Deployment Descriptors

When you generate runtime classes for your web service, a web module and EJB module deployment descriptor are also generated, depending on whether you chose multitier or web-centric architecture. When you assemble your web service J2EE application, these deployment descriptors are included in the application. The deployment descriptors are XML files used to configure runtime properties of the application. The J2EE specification defines the format of these descriptors.

You can view the deployment descriptors in the Source Editor at any time during development. You can also edit the deployment descriptors. However, deployment descriptors that you edit are not regenerated if you regenerate runtime classes. Deployment descriptor edits are thereby preserved. However, changes you make to your web service after editing a deployment descriptor will not be propagated to your deployment descriptor. You should, therefore, take care to edit deployment descriptors only at the end of your development cycle.

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Fields Propagated to Deployment Descriptors

This section lists the fields in the IDE that are normally propagated to your web service's deployment descriptors. If you edit one of these deployment descriptors and afterward change the value of any field that is normally propagated to that deployment descriptor, you must edit the deployment descriptor manually and insert the new value.

Fields Propagated to the EJB Module Deployment Descriptor

The Resolve Objects dialog box contains several fields that are propagated to the EJB module deployment descriptor. The corresponding elements in the deployment descriptor are all subelements of an ejb-ref element. The following table lists those fields.

Fields in Resolve Objects Dialog Box	Elements in EJB Module Deployment Descriptor
EJB Ref Name	description
EJB Ref Name	ejb-ref-name
EJB Type	ejb-ref-type
EJB Home Interface	home
EJB Remote Interface	remote
EJB Name	ejb-link

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Note - Adding an EJB method call to one of your XML components might create a new target object definition. The first time you add a method call to a particular EJB component, a new target object definition is created in the Resolve Objects dialog box. Normally, this definition is propagated to the EJB module deployment descriptor as a new ejb-ref element.

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Your web service's property sheet contains a property named Environment Entries. The fields in this property are propagated to the EJB module deployment descriptor. The corresponding elements in the deployment descriptor are all subelements of an env-entry element. The following table lists those fields.

Fields in the Environment Entries Property	Elements in EJB Module Deployment Descriptor
Name	env-entry-name
Description	description
Type	env-entry-type
Value	env-entry-value

Fields Propagated to the Web Module Deployment Descriptor

If you set a default test client for a web service, the client's welcome page and error page are propagated to the web module's deployment descriptor. The following table lists those fields.

Properties	Elements in Web Module Deployment Descriptor
Error Page	location (a subelement of error-page)
Welcome Page	welcome-file (a subelement of welcome-file-list)

See and The Client HTML Pages and JSP Pages for information about default test clients.

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Viewing a Deployment Descriptor

To view the web module or EJB module deployment descriptor:

Right-click your web service node and choose one of these menu items:

• Deployment Descriptor Web Module View
• Deployment Descriptor EJB Module View

The deployment descriptor is displayed in the Source Editor in read-only mode.

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Editing a Deployment Descriptor

To edit the web module or EJB module deployment descriptor:

1. Right-click your web service node and choose one of these menu items:

• Deployment Descriptor Web Module Final Edit
• Deployment Descriptor EJB Module Final Edit

The Final Edit dialog box is displayed, as illustrated in FIGURE C-1. The dialog box reminds you that after editing the deployment descriptor, the descriptor will no longer be regenerated by the IDE when you regenerate the runtime classes of your web service.

 FIGURE C-1 Deployment Descriptor Final Edit Dialog Box

2. If you are sure you will not need to regenerate the deployment descriptor, click Yes. Otherwise click No.

The deployment descriptor is displayed in the Source Editor in edit mode. The deployment descriptor will not be regenerated if you regenerate runtime classes for your web service.