i586-p.exe on the download page.

You can choose either the online or offline version. The offline version will download the entire package first so you can install and/or save it locally. The online version installs Java directly off the Sun Java website.

I installed it under C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01 and made the changes in the System environment variables (in the next paragraph) to point to this installation. You can install it elsewhere but you must adjust your JAVA_HOME and Classpath variables to accurately reflect the actual location. Multiple versions of the JDK can be on the same workstation -- what counts is the directory pointed to by these environment variables.

JAVA_HOME

After installing Java go to the Control Panel --> System --> Advanced --> Environment Variables. Enter a new system variable in the bottom half of the pane named "JAVA_HOME" and set the value to the drive location (C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01 in my case). While you've got the environment window open update the PATH variable to include the C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01\bin location. Remember to add a semi-colon to the current path before making the addition. You should restart the workstation for environment variable changes to take effect.

Test your setup by opening a command prompt (Start Program --> Run --> enter “cmd”). In the DOS command box that comes up, type in “java -version” and check for an obvious good result and not an error message saying it couldn't be found. Then type in javac -help and check again. If one or both of these don't work check your JAVA_HOME variable and class path settings.

Download: www.coreservlets.com/Apache-Tomcat-Tutorial/Preconfigured-Tomcat-5.5-Version.html

The easiest way to install Tomcat is to use the preconfigured version available at the link above.

After downloading, right click on the zip file and choose Extract All. Browse to “C:\Program Files”; the extraction process will create the “apache-tomcat-5.5.17” folder. If you extract the files to the default folder (which will be the folder where the zip file is located) just move the files to C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-5.5.17 (some versions will be “Jakarta-Tomcat”). The remainder of this process will refer to the directory where Tomcat is located as <TOMCAT HOME>.

By default, your browser will be watching port 80 rather than 8080 which means you would have to type http://localhost:8080/ rather than http://localhost/ to check your work. The pre-configured version linked above includes the following change. You can change the port number from 8080 to 80 easily. Navigate to <TOMCAT HOME>\conf\ and open server.xml in a text editor (NotePad or WordPad). Do a search for “8080”. There will be some comments that will catch the search first but following the comments you will find the actual instruction pointing to 8080. Changing it to “80” will match it to your browser's default.

Create or change the system's Classpath variable to include the Tomcat jsp and servlet api's under the Control Panel --> System --> Advanced --> Environmental Variables. If a Classpath variable doesn't already exist, click on New and enter "CLASSPATH" in the variable name line. The Variable Value box should include the following -- substituting the actual location for <TOMCAT HOME>:

.;<TOMCAT HOME>\common\lib\servlet-api.jar;<TOMCAT HOME>\common\lib\jsp-api.jar;

The variable value above should begin with a period followed by a semi-colon.

While you have the Environment Variable screen open, add C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-5.5.17\bin to the Path variable.

You should restart the workstation for environment variable changes to take effect.

Test your setup as follows: Click on <TOMCAT HOME>\bin\startup.bat and see if a DOS window opens up and the server starts. You can right click on the startup.bat file and drag it to the desktop to create a shortcut (be careful not to move the actual file -- just create a desktop shortcut). Do the same with the shutdown.bat file also in the bin directory. This will make starting and stopping the Tomcat server much easier until you get the plugin working inside Eclipse. You should see a screen similar to this after a successful startup (some of the version numbers may have changed since this screen capture was created).

If you have problems, one way to discover their nature is to start Tomcat from a Command box by entering "startup.bat" (or C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-5.5.17\bin\startup.bat if you didn't set the Path environmental variable above). The rather friendly error messages may provide an insight into the specific problem causing Tomcat to fail to start.

Open a browser and type in a URL of http://localhost/. If everything's working you should see the Apache-Jakarta Tomcat welcome page.

If the correct page doesn't open in the browser go back through and check all of the environment variables in the Control Panel for typos and omissions. Although you are operating in a Windows environment, the Java and Tomcat directories need only be present and pointed to correctly in the environment variables in either location. There aren't any other “hidden” connectors as you might expect in standard Windows components.

Congratulations if you see the Tomcat sample page! You're halfway to a great development environment!

PATH versus CLASSPATH

If you're not confused by the distinction between the environmental variables “PATH” and “CLASSPATH” you probably don't need to be reading this tutorial.

PATH is where the operating system (XP or Vista in our case) goes to find executables (exe's). Thus you (or sometimes the program installer) will put the “bin” directories of Java, Tomcat, and MySQL in the PATH. You should confirm the only path to a Java bin is the one pointing to the JDK you are using. The system will accept the first one and ignore any conflicting bin's that follow but you want to keep your environment variables as clean as possible. You can check the Path variable by bringing up a Command Prompt (Start Programs --> Accessories --> Command Prompt) and type in "Path". This should bring up the path variable in the command box.

CLASSPATH is where Java (the JVM) will look for jar files (i.e., compiled classes) when it's running programs. So your CLASSPATH environmental variable will have paths to two jar files for Tomcat and one for MySQL -- and probably others if you have other Java programs on your computer.

Download: www.eclipse.org/downloads/index.php

Straightforward download. Install in C:\Program Files\. The extractor will create the Eclipse subdirectory. Eclipse takes quite a while to load up (especially the first time) so be patient. It will create a workspace and ask you to confirm it. You must configure Eclipse to recognize the Java JDK you installed above rather than the Java JRE Eclipse installs as the default. The Tomcat plugin requires the JDK. First, in Eclipse, select Window --> Preferences --> Java --> Installed JREs. In the screen capture on the right select Add. In the Edit JRE window (shown below) enter “JDK” (or anything that makes sense) in the textbox marked JRE name (remember, the JDK includes a JRE in its structure). Use the browse button across from JRE home directory to navigate to the JRE directory in the Java JDK directory from above (in most cases this will be C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01). Back to the previous window and select the checkbox for the Java JDK you just added. As the window instructions note -- Eclipse will now use the JDK by default. This is required by the Tomcat plugin you will be loading up next. Eclipse should now be working (without the benefit of the Tomcat server plugin in the next section).

Download: www.sysdeo.com/eclipse/tomcatplugin

Download and install Tomcat before installing the Sysdeo plugin. After downloading the Sysdeo plugin from the link above, extract it to C:\Program Files\eclipse\plugins\. As before, if you extract it to the wrong directory simply move it to the correct one. Relaunch Eclipse if it's running so it will pick up the new plug-in. Activate the plugin in the following location in Eclipse: Window --> Customize Perspective --> Commands and select the checkbox for Tomcat. Set the Tomcat preferences in Window --> Preferences --> Tomcat. Highlight Tomcat in the list and select the correct version of Tomcat and browse to <TOMCAT HOME>. See the screen capture on the right. On the same screen, select the Context Declaration Mode --> Context Files and enter <TOMCAT HOME>\conf\Catalina\localhost or the location you originally installed Tomcat. On the next screen, Advanced, for the Tomcat Base just browse to <TOMCAT HOME>.

Next, in the JVM Settings window, at the top of the screen select the JRE you added previously (actually a JDK). The possible choices will be included in the dropdown. Leaving it as the default eclipse JRE will prevent the Tomcat connector from working properly. Add a reference to the C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01\lib\tools.jar in the Classpath window in the middle of the screen as the jpg at the left illustrates. Add C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01\jre\lib\rt.jar in the Boot Classpath window at the bottom of the page. The plugin has created three new buttons on your Eclipse toolbar. Click on the first icon and watch Tomcat start up in the console. Now when you start a project in Eclipse select “Tomcat Project” under Java in the New Project window. Your workstation should now be set up to run Tomcat while working in Eclipse. You should see your index page in a browser set to http://localhost/.

Download: dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.0.html

Online Reference Manual: dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/index.html

MySQL will be installed as a service which will start up with Windows. It is recommended you accept most of the defaults although I did check in the "Include Bin Directory in Windows Path" checkbox (which allows Windows to find executables from the command line if you choose to run it that way occasionally) and you should add a password when given the opportunity. You should configure your firewall to accept the port(usually port 3306).

Grab your favorite MySQL manual and create a database and some tables from the command line. If you're not in love with command line programming give the MySQL Administrator below a try.

Download: dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/j/5.0.html

The Java-MySQL Connector allows standard Java JDBC commands to access the database. As of Spring, 2007, the current connector is 5.0.5.

Download and unzip the file linked above. Copy the mysql-connector-java-5.0.5-bin.jar to the following folder in the Java home directory: C:Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01\jre\lib\ext. Then add the jar to the “Classpath” variable in the System environmental variables (Control Panel --> System --> Advanced --> Environmental Variables). Your addition should read something similar to: C:\Program Files\java\jdk1.6.0_01\jre\lib\ext\mysql-connector-java-5.0.5-bin.jar

Download: dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/5.0.html

Online documentation for the tools: dev.mysql.com/doc/

To properly administer a MySQL database you can buy and read the 800+ page manual (listed under MySQL above) or you download and use the MySQL Administrator. The Administrator works on MySQL versions above 4.0. With the Administrator's GUI interface you can create databases and tables much faster than entering arcane SQL commands in a DOS command box.

The interfaces are pretty intuitive but the online instructions are easy to follow if you need some help.

The GUI tools will be set up in the MySQL directory. The tool set includes a very handy database query browser, too.

It's time to start writing code. I'm working on a simple project sample to include on this page later this summer. A great book to use in setting up a first project is Murach's Java Servlets and JSP. It contains a couple of relatively easy projects (complete with code) including a mailing list program that makes a perfect beginner's project.

Tomcat has also provided several sample jsp files in the webapps directory. Navigate to C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-5.5.17\webapps\jsp-examples to get some ideas. In the C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-5.5.17\webapps\ROOT directory take a look at index.jsp. It's the page that came up when you originally set up the Tomcat directory above (which you reach with http://localhost/ in the address of your browser).

Code up a simple JSP page and create a WAR file as described below. The JSP page should show up in your browser using an address like this: http://localhost/‹context name›.

Right click on the project in the Eclipse Navigator window. Select Properties --> Tomcat from the window popup (see image to the right). Check the box entitled “Is a Tomcat Project”. Enter the context name under the “General” tab. The context name is the name you will use to call the project in a browser. Then select the “Export to WAR settings” tab (see the bottom image). Browse to the Tomcat webapps directory: C:\Program Files\apache-tomcat-5.5.17\webapps and enter the name of the WAR file in the “WAR files for export” text box. If you also select the “Export java files” the subsequent WAR file will include the source Java code along with the class files. Including the source files is not necessary for the Tomcat servlet container; however, the WAR file is a ZIP file and can be used to transport the source code to other team members on small projects if desired. To test your pages in a browser, do a build of the project (under Project in the Eclipse toolbar). Right click again on the project in the Package Explorer window in Eclipse and select “Tomcat Project”. It will open a sub-menu list. Select “Export to the WAR file sets in project properties.” You should get a “successful” popup window. The WAR file has been placed in the directory you entered in the paragraph above. Opening a browser window to http://localhost/<context name> should bring up your project’s default home page.

Please send any comments or suggestions to webmaster@sipages.com. It would be a huge help if you report errors in the instructions or just point out hard-to-understand sections. Many fellow Java/Tomcat beginners are using these instructions every day -- so any corrections would help us all.

The Murach book, “Java Servlets & JSP”, is highly recommended for developers learning the basics of JSP's and servlets. It will help you develop a strong foundation before venturing into Struts, Tiles, Validation, etc. There is an Amazon link to the book in the upper left corner of this page.

This page was last updated July 31, 2007. The screen captures are from a Vista computer and may differ slightly from the XP look.

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