Every module that you install in Geronimo, whether it is a service, application, resource, etc., can be configured via a deployment plan. These deployment plans are XML files based on XML Schemas containing the configuration details for a specific application module or component. The Java EE 5 specification defines standard deployment descriptors such as web.xml, application.xml, etc. In some cases, the deployment descriptor is all that is required to install a module into a Geronimo server. However, in many cases, server-specific configuration is required when modules are installed. This server-specific configuration is accomplished by using Geronimo deployment plans.
Geronimo deployment plans can be packaged along with the application or specified externally at deployment time. If provided during deployment, this plan will overwrite any other Geronimo specific deployment plan provided with the application.
To package the deployment plans in you application you have to follow some naming conventions and place the file in a specific directory within your packaged application. For example, in a web application you would include the geronimo-web.xml
under the /WEB-INF directory, same place where you are also providing the web.xml
descriptor, all within the WAR. For an enterprise application you would include the geronimo-application.xml
under the /META-INF directory, same place where you are also providing the application.xml
descriptor, all within the WAR.
The Java EE 5 specification also let's you use Annotations where you add resource references, dependencies, etc. directly in the code. Geronimo provides a Creating deployment plans using the deployment plan wizard that automatically generates the necessary deployment plans based on the standard deployment descriptors and annotations.
This section provides a guide for creating deployment plans, in which Geronimo-specific configuration is accomplished via resource reference, dependencies and so on. It is organized in the following parts: