Adding Richfaces to an existing Seam application

Question

I'm feeling experimental and wanted to try and add RichFaces 3.3 to an existing JBoss Seam application running on tomcat 5. The following exists in the project:

Dynamic Web Module: 2.3
Java : 1.5
JavaScript: 1.0

and the following Libraries (Including newly added Richfaces and its dependent libraries):

commons-beanutils-1.7.0.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
commons-codec-1.3.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
commons-digester-1.6.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
commons-el-1.0.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
commons-fileupload-1.0.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
commons-lang-2.1.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
commons-logging-1.0.4.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
cssparser-0.9.5.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
guava-r08.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
iText-2.1.2u.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
jstl-1.1.0.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
jxl.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
log4j-1.2.8.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
mail.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
 myfaces-api-1.1.5.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
myfaces-impl-1.1.5.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
Opta2000.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
postgresql-8.4-701.jdbc3.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib

richfaces-api-3.3.3.Final.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
richfaces-impl-3.3.3.Final.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
richfaces-ui-3.3.3.Final.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib

sac.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
standard.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
tomahawk-1.1.3.jar - FCL - Experimental/WebRoot/WEB-INF/lib
Java EE 5 Libraries

TOMCAT 5
  ant.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  ant-launcher.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  commons-collections-3.1.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\l
  commons-dbcp-1.2.1.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  commons-el.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  commons-pool-1.2.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  jasper-compiler.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  jasper-runtime.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  jsp-api.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  naming-common.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  naming-factory.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  naming-java.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  naming-resources.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  servlet-api.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  tools.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\lib
  xercesImpl.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\endorsed
  xml-apis.jar - C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\common\endorsed
  JRE System Library [jdk1.5.0_19]

Followed by adding the following to web.xml: ADDED THE ENTIRE web.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" version="2.4"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee       http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee/web-app_2_4.xsd" id="WebApp_1319603694180">   
<!-- RichFaces -->
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.SKIN</param-name>
    <param-value>blueSky</param-value>
</context-param>    
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING</param-name>
    <param-value>enable</param-value>
</context-param>    
<filter>
    <display-name>RichFaces Filter</display-name>
    <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
    <filter-class>org.ajax4jsf.Filter</filter-class>
</filter>
<filter-mapping>
    <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
    <dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
    <dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
    <dispatcher>INCLUDE</dispatcher>
</filter-mapping>
<!-- END -->    
<filter>
    <filter-name>MyFacesExtensionsFilter</filter-name>
    <filter-class>
        org.apache.myfaces.webapp.filter.ExtensionsFilter
    </filter-class>
    <init-param>
        <param-name>maxFileSize</param-name>
        <param-value>20m</param-value>
    </init-param>
</filter>
<!-- extension mapping for adding <script/>, <link/>, and other resource tags to JSF-pages  -->
<filter-mapping>
    <filter-name>MyFacesExtensionsFilter</filter-name>
    <!-- servlet-name must match the name of your javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet entry -->
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
</filter-mapping>
<!-- extension mapping for serving page-independent resources (javascript, stylesheets, images, etc.)  -->
<filter-mapping>
    <filter-name>MyFacesExtensionsFilter</filter-name>
    <url-pattern>/faces/myFacesExtensionResource/*</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>
<context-param>
    <param-name>javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD</param-name>
    <param-value>server</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.apache.myfaces.ALLOW_JAVASCRIPT</param-name>
    <param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.apache.myfaces.PRETTY_HTML</param-name>
    <param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.apache.myfaces.DETECT_JAVASCRIPT</param-name>
    <param-value>false</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.apache.myfaces.AUTO_SCROLL</param-name>
    <param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>    
<listener>
    <listener-class>
        org.apache.myfaces.webapp.StartupServletContextListener
    </listener-class>
</listener>
<listener>
    <listener-class>
        com.exper.util.SessionExpireHandler
    </listener-class>
</listener> 
<servlet>
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
    <load-on-startup>0</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet>
    <description>
        This is the description of my J2EE component
    </description>
    <display-name>
        This is the display name of my J2EE component
    </display-name>
    <servlet-name>homeDetail</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>
        com.exper.backingbean.homeDetail
    </servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>*.faces</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>homescreen</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/homescreen</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<filter>
    <filter-name>Faces Servlet</filter-name>
    <filter-class>com.exper.util.SessionHandler</filter-class>
</filter>
<filter-mapping>
    <filter-name>Faces Servlet</filter-name>
    <url-pattern>*.faces</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>
<!-- Welcome files -->
<welcome-file-list>
    <welcome-file>jsp/index.jsp</welcome-file>
</welcome-file-list>
<session-config>
    <session-timeout>60</session-timeout>
</session-config>
</web-app>

EXCEPTION ERROR UPDATED: The result is exception errors i don't understand as below:

27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol init
INFO: Initializing Coyote HTTP/1.1 on http-8083
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina load
INFO: Initialization processed in 531 ms
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService start
INFO: Starting service Catalina
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine start
INFO: Starting Servlet Engine: Apache Tomcat/5.0.28
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost start
INFO: XML validation disabled
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost getDeployer
INFO: Create Host deployer for direct deployment ( non-jmx ) 
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostDeployer install
INFO: Processing Context configuration file URL file:C:\jakarta-tomcat-         
5.0.28\conf\Catalina\localhost\admin.xml
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.struts.util.PropertyMessageResources <init>
INFO: Initializing, config='org.apache.struts.util.LocalStrings', returnNull=true
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.struts.util.PropertyMessageResources <init>
INFO: Initializing, config='org.apache.struts.action.ActionResources', returnNull=true
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.struts.util.PropertyMessageResources <init>
INFO: Initializing, config='org.apache.webapp.admin.ApplicationResources',         
returnNull=true
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostDeployer install
INFO: Processing Context configuration file URL file:C:\jakarta-tomcat-      
5.0.28\conf\Catalina\localhost\balancer.xml
27/10/2011 9:43:59 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostDeployer install
INFO: Processing Context configuration file URL file:C:\jakarta-tomcat-   
5.0.28\conf\Catalina\localhost\manager.xml
27/10/2011 9:44:00 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostDeployer install
INFO: Installing web application at context path  from URL file:C:\jakarta-tomcat-   
5.0.28\webapps\ROOT
27/10/2011 9:44:00 AM org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoader validateJarFile
INFO: validateJarFile(C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\webapps\ROOT\WEB-INF\lib\servlet-api.jar)    
- jar not loaded. See Servlet Spec 2.3, section 9.7.2. Offending class:     
javax/servlet/Servlet.class
27/10/2011 9:44:03 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext start
SEVERE: Error listenerStart
27/10/2011 9:44:03 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext start
SEVERE: Context startup failed due to previous errors
27/10/2011 9:44:04 AM org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol start
INFO: Starting Coyote HTTP/1.1 on http-8083
27/10/2011 9:44:04 AM org.apache.jk.common.ChannelSocket init
INFO: JK2: ajp13 listening on /0.0.0.0:8009
27/10/2011 9:44:04 AM org.apache.jk.server.JkMain start
INFO: Jk running ID=0 time=0/16  config=C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\conf\jk2.properties
27/10/2011 9:44:04 AM org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina start
INFO: Server startup in 5312 ms

UPDATED Dynamic Web module to 2.4 to align with web.xml and removed servlet-api.jar with below result:

 27/10/2011 10:18:57 AM org.apache.commons.digester.Digester startElement
 SEVERE: Begin event threw error
 java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/servlet/ServletException
at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredMethods0(Native Method)
at java.lang.Class.privateGetDeclaredMethods(Class.java:2427)
at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredMethods(Class.java:1791)
at java.beans.Introspector$1.run(Introspector.java:1272)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.beans.Introspector.getPublicDeclaredMethods(Introspector.java:1270)
at java.beans.Introspector.getTargetMethodInfo(Introspector.java:1136)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:387)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:159)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:220)
at java.beans.Introspector.<init>(Introspector.java:368)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:159)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.PropertyUtilsBean.getPropertyDescriptors(PropertyUtilsBean.java:896)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.PropertyUtilsBean.getPropertyDescriptors(PropertyUtilsBean.java:926)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.PropertyUtilsBean.getPropertyDescriptor(PropertyUtilsBean.java:801)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanUtilsBean.setProperty(BeanUtilsBean.java:937)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanUtilsBean.populate(BeanUtilsBean.java:811)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanUtils.populate(BeanUtils.java:298)
at org.apache.commons.digester.SetPropertiesRule.begin(SetPropertiesRule.java:259)
at org.apache.commons.digester.Rule.begin(Rule.java:200)
at org.apache.commons.digester.Digester.startElement(Digester.java:1273)
at org.apache.catalina.util.CatalinaDigester.startElement(CatalinaDigester.java:65)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.startElement(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanStartElement(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl$FragmentContentDispatcher.dispatch(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanDocument(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.XMLParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.commons.digester.Digester.parse(Digester.java:1548)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.load(Catalina.java:489)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.load(Catalina.java:528)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.load(Bootstrap.java:250)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:424)
 Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: javax.servlet.ServletException
at org.apache.catalina.loader.StandardClassLoader.loadClass(StandardClassLoader.java:854)
at org.apache.catalina.loader.StandardClassLoader.loadClass(StandardClassLoader.java:721)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(ClassLoader.java:320)
... 39 more
  java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at      
 sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.load(Bootstrap.java:250)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:424)
 Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/servlet/ServletException
at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredMethods0(Native Method)
at java.lang.Class.privateGetDeclaredMethods(Class.java:2427)
at java.lang.Class.getDeclaredMethods(Class.java:1791)
at java.beans.Introspector$1.run(Introspector.java:1272)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.beans.Introspector.getPublicDeclaredMethods(Introspector.java:1270)
at java.beans.Introspector.getTargetMethodInfo(Introspector.java:1136)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:387)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:159)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:220)
at java.beans.Introspector.<init>(Introspector.java:368)
at java.beans.Introspector.getBeanInfo(Introspector.java:159)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.PropertyUtilsBean.getPropertyDescriptors(PropertyUtilsBean.java:896)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.PropertyUtilsBean.getPropertyDescriptors(PropertyUtilsBean.java:926)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.PropertyUtilsBean.getPropertyDescriptor(PropertyUtilsBean.java:801)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanUtilsBean.setProperty(BeanUtilsBean.java:937)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanUtilsBean.populate(BeanUtilsBean.java:811)
at org.apache.commons.beanutils.BeanUtils.populate(BeanUtils.java:298)
at org.apache.commons.digester.SetPropertiesRule.begin(SetPropertiesRule.java:259)
at org.apache.commons.digester.Rule.begin(Rule.java:200)
at org.apache.commons.digester.Digester.startElement(Digester.java:1273)
at org.apache.catalina.util.CatalinaDigester.startElement(CatalinaDigester.java:65)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.startElement(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanStartElement(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl$FragmentContentDispatcher.dispatch(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.impl.XMLDocumentFragmentScannerImpl.scanDocument(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.XML11Configuration.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.XMLParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.xerces.parsers.AbstractSAXParser.parse(Unknown Source)
at org.apache.commons.digester.Digester.parse(Digester.java:1548)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.load(Catalina.java:489)
at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.load(Catalina.java:528)
... 6 more
   Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: javax.servlet.ServletException
at org.apache.catalina.loader.StandardClassLoader.loadClass(StandardClassLoader.java:854)
at org.apache.catalina.loader.StandardClassLoader.loadClass(StandardClassLoader.java:721)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClassInternal(ClassLoader.java:320)
... 39 more

Is anyone able to tell me what has gone wrong here? I'm getting:

HTTP Status 404 - /

type Status report

message /

description The requested resource (/) is not available.

Apache Tomcat/5.0.28

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:45

Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Both parameter name and parameter value are required
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.addParameter(StandardContext.java:2113)

This exception suggests that you've somewhere in your web.xml a <context-param> of which either the <param-name> or <param-value> entry is missing or misspelled.

Update as per your question update:

INFO: validateJarFile(C:\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.28\webapps\ROOT\WEB-INF\lib\servlet-api.jar)
- jar not loaded. See Servlet Spec 2.3, section 9.7.2. Offending class:
javax/servlet/Servlet.class

That JAR indeed doesn't belong there. Remove it. See also How do I import the javax.servlet API in my Eclipse project?

Other thing which catched my eye is your inconsistency in specifying the Servlet API version. Tomcat 5.0 is a Servlet 2.3 container (5.5 is Servlet 2.4; 6.0 is servlet 2.5; 7.0 is Servlet 3.0). You've set your dynamic web project version to 2.3, which is fine, but you've declared your web.xml conform Servlet 2.4. This had probably confused Tomcat 5.0 while parsing web.xml. Also, your Eclipse build path mentions Java EE 5 libraries (which implies Servlet 2.5) which is also utterly wrong. You should have set Tomcat 5.0 in Targeted Runtimes section of the project's properties.

Align it all out. If you want to stick to the ancient (and EOL'ed) Tomcat 5.0, use Servlet 2.3 everywhere. A Servlet 2.3 compatible web.xml look like follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE web-app PUBLIC "-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Web Application 2.3//EN" "http://java.sun.com/dtd/web-app_2_3.dtd">
<web-app>
    <!-- Config here. -->
</web-app>

Otherwise better upgrade Tomcat (and align everything based on the Tomcat version). You'll really need it as RichFaces 3.3 requires JSF 1.2, which in turn requires Servlet 2.5, but can run on Servlet 2.4 when you use Facelets 1.x instead of JSP.

please see updated question - i don't have any context-param with missing param-name or param-value. — ke3pup, Oct 26 '11 at 22:55
did as you suggested - changed Dynamic Web Module to 2.4 and removed servlet-api.jar . Result was added in original question — ke3pup, Oct 26 '11 at 23:26
Did you also upgrade Tomcat to *at least* 5.5? Tomcat 5.0 is a Servlet 2.3 container and simply won't eat webapps which are developed for Servlet 2.4 or newer. The exception suggests that you didn't have your targeted runtime and build path right. Read the answer on the linked question "How to import `javax.servlet` API in Eclipse?". — BalusC, Oct 26 '11 at 23:28
upgrading tomcat isn't an option - My seniors here like the approach of "don't fix unless you see a helpdesk ticket for it" and anything that involves production server setup is cause of panic it seems. so if this experiment (adding richfaces) is going to see the light of day it needs to be with minimal changes . The actual selling of adding richfaces to my seniors is another story so i'm going to build some demos to start with..... So back to 2.3 and i'll update the web.xml to align with dynamic web module version. — ke3pup, Oct 26 '11 at 23:37
That's then end of story. RichFaces 3.3 requires a minimum of Servlet 2.4 if you use Facelets instead of JSP (otherwise Servlet 2.5 if you want to stick to JSP). — BalusC, Oct 26 '11 at 23:43
thanks BalusC. Better work on getting a tomcat upgrade approved first and then come back here. I've learned a few things with this short thread though already - thank you so much. — ke3pup, Oct 27 '11 at 00:02

Adding Richfaces to an existing Seam application

1 Answers1