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Where to put global objects in Java web app

 
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Was not sure what to put in subject line and not sure this is the correct forum.

In my web app I have a function that runs when first loading where I create several(50+) class objects that hold various lists that will be used in the application. I assign this function output to a session attribute so the app can access it.

For example a list of supplier names and data. This list is populated from a remote data result.

Each time a user accesses the application(separate session of the application) this list would be created for that session. Or I assume this is what is happening.

Here is my application design question. Is there a way that these lists could be at some global level in the application so each session would not have to construct its own class object of the list?

Is this sort of thing a candidate for a Web Service? Would this be more efficient? Or is the way I have it designed the correct way?

I an trying to reduce the heap size of the application.  
 
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It seems to me that if those lists belong to the application, and aren't specific to any particular user, then you should be putting them in application scope rather than in session scope. That way you'd only have to create them once, when the application starts, instead of having to create them every time a new session is created. Likewise there'd be only one copy of the lists instead of having a copy for each active session.

Note: this assumes that the contents of the lists don't ever change. If they do, then you need to have a way for the application to reload the lists when such a change happens. This can be done, of course, but it's something that needs to be included in your application's design.
 
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Paul Clapham wrote: ...then you should be putting them in application scope rather than in session scope...



First thanks for your help in this matter.

So would the lists get loaded when I started the application server? If changes were made I could just restart the server.

Is there a certain way or place I put the list so they belong to the application? I am using WebSphere and eclipse. Or do I have to do this on the application server?
 
Paul Clapham
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Execute code on webapp startup and shutdown using ServletContextListener

To that I would add: from the ServletContextEvent object passed to the contextInitialized method you can get a ServletContext; to add an object to application scope you can call its setAttribute(name, object) method. Elsewhere in your app you can easily get a ServletContext and call getAttribute(name) to retrieve that object, or in JSTL it's very easy to access objects in application scope.
 
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Paul Clapham wrote:Execute code on webapp startup and shutdown using ServletContextListener

To that I would add: from the ServletContextEvent object passed to the contextInitialized method you can get a ServletContext; to add an object to application scope you can call its setAttribute(name, object) method. Elsewhere in your app you can easily get a ServletContext and call getAttribute(name) to retrieve that object, or in JSTL it's very easy to access objects in application scope.



Still not sure I am doing this correctly:

I have my listener created and a list added to it. How do I access the list in my app?

 
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ServletContext.getAttribute()

Of course, you've got to put it there first.

Think about it, of what use is sticking it into a member variable of the listener? You want to put all your "global" data into the application context (aka ServletContext).
 
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Paul Clapham wrote:... from the ServletContextEvent object passed to the contextInitialized method you can get a ServletContext; to add an object to application scope you can call its setAttribute(name, object) method.

 
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Bear Bibeault wrote:ServletContext.getAttribute()

Of course, you've got to put it there first.

Think about it, of what use is sticking it into a member variable of the listener? You want to put all your "global" data into the application context (aka ServletContext).



This is what I have now and it seems to work when I use it in my JSTL code.

 
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Long before there were webapps, or for that matter, even the Internet, I learned the hard way that global variables can be a real nightmare. So keep them to a minimum.

It sounds like you're looking to keep static lists that might be used as HTML SELECT option lists or their equivalent, and yes, that's something that's reasonable to put in an easily-located shared scope, especially since they're normally not going to be updated, only read.

For that sort of thing, the Application Scope is preferable.

You can put them in other places - for example as static class members - but I don't recommend it. Application Scope is the first place I'd want to look for them, and you get a bonus in that you can locate them via a logical bean name instead of having to hard-code a path. And the JEE API's make it easier to work with them in stuff like EL expressions on your View Template of choice, be it JSP, a JSF xhtml template or whatever.
 
Steve Dyke
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Tim Holloway wrote:Long before there were webapps, or for that matter, even the Internet, I learned the hard way that global variables can be a real nightmare. So keep them to a minimum.



Thanks for the insight. My quest is to reduce the number of objects having to be created on the heap. I have "Out of Memory" issues from time to time. I thought that minimizing the number of times a class is constructed might help.

My JVM is set to 3G already. My compiled app(deployed) size is almost 1G. The app will run for several days even a week or more then the heap size grows beyond the max.
 
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Steve Dyke wrote:

Tim Holloway wrote:Long before there were webapps, or for that matter, even the Internet, I learned the hard way that global variables can be a real nightmare. So keep them to a minimum.



Thanks for the insight. My quest is to reduce the number of objects having to be created on the heap. I have "Out of Memory" issues from time to time. I thought that minimizing the number of times a class is constructed might help.

My JVM is set to 3G already. My compiled app(deployed) size is almost 1G. The app will run for several days even a week or more then the heap size grows beyond the max.



I think I may have a different approach to the more dynamic lists. The app contains what I call modules, set up as a navigation menu. Not every user needs access or has access to every module.
They can pick and choose which ones they want in their menu to a certain extent.
In the log on servlet I could analyze the module criteria and determine which lists it would need and load these into session attributes.

As I have stated before, currently every list loads into a default class set to a session attribute when the first servlet in app is called even if it is never accessed.
 
Tim Holloway
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Steve Dyke wrote:In the log on servlet



 
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Tim Holloway wrote:

Steve Dyke wrote:In the log on servlet





Can you elaborate please?
 
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I need a macro key for this, I type it so often.

J2EE/JEE define a standard container-managed security system. It's designed by security professionals, well-documented, thoroughly debugged, and - most importantly - to the best of my knowledge, it has never been cracked. It has the additional virtue that it blocks a lot of attacks before they can even reach application code, so they cannot exploit possible weaknesses in the application code. And, of course, it's built into the JEE API.

Do-it-yourself security systems - where you design and implement  your own authentication (login) and authorization functions have an absolutely atrocious history for being crackable. Many, in fact, can be bypassed in under 15 minutes by unskilled persons.

Unless you are professionally-trained, full-time security, you really shouldn't even think about designing your own security system. Security systems are as strong as their weakest link and unless you know what you're doing, there's a virtual certainty that you'll have at least one. Even the pros get caught occasionally. It's definitely not something you should be doing "in addition to the important stuff". It's not even something you should expect the local "genius" to be able to do properly.
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