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Programming WebLogic J2EE Connectors |
Packaging and Deploying Resource Adapters
This chapter discusses packaging and deploying requirements for resource adapters and provides instructions for performing these tasks.
The file format for a packaged resource adapter module defines the contract between a resource adapter provider and deployer. A packaged resource adapter includes the following elements:
This section discusses resource adapter packaging guidelines, requirements and limitations, and provides instructions for packaging resource adapters.
A resource adapter is a WebLogic Server component contained in a resource adapter archive (RAR) within the applications/ directory. The deployment process begins with the RAR or a deployment directory, both of which contain the compiled resource adapter interfaces and implementation classes created by the resource adapter provider. Regardless of whether the compiled classes are stored in a RAR or a deployment directory, they must reside in subdirectories that match their Java package structures.
Resource adapters use a common directory format. This same format is used when a resource adapter is packaged in an exploded directory format as a RAR. A resource adapter is structured as in the following example:
Listing 7-1 Resource Adapter Directory Structure
/META-INF/ra.xml
/META-INF/weblogic-ra.xml
/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF (optional)
/images/ra.jpg
/readme.html
/eis.jar
/utilities.jar
/windows.dll
/unix.so
The following are packaging requirements for resource adapters:
For more information on packaging requirements, refer to chapter 10 of the J2EE Connector Specification, Version 1.0 Final Release (http://java.sun.com/j2ee/download.html#connectorspec).
The following are WebLogic Server packaging limitations on resource adapters:
Packaging Resource Adapters Archives (RARs)
After you stage one or more resource adapters in a directory, you package them in a Java Archive (JAR). Before you package your resource adapters, be sure you read and understand the chapter entitled "WebLogic Server Application Classloading" in Developing WebLogic Server J2EE Applications, which describes how WebLogic Server loads classes.
To stage and package a resource adapter:
Note: Refer to the following Sun Microsystems documentation for information on the ra.xml document type definition at: http://java.sun.com/dtd/connector_1_0.dtd
Note: Refer to weblogic-ra.xml Deployment Descriptor Elements, for information on the weblogic-ra.xml document type definition.
jar cvf jar-file.rar -C staging-dir
This command creates a RAR that you can deploy on a WebLogic Server or package in an enterprise application archive (EAR).
The -C staging-dir option instructs the JAR command to change to the staging-dir directory so that the directory paths recorded in the JAR are relative to the directory where you staged the resource adapters.
For more information on this topic, see Creating and Modifying Resource Adapters: Main Steps.
Deployment of a resource adapter is similar to deployment of Web Applications, EJBs, and Enterprise Applications. Like these deployment units, you can deploy a resource adapter in an exploded directory format or as an archive file.
You can deploy a resource adapter:
Also similar to Web Applications, EJBs, and Enterprise Applications, resource adapters use two deployment descriptors to define their operational parameters. The deployment descriptor ra.xml is defined by Sun Microsystems in the J2EE Connector Specification, Version 1.0 Final Release. The weblogic-ra.xml deployment descriptor is specific to WebLogic Server and defines operational parameters unique to WebLogic Server. For more information about the weblogic-ra.xml deployment descriptor, refer to weblogic-ra.xml Deployment Descriptor Elements.
Resource Adapter Deployment Names
When you deploy a resource adapter archive (RAR) or deployment directory, you must specify a name for the deployment unit, for example, myResourceAdapter. This name provides a shorthand reference to the resource adapter deployment that you can later use to undeploy or update the resource adapter.
When you deploy a resource adapter, WebLogic Server implicitly assigns a deployment name that matches the path and filename of the RAR or deployment directory. You can use this assigned name to undeploy or update the resource adapter after the server has started.
The resource adapter deployment name remains active in WebLogic Server until the server is rebooted. Undeploying a resource adapter does not remove the associated deployment name; you can use the same deployment name to redeploy the resource adapter at a later time.
Using the weblogic.Deployer Utility
The weblogic.Deployer utility is new in WebLogic Server 7.0 and replaces the earlier weblogic.deploy utility, which has been deprecated. This section describes how to use the weblogic.Deployer utility to perform the following tasks:
For information and instructions on deploying a Connector using the weblogic.Deployer utility, see "WebLogic Deployment" in Developing WebLogic Server J2EE Applications.
Using the Administration Console
This section discusses resource adapter deployment tasks using the Administration Console. Using the Administration Console, you can perform the following deployment tasks:
For information and instructions on deploying a Connector using the WebLogic Server Administration Console, see "WebLogic Deployment" in Developing WebLogic Server J2EE Applications.
Including a Resource Adapter in an Enterprise Application Archive (EAR)
As part of the J2EE Platform Specification, Version 1.3 Final Release, it is possible to include a resource adapter archive (RAR) inside an enterprise application archive (EAR) and then deploy the application in WebLogic Server.
To deploy an enterprise application that contains a resource adapter archive:
<connector>RevisedBlackBoxNoTx.rar</connector>
<!DOCTYPE application PUBLIC `-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD
J2EE Application 1.3//EN'
`http://java.sun.com/dtd/application_1_3.dtd'>
Listing 7-3 application.xml File
<application>
<display-name> ConnectorSampleearApp </display-name>
<module>
<connector>RevisedBlackBoxNoTx.rar</connector>
</module>
<module>
<ejb>ejb_basic_beanManaged.jar</ejb>
</module>
</application>
For general information about deployment of Enterprise Applications, see "Enterprise Applications" in "Understanding WebLogic Server Applications."