Step 1: Create Web Application Projects

In this step you will create two projects: an EAR project and a Web Application project. These are the basic building blocks required for designing and testing a new Workshop web application.

An EAR project contains and configures resources of other components that are part of it, components such as web applications, EJBs, databases, etc. An EAR project has two main roles: (1) It is a composite project made up of other projects, such as web projects, EJB projects, and others. (2) It is a resource project containing library modules and JARs which other projects utilize.

The web application project you create belongs to the EAR project.

The tasks in this step are:

• Start Workshop
• Create a New Workspace
• Configure WebLogic Server
• Create a New Web Project and a New EAR Project
• Import Files into the Web Project
• Add a WebLogic Server Domain

Start Workshop

If you haven't started Workshop yet, follow these steps: Start Workshop.

Create a New Workspace (Optional)

If you would like to execute the tutorial in a separate workspace follow these steps: Create a New Workspace.

Note: If you already have a workspace open, this will restart Workshop. Before beginning, you might want to launch help in standalone mode to avoid an interruption the restart could cause, then locate this topic in the new browser. See Using Help in a Standalone Mode for more information

Configure WebLogic Server

In this step you will add a WebLogic Server domain for use with Workshop. This server domain contains runtime libraries required by the application and the application will be deployed to this server.

• Workshop for WebLogic users should follow the instructions to Configure WebLogic Server.

• Workshop Studio and Workshop for JSP users should follow the instructions to Download, Install, and Configure WebLogic Server.

Create Application Projects and a Server Configuration

In this step you will add three projects and a server configuration for WebLogic Server.

1. Select File > New > Project.
2. In the New Project dialog, open the node Workshop Quick Start Applications and select WebLogic/Beehive Web Application.
   Click Next.
   
3. In the Application Name field, enter CustomerCare.
   Click Finish.
4. In the Open Associated Perspective dialog, click No.

   

When your web application is first created, it is displayed in the Project Explorer view by default. The Project Explorer view shows a logical view of your workspace and its resources.

There are now three projects in your workspace: the web project CustomerCare, the EAR project CustomerCareEAR and the utility project CustomerCareSharedCode. These projects appear as sibling projects, since they are on the same level of the directory tree. But when they are compiled and deployed, the EAR project CustomerCareEAR is really a container project for the web project CustomerCare.

The CustomerCare Web Project

• The build folder contains .class files and other compiled code. You should not edit the files in this directory.
• The src folder contains the web project's Java files. These files are user editable.
• The WebContent folder contains the web project's JSP files and other web-related resources, such as configuration files (in the WEB-INF folder).

The CustomerCareEAR EAR Project

• The EarContent folder contains configuration files for the EAR project.
• EarContent/APP-INF/lib: Any JARs in this directory are available to any project referenced by the EAR project.
• EarContent/META-INF/application.xml: Lists the modules referenced by the EAR, for example, the web application customerCare.
• EarContent/META-INF/weblogic-application.xml: List the library modules referenced by the EAR project. These resources can be used by any module referenced by the EAR.

The CustomerCareSharedCode Project is designed to contain code used by multiple projects in the application, such as controls.

Import Files into Your Web Project

In this step you will import control files into your web project, control files that provide access to a customer database. An alternative design would locate these controls in a utility project (File > New > Project > J2EE > Utilty Project), which would make the controls available to all projects in the EAR. But for the sake of simplicity and expediency we have placed the controls directly in the web project.

1. On the Project Explorer view, open the nodes CustomerCare > Java Resources.

   

2. Open Windows Explorer (or your operating system's equivalent) and navigate to the directory BEA_HOME/tools/eclipse_pkgs/1.1/pkgs/eclipse/plugins/com.bea.workshop.product.wl.samples_1.1.10/tutorials/resources/webApp/ and locate the controls and model folder.

   Watch Out! Don't open the webService folder by mistake!

3. Drag the folders controls and model into the Project Explorer tab and drop them directly onto the folder customerCare/Java Resources/src.
4. Before proceeding, confirm that the following directory and file structure exists.
   
   

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