Overview of config.xml

 

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

• What Is the config.xml File?

• Editing the config.xml File

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. The WebAppComponent element includes the child element WebServer. To see a list of all parent and children elements, see config.xml Element Hierarchy Diagram.

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.

To view the complete config.dtd file, see config.dtd File.

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.

  Warning: Consider the following issues before you edit the configuration file manually:

  Always save your config.xml file before editing it.

  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.

  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.