Liberty profile externals support

External functions and resources of the Liberty profile can be used directly, and can be relied on to be in the next release. Internal or incidental aspects of the profile might change when you apply service, or upgrade to a future release.

What can I use directly in the profile and rely on being in the next release?

The following resources can be used directly and will continue to be available in the next release:Fix Pack 8550

What should I avoid dependencies on?

Do not build dependencies on incidental aspects of the product, or you might be impacted when you apply service or upgrade to future releases. Examples of product internals that you should avoid relying on include, but are not restricted to, the following scenarios:
  • The names of product binary jars, for example those in the ${wlp.install.dir}/dev directory. Compile your code against these JAR files by using the tools or the javac -extdirs option. See Overriding classes from the Java SDK.
  • Direct use of the product binaries in the ${wlp.install.dir}/lib directory. The only JAR files that can be directly invoked are in the ${wlp.install.dir}/bin/tools directory.
  • Messages that are output by the server at run time. The text and inserts of messages are subject to change in service and version upgrades. As far as practically possible, the product will be consistent in the message IDs that are output at particular points of operation, but this cannot be guaranteed because underlying implementations might change.
  • The layout of the product installation, other than the ${wlp.install.dir}/bin and ${wlp.install.dir}/dev directories.
  • Examples and template files in the ${wlp.install.dir}/templates directory. These files might be modified when you apply services to your installation.
  • Private or third party Java™ packages that are not explicitly exposed as APIs. These are not visible to the application class loader at run time.

What might be modified by applying service or an upgrade?

The contents of the following directories and their subdirectories might be modified when service or upgrade is applied. Do not make your own modifications to files in these locations, or they might be overwritten by product maintenance or upgrade:
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/bin
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/clients
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/dev
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/java
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/lib
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/templates
No modifications are made to the contents of the following directories. These are your files, and applying service or upgrade will not modify them:
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/etc (where you might have added a server.env or jvm.options file).
  • ${wlp.install.dir}/usr (the default location for user configuration and applications).
  • Any non-default directory that you designate through the WLP_USER_DIR environment variable.

There is an exception to the policy that no modifications are made to the contents of ${wlp.install.dir}/etc. The file ${wlp.install.dir}/etc/default.env is created when you install the Liberty profile on IBM® iSeries® Platforms using the Installation Manager. This file is also created or replaced by the iAdmin POSTINSTALL command during archive and Job Manager installations. The iAdmin command is in the ${wlp.install.dir}/lib/native/os400/bin directory. See Liberty profile: iAdmin command.

Third-party APIs might change over time without consideration to backward compatibility. These are Java packages that are considered part of the implementation of features developed in open source communities and delivered as part of the Liberty profile. Third-party APIs are not visible to applications by default; Java EE applications with a classloader configuration that explicitly allows third-party access will have visibility to those packages on the application class loader, and OSGi applications must explicitly import the packages. Consider the impact of incompatible changes before deciding to use third-party APIs.


Icon that indicates the type of topic Reference topic

Terms and conditions for information centers | Feedback


Timestamp icon Last updated: Monday, 21 April 2014
http://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/wsbroker/redirect?version=phil&product=was-nd-iseries&topic=rwlp_profile_externals
File name: rwlp_profile_externals.html