Geronimo notes

Setup

Since I was just asked to try to configure a Apache CXF setup, in order to build web services, I made a lot of tries to understand it, what it was used, and trying to set it up.

I have been out of the Java World for years (I actually never have been there) and all this framework, services, servers stuff is a totally different thing than I'm used too see in the simple C / C++ standalone applications world, where things are simply either applications or libraries. Or I am too dumb. I'll state some opinions and things about the tools I have trying to use. If you know I am wrong, please, contact me so I can correct this page.

After searching, reading and studying about CXF, I finally found that it is not an application (server, whatever), that I can simply run. It is a set of libraries (a framework) to be used by developers. So I started to look for something that I could put CXF into and I found Spring.

I still don't know exactly what is that. After installed, it brought some servers, like Tomcat 6. I started to read the Spring by Example book (BTW, this is a great book even from non Java and non Spring programmers, since it has interesting Design Patterns tips) but I was looking for a quick Hello World example!

I searched this on the internet, and I found this: a JEE Hello World example with Apache Geronimo. Geronimo indeed looked like a full application server and I found it easy to configure and complete. And they have a Hello World example!

Hello World example has links to the guide of installing the plugin. I committed the mistake of trying to follow the guide not with the version of Geronimo and Eclipse it used, so, when installing plugin, Eclipse complained with the following error:

"Cannot complete the install because one or more required items could not
be found.Software being installed: Geronimo Core Feature 2.1.1
(org.apache.geronimo.feature.feature.group 2.1.1)Missing requirement:
Geronimo Core Feature 2.1.1 (org.apache.geronimo.feature.feature.group
2.1.1) requires 'org.eclipse.jst.feature.group [2.0.0,3.0.0)' but it could
not be found"

Them, instead of getting the newest Eclipse (Galileo) and the newest Geronimo (2.2), I got Eclipse Ganymede and Geronimo 2.1.4, and plugin installation worked fine.

Hello World

The Hello World example is good, but it lacks some details. That is because I'm going to reproduce it here, with some details I think are worth to mention. See that it is important that the server definition is made before Hello World.

1. First, install Eclipse Ganymede and Geronimo 2.1.4. Do not start the Geronimo server.
2. In Eclipse, in the "Servers" tab, right-click in a blank space. Select New -> Server.
3. On the new windows, click in the "Download additional server adapters" link. When all servers be listed, select the "Geronimo v.2.1 Server Adapter".
4. Click in "Next", check the fields, then click in "Finish".
5. Now, we are going to start our Hello World. Right-click in a blank space. Select New -> Dinamic Web Project.
6. On the new window, set the project name: "HelloWorld". On the "Target Runtime" field, chose "Apache Geronimo v2.1". Click Next, Next, Finish.
7. Now, just follow the rest of the steps from the Hello World example to get your Hello World working.