Tomcat4.0.1 : Problem running servlets

[Gagan Indus]

Hi
I have installed Tomcat4.0.1 on one new machine , and setup all paths as required .
Tomcat example servlets are running fine
( In fact all the settings are same as my other machine , on which Tomcat is working fine )
Now when i try to run my own servlets on newly installed Tomcat , for eg with following settings:
In folder %Tomcat_Home%\webapps\meriapp folloing files are there :
- index.html
- WEB-INF\classes\MeriServlet.class
- WEB-INF\web.xml
MeriServlet.class is simple servlet , which prints "Hello" to response , nothing else.
web.xml is :

<web-app>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>Serve</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>MeriServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
</web-app>

which seems correct to me .
Now when i request : http://localhost:8080/meriapp
tomcat responds with 'index.html' correctly
But when i request : http://localhost:8080/meriapp/servlet/Serve
Tomcat give a 'Internal Server error' like of :
javax.servlet.ServletException: Cannot allocate servlet instance for path /meriapp/servlet/Serve
at org.apache.catalina.servlets.InvokerServlet.serveRequest(InvokerServlet.java:415)
at org.apache.catalina.servlets.InvokerServlet.doGet(InvokerServlet.java:180)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:740)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:853)
...
...
...
goes on and on and on....
...
...

i have tried many configuration settings etc . but in vain
plz help
------------------
Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2
Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .

[Max Tomlinson]

I've seen problems on Tomcat in the past using the default package. Maybe try putting your servlet class in a package.

[Gagan Indus]

thankx Max !
I tried putting servlets in different packages
still with no luck
any other idea?
------------------
Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2
Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .

[Gagan Indus]

hi
I got it solved !
silly-overlook chaosed myself , aaaggrh.. simple fundamental !
The simple servlet 'MeriServlet' has to be declared 'public' ... lol..of course how can i forget Tomcat is a legitimate java-code , it wont be able to access non-public class !
sorry for inconvience

------------------
Gagan (/^_^\) SCJP2
Die-hard JavaMonk -- little Java a day , keeps u going .