Overview of config.xml

The following sections provide an overview of the WebLogic Server^TM configuration file (config.xml):

• What Is the config.xml File?
• Editing the config.xml File
• Rules for Editing the config.xml File

 

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What Is the config.xml File?

The config.xml file is an XML document that describes the configuration of an entire WebLogic Server domain. The config.dtd Document Type Definition (DTD) describes the content and structure of the config.xml file. The DTD describes the valid XML tags, the tag order, whether the tags are optional, the type of data contained within the tags, the tag attributes, the attribute values, and so on.

The config.xml file consists of a series of XML elements. The Domain element is the top-level element, and all elements in the Domain are children of the Domain element. The Domain element includes child elements, such as the Server, Cluster, and Application elements. These child elements may have children themselves.

For example, the Server element includes the child elements WebServer, SSL and Log. The Application element includes the child elements EJBComponent and WebAppComponent.

Each element has one or more configurable attributes. An attribute defined in config.dtd has a corresponding attribute in the configuration API. For example, the Server element has a ListenPort attribute, and likewise, the weblogic.management.configuration.ServerMBean has a ListenPort attribute. Configurable attributes are readable and writable, that is, ServerMBean has a getListenPort and a setListenPort method.

When an attribute is another element (such as the SSL attribute of Server), the reference is defined by name. All elements have a Name attribute.

 

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Editing the config.xml File

BEA recommends that you use the Administration Console to modify or monitor a domain configuration. You can also modify the config.xml file in the following ways:

• The WebLogic Server Application Programmatic Interface (API) allows other programs to modify configuration attributes of resources in the domain.
• You can access the attributes of a domain with the WebLogic Server command-line utility. This utility allows you to create scripts to automate domain management.

BEA XML Editor

The BEA XML Editor is a simple, user-friendly tool for creating and editing XML files. It can validate XML code according to a specified DTD or XML Schema. See the BEA XML Editor on the BEA dev2dev Online.

 

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Rules for Editing the config.xml File

Consider the following issues before you edit the configuration file manually.

1. Always save your config.xml file before editing it.
2. Do not edit the config.xml file for a domain when a domain is active. If you manually edit the configuration file while the domain is active, any changes you make are likely to be overwritten by the system. Furthermore, all manual changes you make while the domain is active are ignored by the system at run time.
3. Do not change Name attributes of child elements. WebLogic Server requires that the name of a child element match the name of its parent. For example, if the Name attribute of the Server element has the value "myserver", the Name attributes of COM, JTAMigratableTarget, KernalDebug, Log, SSL, ServerStart, SystemDataStore, and WebServer elements that are children of the Server element must also have the value "myserver".
4. Because no validation or value checking occur while or after you edit config.xml with the command-line utility, type-checking occurs when you load the edited configuration file for the first time, that is, when you restart the domain Server. At that point, any invalid XML or attribute value is detected and the domain fails to boot.