<listener> DD tag - order in web.xml?

[Paul Statham]

Hi Guys,

Using one of the mock exam questions on this very site (Question Bank ID:52) which says

<web-app>
<servlet>
.....
</servlet>
<listener>
<listener-class>com.javaranch.LogListener</listener-class>
</listener>
</web-app>

The above entry in the Deployment Descriptor(DD) will result in which of the following?

a. Provide a Log Servlet for the entire application.
b. Create a listener as defined by the com.javaranch.LogListener class.
c. Log all session information as they occur.
d. The webapp will not be loaded due to a parse exception of the DD.

I would have chosen D, but the answer is B.

But according to this page: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E13222_01/wls/docs81/webapp/app_events.html#178122

The <listener> element must directly follow the <filter> and <filter-mapping> elements and directly precede the <servlet> element

Which is right?

[Stoian Azarov]

Hmmm, this is interesting!

The link you posted is for WebLogic Server, so I suppose that this requirement is specific for this implementation of the container, because I made a quick check in the Servlet specification 2.4. and there it is stated that sub elements in <web-app> tag can be in any order:

SRV.13.2 Rules for Processing the Deployment Descriptor
"The sub elements under web-app can be in an arbitrary order in this version of
the specification."

Maybe someone else with more experience can confirm that.

Regards

[Piyush Joshi]

I don't have more experience but I have been trying listener examples for WCD preparation, and got no problem with the ordering of <listener> element. I usually put in the same order as given in the question here . I am using Tomcat 7.

[Paul Statham]

^ That's good enough for me, thank you

[Frits Walraven]

The order was important in previous servlet specifications (2.3 and before)

Regards,
Frits