Web projects
Use web projects to create and maintain the resources for your web applications. You can create web projects to manage content-based web applications that contain resources such as images and HTML files. You can also create web projects that contain dynamic files, such as JavaServer Pages or servlets.
The structure of a web project mirrors the web application that
is created from the project. The main project folder contains all
of the development objects that are related to the web application.
Note: In
the Enterprise Explorer view, web projects are filtered into folder
nodes to customize the display of web resources for easy management
during development. For more information about this filtered structure,
see Enterprise Explorer view and web development.
The following table lists
and describes the default elements that are in the web project folder
hierarchy.Development object | Description |
---|---|
Web Deployment Descriptor | The standard web application deployment descriptor file (web.xml). This file describes how to deploy a module by specifying configuration and container options. A deployment descriptor file is automatically generated when you create a web project. This configuration file is used to run a servlet on an application server. If your web application does not contain any servlets, filters, or listeners, you can clear the Generate web.xml deployment descriptor check box in the Web Module configuration page when creating your web project. If you need to generate a deployment descriptor file later, right-click your web project and select . |
JavaSource | This folder contains the Java™ source code for classes, beans, and servlets. When these resources are added to a web project, they are automatically compiled and the generated files are added to the WEB-INF classes directory. The contents of the source directory are not packaged in web application archive (WAR) files unless an option is specified when a WAR file is created. |
imported_classes | Contains class files that do not have accompanying source. This Java classes folder is created while importing a WAR file. You can also use the Java Build Path properties page to create Java classes folders. |
WebContent | Contains all of the web resources. For example, the HTML files, JSP files, and image files that are used to create a web application. If files are not placed in this directory, or in a subdirectory, the files are not available when the web application runs on a server. The folder structure represents the contents of the WAR file to be deployed to the server. Any files that are not in the WebContent folder are considered to be development-time resources, such as .java files, .sql files, and .mif files. These files are not deployed when the project is unit tested or published. |
META-INF | Contains the MANIFEST.MF file that is used to map class paths for dependent JAR files that exist in other projects in the same Enterprise Application project. An entry in the MANIFEST.MF file updates the runtime project class path and Java build settings to include the referenced JAR files. |
Themes | Contains cascading style sheets and other style-related objects. |
WEB-INF | Contains the supporting web resources for a web application, including the web.xml file and the classes and lib directories. The structure of this directory is based on the Sun Microsystems Java Servlet 2.5 and 3.0 Specifications. |
/classes | Contains servlets, utility classes, and the Java compiler output directory. The application class loader uses the classes in this directory to load the classes. Folders in this directory map package and class names. For example: /WEB-INF/classes/com/corp/servlets/MyServlet.class. The .class files are automatically placed in this directory when the Java compiler compiles Java source files in the Java Resources directory. Do not place any .class files directly into the /classes directory since they are deleted by the Java compiler when it runs. |
/lib | Contains the supporting JAR files that are referenced by your web application. Your web application can use any classes in .jar files that are stored in this directory. |
Libraries | This folder mirrors the content of the /lib
folder. It contains the supporting JAR files that are referenced by
your web application and Web Library Projects. Web Library Projects
are virtual JAR files that are not physically in the web project.
Instead, these projects are associated with Java projects in a different location within
your workspace. Web Library Projects are packaged with your project
when you export the WAR file from your web application. Note: A library
entry on the Java build path
remains there unless the actual JAR file is deleted from the WEB-INF/lib folder.
If you remove a library path entry but not the JAR file, the library
entry is automatically added to the path again.
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