Distributed applications

[Kanishka Ajwani]

I came across this question on the Internet:


Which statements are true about distributed web applications?

1) There will be one instance of ServletContext in each VM
2) There will be only one instance of the default ServletContext in only one VM(the default ServletContext is one created for all servlets not deployed as part of an application are assigned)
3) All request that are part of a session must be handled by one VM at a time
4) Container must notify any session attributes implementing the HttpSessionActivationListener interface during migration of a session from one VM to another

According to the author, all the four options are correct. However I feel, only 1,2 and 4 should be correct. Requests which are part of a session can be handled by any number of JVMs, since the session migrates to whichever JVM contains the web resources required to satisfy the request. Please correct me if i am wrong.

[Frits Walraven]

Hi Kanishka,

Requests which are part of a session can be handled by any number of JVMs, since the session migrates to whichever JVM contains the web resources required to satisfy the request. Please correct me if i am wrong.

Correct, in other words: when you have a distributed web-app: there is only one Session(-object) per session. So the request is either handled by this JVM or handled by another JVM(after migration).

Conclusion: a request is always handled by one JVM, but not necessarily the same JVM as the other requests. However a single request is never handled by two JVM's.

Regards,
Frits

[Kanishka Ajwani]

Thanks Frits, that made things clear. But now I have another question in mind; what happens when a servlet in JVM1, forwards to/includes another servlet in JVM 2? In this case, the same request will be handled by 2 JVMs, not at the same time though.

[Frits Walraven]

what happens when a servlet in JVM1, forwards to/includes another servlet in JVM 2? In this case, the same request will be handled by 2 JVMs, not at the same time though.

That is not possible.

There are two ways of forwarding:

Using the RequestDispatcher

Using the HttpServletResponse.sendRedirect() method

With the RequestDispatcher you can forward to another web-app in the same JVM, but not to another JVM!
With the response.sendRedirect(), a new request is issued at the client side

Regards,
Frits

[Kanishka Ajwani]

Got it, thanks a lot.

One more question, when <c:import url=""> is used in a jsp, the resource to be sought can be in any JVM, and any web-app, how does that work?

[Frits Walraven]

One more question, when <c:import url=""> is used in a jsp, the resource to be sought can be in any JVM, and any web-app, how does that work?

Yes, just try it. You can just include a whole (HTML) page from another server.

Also have a look at the jstl1.1 spec:

7.4 <c:import>

Regards,
Frits

[Simran Dass]

Could you please mention the URL from where you got this question.

[Kanishka Ajwani]

Thanks Frits, my concepts are clear now.

Simran, I found this question from the link : http://www.javaranch.com/carl/SCWCD.htm.
Check out question no 45.

[Simran Dass]

Frits wrote -

With the RequestDispatcher you can forward to another web-app in the same JVM, but not to
another JVM!

But Frits using getRequestDispatcher you can dispatch a request to only the current web-app
not any other web-app.Is not it so.


This is from ServletRequest's method -

public RequestDispatcher getRequestDispatcher(java.lang.String path):-


The pathname specified may be relative, although it cannot extend outside the current servlet context. If the path begins with a "/" it is interpreted as relative to the current context root. This method returns null if the servlet container cannot return a RequestDispatcher.

[Frits Walraven]

But Frits using getRequestDispatcher you can dispatch a request to only the current web-app
not any other web-app.Is not it so.

If you obtain the RequestDispatcher from the ServletContext, you actually can:

Returns a RequestDispatcher object that acts as a wrapper for the resource located at the given path. A RequestDispatcher object can be used to forward a request to the resource or to include the resource in a response. The resource can be dynamic or static.
The pathname must begin with a "/" and is interpreted as relative to the current context root. Use getContext to obtain a RequestDispatcher for resources in foreign contexts. This method returns null if the ServletContext cannot return a RequestDispatcher.

Regards,
Frits

[Simran Dass]

Sorry.Should have read it carefully.

Earlier I had tried out getContext() , should not have forgotten such an
important thing.

[Dieter Quickfend]

This thread is a treasure trove of clarity in troubled waters. Thank you Frits!

[Frits Walraven]

This thread is a treasure trove of clarity in troubled waters. Thank you Frits!

Welcome

Regards,
Frits