Configure an assembly tool

 

Configure an assembly tool

When you first start an assembly tool such as Application Server Toolkit (AST) or Rational Web Developer, menu choices for the J2EE Perspective might not be enabled. To assemble code artifacts into J2EE modules that can be deployed onto an application server, work in the J2EE Perspective. This article explains how to configure your assembly tool for work on J2EE modules and specify a target server supported by WebSphere Application Server.

Before you can configure an assembly tool, install and start the assembly tool.

Configuring an assembly tool consists of ensuring that menu choices for the J2EE Perspective are enabled and specifying a target server supported by WebSphere Application Server. When you first start AST and Rational Web Developer, menu choices for the J2EE Perspective might not be enabled, meaning that you cannot assemble code artifacts into deployable J2EE modules. You perform the steps in this article when you cannot work in the J2EE Perspective or when you need to specify a new target server for your modules.

  1. Enable menu choices for the J2EE Perspective.

    1. Click Window > Customize Perspective .

    2. In the Customize Perspective dialog, select J2EE . Also select EJB , Web, and any other categories that you might need. Then, click OK .

    3. Click Window > Open Perspective > Other > J2EE > OK .

  2. Select the Project Explorer view for your work.

    1. Click Window > Show View > Other > J2EE > Project Explorer > OK .
    The Project Explorer view is displayed in a panel of the assembly tool.

  3. Define a target server for your modules.

    1. Click Window > Preferences > Server > Installed Runtimes . The Installed Server Runtime Environments section of the Preferences dialog is displayed.

    2. Optional: Click Search. The assembly tool searches the local machine for an installation of WebSphere Application Server. If a list of installations is displayed, select the desired target server and click OK in the displayed dialog; then click OK in the Preferences dialog. If no installations of WebSphere Application Server are found, continue completing the steps for this task.

    3. Click Add . The New Server Runtime dialog is displayed.

    4. Select the target server run time. For work on Version 6 modules, click WebSphere Application Server v6.0 > Next . Note that menu choices and deployment descriptor panels for application assembly services such as ActivitySession, Application profiling, Internationalization, and Last participant support are not available unless you specify a WebSphere Application Server target server. The product_name Runtime panel is displayed.

    5. For Installation directory or Location, specify the location of the target server. If you do not have access to the target server, you can specify a false location such as c:\temp. Specifying a false location enables you to assemble modules; however, you cannot deploy modules to the target server using the assembly tool.

      Tip: If you specify a false location for a WebSphere Application Server v6.0 target server, use the assembly tool to assemble modules and then use WebSphere Application Server to deploy the modules. If you selected for a target server J2EE Runtime Library , a generic J2EE container, specify a directory that contains .jar files such a \bin\lib directory for a Java development kit installation.

    6. Click Finish . The target server name and type is added to the table in the Installed Server Runtime Environments section.

    7. In the Preferences dialog, click OK .
    When you configure J2EE modules, the target server that you selected is shown in the list of available target servers. If you selected WebSphere Application Server v6.0 for the target server, menu choices and deployment descriptor panels for WebSphere Application Server services are enabled.

 

What to do next

When you configure a J2EE module, select a target server for the module from the list of available target servers.

To change the list of available target servers, click Window > Preferences > Server > Installed Runtimes to go to the Installed Server Runtime Environments section of the Preferences dialog. Use the Add , Edit, Remove or Search options to change the list of target servers as needed.

To change the target server for a module, right-click on the module in the Project Explorer view and click Properties > Server . Change the value for Target runtime to select a different target server for the module. In the assembly tools, the terms target server and target runtime have the same meaning.

Related tasks
Assembling applications