Going Live

XXX To test the examples we've done in the previous sections we've made previews by using sample XML files. Naturally this is not the way the dynamic pages are displayed in the runtime. Therefore we will be testing our examples in a J2EE compliant environment where the real data is provided by the MoreMotion Application Framework.

Instead of making previews using sample XML files, from now on, we will build our project, start the web server and test the dynamic pages we developed on Tomcat.

The Apache Tomcat

Tomcat is the Servlet container that is used in the official Reference Implementation for the Java Servlet and Java Server Pages technologies. The Java Servlet and Java Server Pages specifications are developed by Sun under the Java Community Process.

Tomcat is developed in an open and participatory environment and released under the Apache Software License. Tomcat is intended to be a collaboration of the best-of-breed developers from around the world.

For more information about Tomcat please visit http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/index.html

Please note that the Tomcat is used for development purposes of a web application under MoreMotion Environment. Once you application is complete you can publish it to any application server that complies to J2EE standards such as Oracle Application Server, Sun Java System Application Server, BEA WebLogic Server, IBM WebSphere Application Server, etc.

Building the Project

To build the project which you are working on in the MoreMotion Application Studio either press CTRL + F9 keys together or click on to icon on the Deployment tool bar. By the first build the Application Studio will prepare a test environment in the target directory by copying the files under the {INSTALL_DIR}\sys\moremotion\ROOT directory in it. This process is called Web Application Initialization. After the Application Studio completes the Web Application Initialization it continues with compiling the pages of the project and copying the files required by the application to the target.

The Web Application Initialization will be performed only once. By the successive builds the Application Studio will analyze the dependencies of the project pages and other project items and will compile or copy only the required items.

Running the Tomcat

Once you've built your project you can start the Tomcat by clicking on icon on the Deployment toolbar. You should wait for a couple of seconds to let the tomcat initialize. Afterwards click on to icon on the Deployment toolbar to visit the entry page of your application with your default web browser.