A couple of init() questions...

[James Hodgkiss]

Hello,

In my init() method, I want a loop that loops forever ( while(true){... ). Can I do this in the init() method? Do I just do it in a new thread?

Also, what is the purpose of the super.init(config) line? What happens if I leave it in? What happens if I leave it out?

Thanks,
James

[Ben Souther]

Something like that should be in another thread. Kicked off in a context listener. You should also make sure you have a solid way of killing this thread from the contextDestroyed method of your listener or make sure you are using daemon threads. Otherwise, you may have trouble reloading your app and/or stopping and restarting you server.

I generally advise against starting your own threads in a webapp unless, you really know what you're doing and can't find any alternative.

Mind sharing what you are using the loop for?

-Ben

[James Hodgkiss]

Hiya Ben,

Thanks for the reply.

It's to constantly re-read a dynamic web page, from which the servlet is taking the required bits to create a new web page.

Cheers,
James