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Deploying a grails application to WebSphere 5.x is not trivial. Some have reported success, but it is not my case yet

This is on :

• grails-1.0.1,
• Sun jdk 1.4.2 on Mac OS X 10.5.2 for running "grails war",
• WebSphere running on Linux CentOS 4.5
• IBM WebSphere Application Server, 5.1.1.3
  
  Build Number: cf30503.01
  
  Build Date: 01/17/2005

Here is a journal of what I went through, hoping it will help others and maybe help me solve my remaining problems to a successful deployment on websphere 5.1.

I intend to provide more deailled patches and files for workarounds I made. For now, I mostly describe what I did.

• WebSphere error at deployment with web.xml generated by "grails -Dservlet.version=2.3 war"
  • Caused by addition of a xmlns attribute to web-app element in web.xml, even if template has not specified such an attribute
  • Maybe also caused by absence of DOCTYPE in web.xml
  • Possibly related to GRAILS-1795
  • Sequence for producing web.xml descriptor :
    1. web.xml.tmp is first created from ${GRAILS_HOME}/src/war/WEB-INF/web2.3.template.xml into ~/.grails-${grailsVesion}/projects/${baseName} : OK
    2. web.xml.tmp is processed to replace @grails.project.key@ with ${baseName} : OK
    3. web.xml.tmp is processed by pluginManager.doWebDescriptor() to generate staging/WEB-INF/web.xml : NOT OK
    • This last step is where the DOCTYPE specification is lost and where a xmlns attribute is added to web-app element
  • Solved by :
    • specifiying a custom web.xml in ${basedir}/grails-app/conf/Config.groovy (grails.config.base.webXml) for the application : use the web.xml.tmp generated at first by "grails -Dservlet.version=2.3 war"
    • Customizing Package.groovy by creating a local copy into ${baseDir}/scripts : copy the custom web.xml into staging and skip web.xml generation via pluginManager.doWebDescriptor()
    • Customizing War.groovy by creating a local copy into ${baseDir}/scripts : load local copy of Package.groovy ('includeTargets' for Package.groovy must be before the one for Clean.groovy)
    • Choose local War.groovy script when running "grails -Dservlet.version=2.3 war"
      war building example with a local copy of War.groovy

      $ grails -Dgrails.env=devmarcpa -Dservlet.version=2.3 war
      
      Welcome to Grails 1.0.1 - http://grails.org/
      Licensed under Apache Standard License 2.0
      Grails home is set to: /usr/local/grails-1.0.1		
      		
      Base Directory: /Users/marcpa/Code/grails-learning/comics_catalog_srvlt2.3
      Environment set to devmarcpa
      log4j:WARN No appenders could be found for logger (org.springframework.core.io.support.PathMatchingResourcePatternResolver).
      log4j:WARN Please initialize the log4j system properly.
      Note: No plugin scripts found
      Multiple options please select:
      [1] /Users/marcpa/Code/grails-learning/comics_catalog_srvlt2.3/scripts/War.groovy 
      [2] /usr/local/grails-1.0.1/scripts/War.groovy 
      Enter #  (1, 2)
      1
      Running script /Users/marcpa/Code/grails-learning/comics_catalog_srvlt2.3/scripts/War.groovy
      

  • Others have solved by creating Package23.groovy and War23.groovy scripts straight in the grails installation : http://markmail.org/message/exu6vcqiqcwznb6x

• Trying to use PARENT_LAST for Classloader mode leads to "The chosen LogFactory implementation does not extend LogFactory"
  • See GRAILS-515 and http://grails.org/FAQ#FAQ-Q%3ADeployingonWebsphere
  • Solve by using an "application-associated shared library" definition in websphere for commons-logging:
    • in local copy of War.groovy, exclude(name:"commons-logging-1.1.jar" in target war
    • create a modified commons-logging.jar :

      $ cd $HOME
      
      $ [ ! -d tmp ] && mkdir tmp
      
      $ cd tmp
      
      $ cp $GRAILS_HOME/lib/commons-logging-1.1.jar commons-logging.jar

      1. mkdir -p META-INF/services
         
         $ echo "org.apache.commons.logging.impl.LogFactoryImpl" > META-INF/services/org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory
         
         $ jar uvf commons-logging.jar META-INF/services/org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory
    • copy the modified jar onto the machine running your websphere into a location that will be accessible at run-time by the websphere process
    • define a shared library in the admin console (pages 21 to 23 in the pdf "Integrating Jakarta Commons Logging (JCL) with IBM WebSphere Application Server" made by IBM, http://ww-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27004610)

• ServletException when org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderServlet is used as the "context" servlet in web.xml.
  • Same exception as GRAILS-2035, but different cause
  • Solved by applying patch described in GRAILS-1143
    groovy.lang.MissingPropertyException: No such property: getMetaClass

    [4/2/08 13:07:07:465 EDT] 55fc2722 ServletInstan E SRVE0100E: Did not realize init() exception thrown by servlet grails: javax.servlet.ServletException: groovy.lang.MissingPropertyException: No such property: getMetaClass for class: groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictServletInstance.doInit(StrictServletInstance.java:99)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet._init(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:147)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.PreInitializedServletState.init(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:270)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet.init(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:113)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletInstance.init(ServletInstance.java:189)
    
    at javax.servlet.GenericServlet.init(GenericServlet.java:258)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppServletManager.addServlet(WebAppServletManager.java:876)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppServletManager.loadServlet(WebAppServletManager.java:224)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppServletManager.loadAutoLoadServlets(WebAppServletManager.java:542)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebApp.loadServletManager(WebApp.java:1305)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebApp.init(WebApp.java:283)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebGroup.loadWebApp(WebGroup.java:403)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebGroup.init(WebGroup.java:212)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.WebContainer.addWebApplication(WebContainer.java:1025)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.WebContainerImpl.install(WebContainerImpl.java:136)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.WebContainerImpl.start(WebContainerImpl.java:356)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.ApplicationMgrImpl.start(ApplicationMgrImpl.java:507)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.DeployedApplicationImpl.fireDeployedObjectStart(DeployedApplicationImpl.java:808)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.DeployedModuleImpl.start(DeployedModuleImpl.java:354)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.DeployedApplicationImpl.start(DeployedApplicationImpl.java:578)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.ApplicationMgrImpl.startApplication(ApplicationMgrImpl.java:301)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.ApplicationMgrImpl.startApplication(ApplicationMgrImpl.java:578)
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.modelmbean.MMBInvoker.invoke(MMBInvoker.java:46)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.modelmbean.MMBInvoker.invokeOperation(MMBInvoker.java:115)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.modelmbean.DynamicModelMBeanSupport.invoke(DynamicModelMBeanSupport.java:409)
    
    at javax.management.modelmbean.RequiredModelMBean.invoke(RequiredModelMBean.java:323)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.GenericMBeanSupport.invoke(GenericMBeanSupport.java:178)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.MBeanAccess.invoke(MBeanAccess.java:113)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.MBeanServerImpl.invoke(MBeanServerImpl.java:290)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.management.AdminServiceImpl.invoke(AdminServiceImpl.java:659)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.console.core.mbean.MBeanHelper.invoke(MBeanHelper.java:141)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.console.appdeployment.ApplicationDeploymentCollectionAction.perform(ApplicationDeploymentCollectionAction.java:315)
    
    at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.processActionPerform(ActionServlet.java:1791)
    
    at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1586)
    
    at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:510)
    
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:760)
    
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:853)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictServletInstance.doService(StrictServletInstance.java:110)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet._service(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:174)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.IdleServletState.service(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:313)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet.service(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:116)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletInstance.service(ServletInstance.java:283)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ValidServletReferenceState.dispatch(ValidServletReferenceState.java:42)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletInstanceReference.dispatch(ServletInstanceReference.java:40)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppRequestDispatcher.handleWebAppDispatch(WebAppRequestDispatcher.java:1049)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppRequestDispatcher.dispatch(WebAppRequestDispatcher.java:600)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppRequestDispatcher.forward(WebAppRequestDispatcher.java:201)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebAppInvoker.doForward(WebAppInvoker.java:125)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebAppInvoker.handleInvocationHook(WebAppInvoker.java:286)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.cache.invocation.CachedInvocation.handleInvocation(CachedInvocation.java:71)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.cache.invocation.CacheableInvocationContext.invoke(CacheableInvocationContext.java:116)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srp.ServletRequestProcessor.dispatchByURI(ServletRequestProcessor.java:186)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.oselistener.OSEListenerDispatcher.service(OSEListener.java:334)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.http.HttpConnection.handleRequest(HttpConnection.java:56)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.http.HttpConnection.readAndHandleRequest(HttpConnection.java:624)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.http.HttpConnection.run(HttpConnection.java:448)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.util.ThreadPool$Worker.run(ThreadPool.java(Compiled Code))
    
    ---- Begin backtrace for Nested Throwables
    
    org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.InvokerInvocationException: groovy.lang.MissingPropertyException: No such property: getMetaClass for class: groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.reflection.CachedMethod.invoke(CachedMethod.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at groovy.lang.MetaMethod.doMethodInvoke(MetaMethod.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.metaclass.ClosureMetaClass.invokeMethod(ClosureMetaClass.java:250)
    
    at groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl.invokeMethod(MetaClassImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at groovy.lang.Closure.call(Closure.java:292)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.plugins.DefaultGrailsPlugin.doWithDynamicMethods(DefaultGrailsPlugin.java:702)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.plugins.DefaultGrailsPluginManager.doDynamicMethods(DefaultGrailsPluginManager.java:696)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.commons.spring.GrailsRuntimeConfigurator.configure(GrailsRuntimeConfigurator.java:281)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.commons.spring.GrailsRuntimeConfigurator.configure(GrailsRuntimeConfigurator.java:242)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.web.context.GrailsConfigUtils.configureWebApplicationContext(GrailsConfigUtils.java:106)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.web.servlet.GrailsDispatcherServlet.createWebApplicationContext(GrailsDispatcherServlet.java:115)
    
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.initWebApplicationContext(FrameworkServlet.java:266)
    
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.FrameworkServlet.initServletBean(FrameworkServlet.java:236)
    
    at org.springframework.web.servlet.HttpServletBean.init(HttpServletBean.java:126)
    
    at javax.servlet.GenericServlet.init(GenericServlet.java:258)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictServletInstance.doInit(StrictServletInstance.java:82)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet._init(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:147)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.PreInitializedServletState.init(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:270)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet.init(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:113)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletInstance.init(ServletInstance.java:189)
    
    at javax.servlet.GenericServlet.init(GenericServlet.java:258)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppServletManager.addServlet(WebAppServletManager.java:876)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppServletManager.loadServlet(WebAppServletManager.java:224)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppServletManager.loadAutoLoadServlets(WebAppServletManager.java:542)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebApp.loadServletManager(WebApp.java:1305)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebApp.init(WebApp.java:283)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebGroup.loadWebApp(WebGroup.java:403)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebGroup.init(WebGroup.java:212)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.WebContainer.addWebApplication(WebContainer.java:1025)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.WebContainerImpl.install(WebContainerImpl.java:136)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.WebContainerImpl.start(WebContainerImpl.java:356)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.ApplicationMgrImpl.start(ApplicationMgrImpl.java:507)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.DeployedApplicationImpl.fireDeployedObjectStart(DeployedApplicationImpl.java:808)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.DeployedModuleImpl.start(DeployedModuleImpl.java:354)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.DeployedApplicationImpl.start(DeployedApplicationImpl.java:578)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.ApplicationMgrImpl.startApplication(ApplicationMgrImpl.java:301)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.runtime.component.ApplicationMgrImpl.startApplication(ApplicationMgrImpl.java:578)
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.modelmbean.MMBInvoker.invoke(MMBInvoker.java:46)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.modelmbean.MMBInvoker.invokeOperation(MMBInvoker.java:115)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.modelmbean.DynamicModelMBeanSupport.invoke(DynamicModelMBeanSupport.java:409)
    
    at javax.management.modelmbean.RequiredModelMBean.invoke(RequiredModelMBean.java:323)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.GenericMBeanSupport.invoke(GenericMBeanSupport.java:178)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.MBeanAccess.invoke(MBeanAccess.java:113)
    
    at com.tivoli.jmx.MBeanServerImpl.invoke(MBeanServerImpl.java:290)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.management.AdminServiceImpl.invoke(AdminServiceImpl.java:659)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.console.core.mbean.MBeanHelper.invoke(MBeanHelper.java:141)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.console.appdeployment.ApplicationDeploymentCollectionAction.perform(ApplicationDeploymentCollectionAction.java:315)
    
    at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.processActionPerform(ActionServlet.java:1791)
    
    at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.process(ActionServlet.java:1586)
    
    at org.apache.struts.action.ActionServlet.doPost(ActionServlet.java:510)
    
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:760)
    
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:853)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictServletInstance.doService(StrictServletInstance.java:110)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet._service(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:174)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.IdleServletState.service(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:313)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.StrictLifecycleServlet.service(StrictLifecycleServlet.java:116)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletInstance.service(ServletInstance.java:283)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ValidServletReferenceState.dispatch(ValidServletReferenceState.java:42)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.servlet.ServletInstanceReference.dispatch(ServletInstanceReference.java:40)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppRequestDispatcher.handleWebAppDispatch(WebAppRequestDispatcher.java:1049)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppRequestDispatcher.dispatch(WebAppRequestDispatcher.java:600)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.webapp.WebAppRequestDispatcher.forward(WebAppRequestDispatcher.java:201)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebAppInvoker.doForward(WebAppInvoker.java:125)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srt.WebAppInvoker.handleInvocationHook(WebAppInvoker.java:286)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.cache.invocation.CachedInvocation.handleInvocation(CachedInvocation.java:71)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.cache.invocation.CacheableInvocationContext.invoke(CacheableInvocationContext.java:116)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.srp.ServletRequestProcessor.dispatchByURI(ServletRequestProcessor.java:186)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.oselistener.OSEListenerDispatcher.service(OSEListener.java:334)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.webcontainer.http.HttpConnection.handleRequest(HttpConnection.java:56)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.http.HttpConnection.readAndHandleRequest(HttpConnection.java:624)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.http.HttpConnection.run(HttpConnection.java:448)
    
    at com.ibm.ws.util.ThreadPool$Worker.run(ThreadPool.java(Compiled Code))
    
    Caused by: groovy.lang.MissingPropertyException: No such property: getMetaClass for class: groovy.lang.MetaClassImpl
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.ScriptBytecodeAdapter.unwrap(ScriptBytecodeAdapter.java:49)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.ScriptBytecodeAdapter.setProperty(ScriptBytecodeAdapter.java:505)
    
    at org.codehaus.groovy.grails.plugins.CoreGrailsPlugin$_closure2.doCall(CoreGrailsPlugin.groovy:68)
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java(Compiled Code))
    
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java(Compiled Code))
    
    ... 77 more

• Servlet Error 500 : No thread-bound request found on visit to index.gsp of deployed application
  • The current request object is not available in org.springframework.web.context.request.RequestContextHolder
  • Maybe related to GRAILS-2188 ?
  • Solved by using alternate method to getting the current request into current thread (from javadoc of org.springframework.web.filter)
    Addition to web.xml to use spring's RequestContextFilter

      <!-- use alternate method to provide current request to current thread in Spring -->
      <!-- @see org.springframework.web.filter -->
      <filter>
        <filter-name>requestContextFilter</filter-name>
        <filter-class>org.springframework.web.filter.RequestContextFilter</filter-class>
      </filter>
    
      <filter-mapping>
        <filter-name>requestContextFilter</filter-name>
        <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
      </filter-mapping>
    

• Servlet Error, ClassCastException, when visiting index.gsp:

This one is unresolved ! I need help...