HTTP Status 500 Error instantiating servlet class

Question

I am writing a web app and deploying it to the apache tomcat web container. I follow a simple tutorial from http://cse.csusb.edu/turner/java_web_programming/servlets/

and then end up getting this error. I am pasting snippets of and web.xml, website.xml and my code files respectively.

Structure:

enter image description here

web.xml:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<web-app
     xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee"
     xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
     xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee 
        http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee/web-app_2_4.xsd"
     version="2.4">
   <servlet>
      <servlet-name>home</servlet-name>
      <servlet-class>website.web.HomeServlet</servlet-class>
   </servlet>
   <servlet-mapping>
      <servlet-name>home</servlet-name>
      <url-pattern>/home</url-pattern>
   </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

HomeServlet.java

package website.web;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.ServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.ServletResponse;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

public class HomeServlet extends HttpServlet {

    @Override
    protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse resp) 
               throws ServletException, IOException {
                  PrintWriter writer = resp.getWriter();
                  writer.println("<h1>Hello, World!</h1>");
               }        
}

Error:

HTTP Status 500 - Error instantiating servlet class website.web.HomeServlet

type Exception report

message Error instantiating servlet class website.web.HomeServlet

description The server encountered an internal error that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

exception

javax.servlet.ServletException: Error instantiating servlet class website.web.HomeServlet
    org.apache.catalina.authenticator.AuthenticatorBase.invoke(AuthenticatorBase.java:502)
    org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:79)
    org.apache.catalina.valves.AbstractAccessLogValve.invoke(AbstractAccessLogValve.java:610)
    org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:518)
    org.apache.coyote.http11.AbstractHttp11Processor.process(AbstractHttp11Processor.java:1091)
    org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol$AbstractConnectionHandler.process(AbstractProtocol.java:668)
    org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11NioProtocol.java:223)
    org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.doRun(NioEndpoint.java:1517)
    org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.run(NioEndpoint.java:1474)
    java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142)
    java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617)
    org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:61)
    java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)
root cause

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: website.web.HomeServlet
    org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoaderBase.loadClass(WebappClassLoaderBase.java:1305)
    org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoaderBase.loadClass(WebappClassLoaderBase.java:1157)
    org.apache.catalina.authenticator.AuthenticatorBase.invoke(AuthenticatorBase.java:502)
    org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:79)
    org.apache.catalina.valves.AbstractAccessLogValve.invoke(AbstractAccessLogValve.java:610)
    org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:518)
    org.apache.coyote.http11.AbstractHttp11Processor.process(AbstractHttp11Processor.java:1091)
    org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol$AbstractConnectionHandler.process(AbstractProtocol.java:668)
    org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11NioProtocol.java:223)
    org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.doRun(NioEndpoint.java:1517)
    org.apache.tomcat.util.net.NioEndpoint$SocketProcessor.run(NioEndpoint.java:1474)
    java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1142)
    java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:617)
    org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.TaskThread$WrappingRunnable.run(TaskThread.java:61)
    java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:745)

In you web.xml why do you have `website.web.TestServlet` as servlet-class? — almeynman, Apr 26 '15 at 20:27

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 26 '15 at 22:04

6

I think somethin wrong in this section:

<servlet-class>website.web.HomeServlet</servlet-class>

Instead try:

<servlet-class>website.HomeServlet</servlet-class>

answered Apr 26 '15 at 22:04

Oleg Baranenko

398
2
16

it dint not help me – Prageeth godage Jan 11 '17 at 17:47

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 26 '15 at 20:32

0

First of all, your web.xml lists TestServlet as the class name for your server, as opposed to HomeServlet.

Second, it seems that although your HomeServlet class is in package website.web, it's physically located in a folder called website, not website/web. I would be surprised to see this even compile correctly?

answered Apr 26 '15 at 20:32

JHH

8,567
8
47
91

I originally put HomeServlet. I updated everything. Despite that, I get the same error. And it does compile. – jssmkp Apr 26 '15 at 20:38
1

Well, the error IS indeed java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: website.web.HomeServlet, so I still think you put the HomeServlet in the wrong package. Make sure it starts with "package website.web;" and not "package webite;"...? – JHH Apr 26 '15 at 20:44

HTTP Status 500 Error instantiating servlet class

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