AppFuseSupport

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Table of Contents

• [1] Common Questions
• [2] Development with AppFuse
• [3] Security Questions
• [4] Struts Specific HowTos
• [5] Database Questions and HowTos
• [6] Application Server Questions and HowTos
• [7] Using Anthill and CruiseControl
• [8] Hibernate Specific Questions
• [9] Archived Questions

Common Questions [#1]

• Where is UserForm.java?

The UserForm.java file is generated by XDoclet using Ant. If you run "ant compile" it gets generated into build/web/gen/org/appfuse/webapp/form.

• What is AppFuse?

This article explains it best.

• Is this the right place to ask AppFuse questions?

Sure, but you'll probably get more visibility and input from the help forum or mailing list. Also, this wiki has recently been locked down b/c of spammers so you'll need to get a username/password from me to post anything. Don't forget that the mailing list archives are a great resources.

• Why am I getting this error "Cannot create JDBC driver of class ' ' for connect URL 'null'"?

Chances are you forgot to run "ant setup-tomcat" (or "ant setup" if you need to set up the database as well). Also, if you're using Tomcat make sure you are using the latest recommended release.

• Why do I get this error "build.xml:1037: taskdef class org.apache.catalina.ant.ReloadTask cannot be found"?

Ant cannot find the ReloadTask which is in $CATALINA_HOME\server\lib\catalina-ant.jar. You need to ensure env var CATALINA_HOME (Windows dir %CATALINA_HOME% or Unix ls $CATALINA_HOME) points to the tomcat install base directory. This error can also occur when you wrap the path in double quotes, (ie. if you have set CATALINA_HOME="c:\Tomcat 5.5" then remove the double quotes!).

• How does build.properties and properties.xml fit together?

Ant has immutable properties. The first time a property is set, it cannot be changed. Here's the order of how properties are set in AppFuse.

command-line using -Dproperty=value
~/.appname-build.properties
~/.build.properties
build.properties
properties.xml (or build.xml) - wherever it's used''

• When working on a team, how to run test of a specific POJO using db-load task only in that specific table as well?

First, instead of using all the sample-data.xml file, create another file say sample-person.xml and there put the data that you want insert. After that you can do this:

Development with AppFuse [#2]

• HowTo setup your Development Environment. This is what I typically use when building a new machine. It includes environment variables, downloads, where to install applications, etc.
• What are the major ant tasks? What do they do?

See AppFuseAntTasks.

• Developing your AppFuse application in Eclipse.
• Known Environment issues to be aware of.

Security Questions [#3]

• HowTo use NTLM authentication with appfuse? Using the jCIFS, one can use the jcifs.http.NtlmHttpFilter to use the NTLM authentication in Tomcat. Matt can you give some pointers if this can be integrated with AppFuse?

Here is how I used Andy Armstrong's JAAS Login Modules to get Tomcat to talk to an NT Domain. It's been over a year since I tried it - but it worked quite well at the time. I have no experience with jCIFS - but if you get it working - please let me know. I'd be happy to help you write a howto on this wiki for it. ~ Matt

Struts Specific [#4]

• How to convert <bean:message> tags to JSTL's <fmt:message> tags
• How to use Velocity templates instead of JSPs.
• How to deal with Dates using Struts.
• Do you have any Struts validator examples?

• Why is the JSTL keyword 'empty' not working all the time?

The empty keyword (pre JSP 2.0), only worked on java.util.List, java.util.Map, on Strings and arrays. Collections like java.util.Set were not supported. If you are using pre JSP 2.0 and want to test whether a Set is empty or not use: <c:if test="${mycollection['empty']}">.

The most reliable workaround to this problem I have found, is to use this notation:

  <c:forEach items="${mycollection}" var="element" varStatus="rowNum">

    <c:if test="${rowNum.count==1}">
      <table>
        <tr> <th> Value Header </th> </tr>
    </c:if>

      <tr>
        <th>
          <c:out value="${element.value}"/>
        </th>
      </tr>
      <c:if test="${rowNum.last}">
      </table>
    </c:if>
  </c:forEach>

This article explains this in more detail. If you are using tomcat 5, this supports JSP 2.0 so you will not experience this problem.

Database Specific [#5]

• I get an "access denied" error when trying to create the MySQL Database.

The issue is likely because you're on Unix or you've changed the root password. See this page for assistance.

• I get an "Illegal mix of collations" when I try to run tests against a MySQL database.

MySQL 4.1.7+ requires you to add set the default character set to UTF-8 to get unicode support with AppFuse. To do this, add the following to your c:\Windows\my.ini or /etc/my.cnf file:

[mysqld]
default-character-set=utf8

• I'm have methods that throw exceptions in a Transaction and nothing is being rolled back. What gives?

MySQL's default tables (MyISAM) do not support transactions by default. Add or replace the following line in your c:\Windows\my.ini or /etc/my.cnf file. You could also use PostgreSQL.

[mysqld]
default-storage-engine=innodb

BTW, MySQL Administrator is a nice tool for administering/monitoring MySQL.

• I'm having trouble with MySQL on Suse 9.2.

Upgrading to the MySQL 3.1.5 JDBC Driver (or above) should fix this.

• Can AppFuse talk to multiple databases?

• Can I audit any changes to the Database?

• I get an "Could not synchronize database state with session" exception when I try to run test-dao.

If a class with a natural key does not declare a version or timestamp property, it's more dificult to get saveOrUpdate() and cascades to work correctly. You might use a custom Hibernate Interceptor as discussed in this chapter. (On the other hand, if you're happy to use explicit save() and explicit update() instead of saveOrUpdate() and cascades, Hibernate doesn't need to be able to distinguish between transient and detached instances; so you can safely ignore this advice.) Composite natural keys extend the same ideas. {Hibernate in Action: pag.:333}

• What DB admin/clients can I use to administer my database?
• How do I use AppFuse with SQL Server.
• How do I use AppFuse and Mckoi database.
• How to run AppFuse on DB2.
• How to run AppFuse on Oracle.
• How to configure AppFuse for HSQLDB.
• How to run AppFuse on PostgreSQL.

Application Server Specific [#6]

• To support multiple developers with the same instance of Tomcat, simply change "${webapp.name}" to "${user.name}" in the various deployment methods.
• How to run AppFuse on Resin.
• How to run AppFuse on Orion.
• How to run AppFuse on JBoss.
• How to use AppFuse with Oracle?
• How to setup/suppress Tomcat 5.x Logging

See AppFuseOnOrion - Orion is the embedded server in Oracle AS.

Continuous Integration [#7]

• Using Anthill to automate AppFuse testing.
• Using CruiseControl to automate AppFuse testing.

Hibernate Specific Questions [#8]

• The Hibernate Documentation is a good source of information.
• Learn more about Hibernate's Relationships (read the intro first).
• A couple of good Hibernate-XDoclet tutorials: http://www.downside.ch/hibernate/ and http://www.meagle.com:8080/hibernate.jsp.
• Many articles listed on hibernate.org.
• How do I get hold of the Hibernate Session?
• How do I Setup Hibernate JMX?
• Does Hibernate support Pagination?
• How do I fix a LazyInitializationException in my unit tests?

See Karl Baum's writeup on Lazy Initialization. In particular, the Being Lazy in your Unit Tests section.

Archived Questions (no longer relevant) [#9]

• How to upgrade an AppFuse 1.x app to use Spring.
• If you want to setup build.xml graphics, like the PowerPoint Preso has, read setting up vizant.