Abstract:
A system and method for updating at least one deployment descriptor, comprising creating a first representation of the at least one deployment descriptor; creating a second representation of a second at least one deployment descriptor based on one or more source files; comparing the first representation with the second representation; updating the first representation based on the second representation if the first representation is out-of-date; and wherein the method can be invoked from an integrated development environment.

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority from the following applications which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety: 
     SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANIPULATING AND AUTOMATICALLY UPDATING ENTERPRISE APPLICATION DEPLOYMENT DESCRIPTORS, U.S. Application No. 60/445,535, Inventors: Michael Kovacs, et al., filed on Feb. 6, 2003. 
     SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANIPULATING ENTERPRISE APPLICATION DEPLOYMENT DESCRIPTORS, U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/445,532, Inventors: Michael Kovacs, et al., filed on Feb. 6, 2003. 
    
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     CROSS REFERENCES 
     The following publication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: BEA S YSTEMS , INC ., BEA WebLogic Server®: WebLogic Builder Online Help  (Release 7.0, June 2002). 
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present invention disclosure relates to tools for deploying web applications, and in particular, tools for manipulating web application deployment descriptors. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In order to deploy an application in a web server, configuration and run-time information must be provided to the web server via one or more deployment descriptor files. Such files can describe run-time parameters particular to a given web server implementation, configuration information for application objects including for example information pertaining to object persistence and relationships among objects. Deployment descriptor files are typically written extensible Markup Language (XML). Such files are often lengthy and cryptic which makes them difficult to decipher and edit by hand. Furthermore, the information contained in deployment descriptor files must be kept up-to-date to reflect changes in a corresponding application&#39;s source files. This arrangement invites error. For instance, unless users are vigilant when editing either application or deployment descriptor files, one will become unsynchronized with the other. The user may not even realize this until long after an application has been deployed in a web server. Furthermore, manually editing disparate files creates another opportunity for error due to input errors. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exemplary Graphical User Interface (GUI) in one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exemplary resource hierarchy in one embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary system diagram in one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one. 
     In one embodiment, an interactive tool (hereinafter referred to as “builder”) allows a user to interactively edit information in deployment descriptors for an application without having to manually edit the underlying files. By way of a non-limiting example, a user can add a tag library to a web application, or add a finder method to an Entity JavaBean™ (EJB). The builder can allow the user to then test the deployment information by validating it and deploying the application to the server. If any of an application&#39;s deployment descriptor files are missing or defective, the builder can generate new or newly serviceable descriptor files. In one embodiment, the web server is the BEA WebLogic® Server from BEA Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. In one embodiment, an application can include Java™ 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) components. Java™, JavaBeans and the J2EE platform are available from Sun Microsystems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. 
       FIG. 1  is an exemplary Graphical User Interface (GUI) in one embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment and by way of illustration, the GUI can be implemented using Microsoft® Windows®, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that other embodiments based on other GUI frameworks are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. GUI  100  can include user-selectable resource hierarchy  102 , settings pane  104 , message area  106 , and tool bar  108 . Message area  106  can be used to display messages of import to the user, such as the result of validating deployment descriptor information, messages from a web server, etc. In one embodiment, message area  106  can contain user-selectable text and/or graphics. By way of a non-limiting example, GUI user selection can be accomplished with a mouse, tablet, keyboard, voice command, gesture, etc. Tool bar  108  can include user-selectable controls for directing builder to load files, validate deployment descriptor information, update deployment descriptor information, and save deployment descriptor information. 
     In one embodiment, the builder organizes information from all of an application&#39;s deployment descriptors into a logical hierarchy of resources. Such a hierarchy hides the underlying complexity of the deployment descriptor files and makes it easier for users to access information by imposing an intuitive organization on the information. In one embodiment, this hierarchy can be represented graphically as resource hierarchy  102 . In one embodiment, hierarchy  102  represents a high-level abstraction of any Java™ archive (JAR), Web Archive (WAR), Enterprise Archive (EAR), Java™ Connector Architecture Component (RAR), and/or an exploded Java™ Enterprise module (e.g., a source directory containing a “META-INF” subdirectory). This allows the user to view deployment information in terms of the organization of the application, rather than in terms of the foreign syntax of deployment descriptor files. By way of a non-limiting example, one such hierarchy could be organized as in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 2  is an exemplary resource hierarchy in one embodiment of the invention. Indented items in the figure are considered hierarchically inferior to less indented items. In one embodiment, and by way of a non-limiting example, the hierarchy  102  can include an EAR node  200  (corresponding to an EAR file). EAR node  200  can contain at least one WAR  202  node (corresponding to a WAR file), at least one EJB node (corresponding to an EJB file), and at least one JAR node  208 - 210  (each corresponding to a JAR file). WAR node  202  can include the following nodes: servlets, filters, security constraints and tag library. Each of these nodes may further contain other nodes, and so on. Continuing the example, EJB nodes  204  and  206  can each contain a bean name node and a relations node. The bean name node can contain the following nodes: turning, methods, resources, CMP fields, and finders. There is no limit to the number of nodes or hierarchical levels. 
     When a node in hierarchy  102  is selected (either by a user or programmatically), its associated deployment descriptor information is displayed in a format suitable for editing in settings pane  104 . For example, the “Session Settings” node is selected in hierarchy  102 . As such, settings pane  104  provides user-editable fields (e.g.,  112 - 116 ) corresponding to deployment descriptor information this node. Although settings pane  104  may display a single field for a given value, that field may map to more than one value in more than one deployment descriptor file. Again, this complexity is hidden from the user. In one embodiment, mappings between fields and information in deployment descriptor files is disclosed in BEA S YSTEMS , I NC.,    BEA WebLogic Server®: WebLogic Builder Online Help  (Release 7.0, June 2002) which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Settings pane  104  can include multiple panes, if necessary, each accessible by a user-selectable tab  110 , button or other navigation mechanism. In another embodiment, default values for fields can be provided where reasonable. 
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary system diagram in one embodiment of the invention. Although this diagram depicts objects as functionally separate, such depiction is merely for illustrative purposes. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the objects portrayed in  FIG. 3  can be arbitrarily combined or divided into separate software, firmware or hardware components. Furthermore, it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that such objects, regardless of how they are combined or divided, can execute on the same computing device or can be arbitrarily distributed among different computing devices connected by a network. 
     In one embodiment, builder  300  can coordinate the activities of the other components in conjunction with GUI  100 . On start up and/or when a user directs GUI  100  to open a source file (e.g., via tool bar  108 ), builder can invoke XML parser  308  to parse deployment descriptor files for an application and create a data structure (hereinafter referred to as “dtree”) representation there from. There are many commercial and publicly available XML parsers. However, the embodiments disclosed herein are not dependent on a particular XML parser or its resulting data structure representation of an XML document. In one embodiment, the dtree can be a tree data structure that embodies the hierarchical relationships of nested XML statements. When a user directs the GUI  100  to open an application module, XML parser  308  processes any corresponding deployment descriptor files and provides the resulting dtree to builder  300 . Hierarchy  102  can then be constructed from the dtree by mapping the dtree&#39;s elements to node types in hierarchy  102 . 
     If any deployment descriptor files needed for deployment of an application on a web server are missing or defective, builder  300  can generate new descriptor files by invoking deployment descriptor generator  306  to process application modules (e.g., Java™ source files). Generator  306  creates a dtree based on source files it discovers in an application&#39;s project directory or an archive file. Builder  300  can then take this dtree and use it to emit a set of deployment descriptor files. In one embodiment, generator  306  examines the contents of a staging directory and builds standard J2EE (e.g., web.xml and ejb-jar.xml) and server-specific deployment descriptors based on the servlet classes and EJB classes found therein. In one embodiment, deployment descriptor generator  306  is the ddinit tool available with the BEA WebLogic® Server from BEA Systems, Inc. 
     A user can direct builder (e.g., via toolbar  108 ) to validate the deployment descriptor information represented by hierarchy  102 . In one embodiment, builder invokes validator  302  to locate errors within deployment descriptor files (e.g., incorrect CMP field name, etc.). Validator  302  directs compiler  304  to perform the validation. In one embodiment, compiler  304  is the ejbc tool available with the BEA WebLogic® Server from BEA Systems, Inc. In one embodiment, when compiler  304  determines that there is an error in an deployment descriptor file, it can create an Error object to store an error code and/or message, the identifier of a node and corresponding field in the resource hierarchy  102  to which the error pertains, and/or an XML type of the field. In one embodiment, compiler  304  provides an Error object to validator  302  for each error it encounters pertaining to deployment descriptor information. Error objects can be used to automatically navigate hierarchy  102  and settings pane  104  to the source of errors. 
     In one embodiment, validator  302  and/or compiler  304  can display human-readable error messages corresponding to each error object in message area  106 . If a user selects such message, validator  302  using information in the associated Error object can cause the hierarchy  102  node identified by Error object to be automatically selected. In addition, validator  302  can cause the node&#39;s field(s) to be displayed in pane  104 . In a further embodiment, the field which is the source of the error message can be highlighted in pane  104 . In another embodiment, validator  302  can offer suggestions to the user for correcting the field value via a pop-up window or some other notification means. 
     In one embodiment, a user can direct builder (e.g., via toolbar  108 ) to deploy an application in a web server. The deploy button can cause compiler  304  to compile all of the source code associated with a specified project directory or JAR file. If no errors are detected, compiler  304  can place the EJB classes, interfaces, and deployment descriptor files in a JAR file, generate web server container classes for the Entity JavaBeans™, create client-side dynamic proxies and server-side byte code, and deploy the project to the web server. 
     In one embodiment, a user can direct builder  300  (e.g., via toolbar  108 ) to update an application&#39;s deployment descriptor information to take into account changes made to application source files. In another embodiment, builder  300  can automatically update the deployment descriptor information if it determines that application source files have been modified. In one embodiment, builder  300  can invoke XML parser  308  to create a master dtree (if one does not already exist) representing the present state of the deployment descriptor files, and can invoke generator  306  to create a new dtree representing deployment descriptor information based on the current state of source files in an application&#39;s project directory. 
     Builder  300  compares the master and new dtrees to each other. In one embodiment, for the portions of the dtrees that represent an EAR resource, builder  300  removes all modules contained within the EAR resource (e.g., WARs &amp; JARs) in the master dtree that do not also exist in the new dtree. In addition, builder  300  adds modules to the master dtree if they exist in the new dtree but not in the master dtree. In this fashion, the master dtree is “refreshed” based on the current state of the project files. For the portions of the dtrees that represent EJBs, builder  300  can alter the master dtree so that it has the same bean resources as the new tree. For portions of the dtrees that represent WARs, builder  300  alters the master dtree so that it has the same modules (e.g., servlets, listeners, filters, tag libraries, etc.) as the new tree. In one embodiment, builder  300  does not delete modules from the master dtree WAR resources since other applications outside of the current application may depend on the deployment descriptors. In this way, changes made to application source code files can be integrated while preserving changes made to the DD&#39;s by a builder user. Finally, builder  300  can generate new deployment descriptors from the “refreshed” master dtree. 
     One embodiment may be implemented using a conventional general purpose or a specialized digital computer or microprocessor(s) programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art. The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     One embodiment includes a computer program product which is a storage medium (media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform any of the features presented herein. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical discs, DVD, CD-ROMs, microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/or data. 
     Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the general purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or other mechanism utilizing the results of the present invention. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, execution environments/containers, and user applications. 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art. Embodiments were chosen and described in order to best describe the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention, the various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.