JForum with Apache Tomcat 4.1

[Migrated From Jforum.net]

Hi all,
I've manually installed JForum 2.1.7 on a test Windows server with Apache Tomcat 6.01 and JRE 5.0 with no problems.

I've now come to install JForum on our intranet server for 'live' use and following the same steps as before (and using the same database server) I get the error below when I try to access the forum URL. Now the live server has Apache Tomcat 4.1 and JE 1.4.1 already installed, so different to the previous server.

Can I run JForum with these versions of Tomcat and Java? I think the problem is either the version of Java or I have incorrectly configured Tomcat because there are differences between version 4.1 and 6.

My knowledge of Tomcat is limited but with v4.1 there is no workers2.properties file in Tomcat 4.1 to add the JForum context. Instead I have added the context to the uriworkermap.properties file.

Thanks in advance,
J.





HTTP Status 500 -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

type Exception report

message

description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.

exception

org.apache.jasper.JasperException: Servlet.init() for servlet install threw exception
at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:248)
at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:289)
at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:240)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:853)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:247)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:260)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.invoke(StandardContext.java:2396)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:180)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorDispatcherValve.invoke(ErrorDispatcherValve.java:170)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:172)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:174)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.coyote.tomcat4.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:223)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:405)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.processConnection(Http11Protocol.java:380)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.TcpWorkerThread.runIt(PoolTcpEndpoint.java:508)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPool$ControlRunnable.run(ThreadPool.java:533)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:536)


root cause

javax.servlet.ServletException: Servlet.init() for servlet install threw exception
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapper.loadServlet(StandardWrapper.java:952)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapper.allocate(StandardWrapper.java:658)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.invoke(ApplicationDispatcher.java:653)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.doForward(ApplicationDispatcher.java:432)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.forward(ApplicationDispatcher.java:356)
at org.apache.jasper.runtime.PageContextImpl.forward(PageContextImpl.java:427)
at org.apache.jsp.install_jsp._jspService(install_jsp.java:42)
at org.apache.jasper.runtime.HttpJspBase.service(HttpJspBase.java:136)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:853)
at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServletWrapper.service(JspServletWrapper.java:204)
at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.serviceJspFile(JspServlet.java:289)
at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:240)
at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:853)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:247)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:193)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:260)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.invoke(StandardContext.java:2396)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:180)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorDispatcherValve.invoke(ErrorDispatcherValve.java:170)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:172)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:174)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
at org.apache.coyote.tomcat4.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:223)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:405)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.processConnection(Http11Protocol.java:380)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.TcpWorkerThread.runIt(PoolTcpEndpoint.java:508)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.threads.ThreadPool$ControlRunnable.run(ThreadPool.java:533)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:536)



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apache Tomcat/4.1.12
[originally posted on jforum.net by J]

[Migrated From Jforum.net]

OK, so maybe I didn't understand the problem well enough to explain it in my first post. I'll try again!

The JForum pages work on my Win2003 Server using IIS 6, Apache Tomcat 6, JRE 1.5 and MySQL database.
The JForum pages do not load on my W2K server using IIS 5, Apache Tomcat 4.1, JRE 1.4.1 and MySQL database. An HTTP 500 error page is displayed with the javax.servlet exception error I pasted in my first message.

My approach was to set another test server to prove that JForum could run on W2K using IIS 5, JRE 1.4.1 but still using Apache Tomcat 6 at this stage to avoid complicating the issue. JForum worked correctly.

I repeated this approach but this time using Apache Tomcat 4.1 and got the same javax.servlet exception error as I did the first time.

Doing a bit of research it turns out that Apache Tomcat version 5 and above implements the Servlet 2.4 and JavaServer Pages 2.0 standards. Apache Tomcat 4 implements the Servlet 2.3 and JavaServer Pages 1.2. I repeated my tests using Tomcat 5.5 and JForum worked correctly!

So my question is: am I right in thinking that JForum will not work on Tomcat 4.1 because 4.1 does not support Servlet 2.4 and JavaServer Pages 2.0 or have I made an assumption here?

If JForum should work on Tomcat 4.1 then what could possibly be causing the errors? I've now done the JForum installation so many times I don't think it could be an error I've made here.

Thanks,
J.

[originally posted on jforum.net by J]

[Migrated From Jforum.net]

I don't think anyone has tested with 1.4 since that is so old. However, I believe that when I set up the MyEclipse web project for Jforum I specified J2EE 1.3 (include TC 1.4 specs) and JVM 1.4 as the default. The code compiles fine with these constraints.

So, if there is a problem with Tomcat 1.4, it's not because of spec library or compiler issue.

It could be because the distro was compiled against a newer set of APIs or with a new JVM (but I think the build specifies 1.4 compatibility).

It could also be a TC 1.4 "quirk". I know there are various issues/differences between how 1.5 and 1.4 interpreted the standards.

One thing to try is to take the install.jsp out of the equation and call the install servlet directly. This might let you see the real error that is occuring during the install servlet init() method (where the stacktrace says the error is occuring). You can do this with the URL

/jforum/install/install.page?module=install&action=welcome

(replace /jforum with your webapp name if it is different)

It could just be that some underlying required library is not included with TC 1.4, etc. (Like javax.mail or the XML parser libs?).
[originally posted on jforum.net by monroe]

[Migrated From Jforum.net]

You might be onto something there. I just downloaded Apache Tomcat 4.1.36, which is the stable 4.1 release, and it works fine. So it does look like its a problem with that particular Tomcat 4.1.24.

You might think this is a lot of fuss and head scratching (& you'd be right!) over nothing when I could just upgrade our live intranet server to a later release of Apache Tomcat but at least I now understand the problem more fully and that gives me options.

Thanks for the help. Reading your post prompted me to revisit the 4.1 releases.

By the way, I got the same error message when I go direct to /jforum/install/install.page?module=install&action=welcome
[originally posted on jforum.net by J]