Software Installation

Software Installation You need the following software packages to get started: JDK (Java SE Development Kit) 5.0 or higher (http://java.sun.com/j2se) JSF 1.2 The sample code for this book, available at http://corejsf.com We assume that you have already installed the JDK and that you are familiar with the JDK tools. For more information on the JDK, see Horstmann, Cay, and Cornell, Gary, 2004, 2005. Core Java ™ 2, vol. 2—Advanced Features (7th ed.). Santa Clara, CA: Sun Microsystems Press/Prentice Hall. Since JSF 1.2 is part of the Java EE 5 specification, the easiest way to try out JSF is to use an application server that is compatible with Java EE 5. In this section, we describe the GlassFish application server (http://glassfish.dev.java.net). You will find instructions for other application servers on the companion web site (http://corejsf.com). Note As this book is published, there are two major versions of JSF. The most recent version, JSF 1.2, was released as part of Java EE 5 in 2006. The original version, JSF 1.0, was released in 2004, and a bug-fix release, named JSF 1.1, was issued shortly thereafter. This book covers both versions 1.1 and 1.2, but the main focus is on version 1.2. Note If you do not want to install a complete application server, you can also use Tomcat (http://tomcat.apache.org), together with the JSF libraries from Sun Microsystems (http://javaserverfaces.dev.java.net). See the book's companion web site (http://corejsf.com) for installation instructions. Install GlassFish, following the directions on the web site. Then start the application server. On Unix/Linux, you use the command glassfish/bin/asadmin start-domain (See Figure 1-1.) Here, glassfish is the directory into which you installed the GlassFish software. Figure 1-1. Starting GlassFish On Windows, launch glassfish\bin\sadmin start-domain To test that GlassFish runs properly, point your browser to http://localhost:8080. You should see a welcome page (see Figure 1-2). Figure 1-2. GlassFish welcome page You shut down GlassFish with the command glassfish/bin/asadmin stop-domain or, on Windows, glassfish\bin\sadmin stop-domain