Java – How to set up JAX-RS Application using annotations only (no web.xml)

jakarta-eejavajax-rsservlet-3.0

Is it possible to set up a JAX-RS application using annotations only? (using Servlet 3.0 and JAX-RS Jersey 1.1.0)

I tried and had no luck. Using some web.xml seems required.

Configuration A (working, but has web.xml configuration)

web.xml

   ...
   <servlet>
      <servlet-name>org.foo.rest.MyApplication</servlet-name>
   </servlet>
   <servlet-mapping>
       <servlet-name>org.foo.rest.MyApplication</servlet-name>
       <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
   </servlet-mapping>
   ...

Java

@ApplicationPath("/")
public class MyApplication extends Application {
    ...
}

Configuration B (not working, exception thrown)

@ApplicationPath("/")
@WebServlet("/*") // <-- 
public class MyApplication extends Application {
    ...
}

The latter seems to insist that the Application will be a subclass of Servlet (the exception leaves no guesswork)

java.lang.ClassCastException: org.foo.rest.MyApplication cannot be cast to javax.servlet.Servlet

Questions

Why the web.xml definition worked but the annotation didn't? What's the difference?
Is there a way to have it worked, e.g. have a JAX-RS Application with no web.xml?

Best Answer

** PLEASE READ IF YOU USE TOMCAT OR JETTY! **

The accepted answer does work, but only if the webapp is deployed to an app server like Glassfish or Wildfly, and possibly servlet containers with EE extensions like TomEE. It doesn't work on standard servlet containers like Tomcat, which I'm sure most people looking for a solution here want to use.

If you're using a standard Tomcat install (or some other servlet container), you need to include a REST implementation since Tomcat doesn't come with one. If you're using Maven, add this to the dependencies section:

<dependencies>
  <dependency>
    <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.bundles</groupId>
    <artifactId>jaxrs-ri</artifactId>
    <version>2.13</version>
  </dependency>
  ...
</dependencies>

Then just add an application config class to your project. If you don't have any special configuration needs aside from setting the context path for the rest services, the class can be empty. Once this class is added, you don't need to configure anything in web.xml (or have one at all):

package com.domain.mypackage;
import javax.ws.rs.ApplicationPath;
import javax.ws.rs.core.Application;

@ApplicationPath("rest") // set the path to REST web services
public class ApplicationConfig extends Application {}

After this, declaring your web services is straight forward using the standard JAX-RS annotations in your Java classes:

package com.domain.mypackage;
import javax.ws.rs.Consumes;
import javax.ws.rs.Produces;
import javax.ws.rs.GET;
import javax.ws.rs.MatrixParam;
import javax.ws.rs.Path;

// It's good practice to include a version number in the path so you can have
// multiple versions deployed at once. That way consumers don't need to upgrade
// right away if things are working for them.
@Path("calc/1.0")
public class CalculatorV1_0 {
  @GET
  @Consumes("text/plain")
  @Produces("text/plain")
  @Path("addTwoNumbers")
  public String add(@MatrixParam("firstNumber") int n1, @MatrixParam("secondNumber") int n2) {
    return String.valueOf(n1 + n2);
  }
}

This should be all you need. If your Tomcat install is running locally on port 8080 and you deploy your WAR file to the context myContext, going to...

http://localhost:8080/myContext/rest/calc/1.0/addTwoNumbers;firstNumber=2;secondNumber=3

...should produce the expected result (5).

Related Solutions

Java – How to create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
      <configuration>
        <archive>
          <manifest>
            <mainClass>fully.qualified.MainClass</mainClass>
          </manifest>
        </archive>
        <descriptorRefs>
          <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
        </descriptorRefs>
      </configuration>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>

and you run it with

mvn clean compile assembly:single

Compile goal should be added before assembly:single or otherwise the code on your own project is not included.

See more details in comments.

Commonly this goal is tied to a build phase to execute automatically. This ensures the JAR is built when executing mvn install or performing a deployment/release.

<plugin>
  <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
  <configuration>
    <archive>
      <manifest>
        <mainClass>fully.qualified.MainClass</mainClass>
      </manifest>
    </archive>
    <descriptorRefs>
      <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
    </descriptorRefs>
  </configuration>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <id>make-assembly</id> <!-- this is used for inheritance merges -->
      <phase>package</phase> <!-- bind to the packaging phase -->
      <goals>
        <goal>single</goal>
      </goals>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

Java – How to avoid Java code in JSP files, using JSP 2

The use of scriptlets (those <% %> things) in JSP is indeed highly discouraged since the birth of taglibs (like JSTL) and EL (Expression Language, those ${} things) way back in 2001.

The major disadvantages of scriptlets are:

Reusability: you can't reuse scriptlets.
Replaceability: you can't make scriptlets abstract.
OO-ability: you can't make use of inheritance/composition.
Debuggability: if scriptlet throws an exception halfway, all you get is a blank page.
Testability: scriptlets are not unit-testable.
Maintainability: per saldo more time is needed to maintain mingled/cluttered/duplicated code logic.

~~Sun~~ Oracle itself also recommends in the JSP coding conventions to avoid use of scriptlets whenever the same functionality is possible by (tag) classes. Here are several cites of relevance:

From JSP 1.2 Specification, it is highly recommended that the JSP Standard Tag Library (JSTL) be used in your web application to help reduce the need for JSP scriptlets in your pages. Pages that use JSTL are, in general, easier to read and maintain.

...

Where possible, avoid JSP scriptlets whenever tag libraries provide equivalent functionality. This makes pages easier to read and maintain, helps to separate business logic from presentation logic, and will make your pages easier to evolve into JSP 2.0-style pages (JSP 2.0 Specification supports but de-emphasizes the use of scriptlets).

...

In the spirit of adopting the model-view-controller (MVC) design pattern to reduce coupling between the presentation tier from the business logic, JSP scriptlets should not be used for writing business logic. Rather, JSP scriptlets are used if necessary to transform data (also called "value objects") returned from processing the client's requests into a proper client-ready format. Even then, this would be better done with a front controller servlet or a custom tag.

How to replace scriptlets entirely depends on the sole purpose of the code/logic. More than often this code is to be placed in a fullworthy Java class:

If you want to invoke the same Java code on every request, less-or-more regardless of the requested page, e.g. checking if a user is logged in, then implement a filter and write code accordingly in doFilter() method. E.g.:

  public void doFilter(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response, FilterChain chain) throws ServletException, IOException {
      if (((HttpServletRequest) request).getSession().getAttribute("user") == null) {
          ((HttpServletResponse) response).sendRedirect("login"); // Not logged in, redirect to login page.
      } else {
          chain.doFilter(request, response); // Logged in, just continue request.
      }
  }

When mapped on an appropriate <url-pattern> covering the JSP pages of interest, then you don't need to copypaste the same piece of code overall JSP pages.

If you want to invoke some Java code to process a GET request, e.g. preloading some list from a database to display in some table, if necessary based on some query parameters, then implement a servlet and write code accordingly in doGet() method. E.g.:
```
  protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
      try {
          List<Product> products = productService.list(); // Obtain all products.
          request.setAttribute("products", products); // Store products in request scope.
          request.getRequestDispatcher("/WEB-INF/products.jsp").forward(request, response); // Forward to JSP page to display them in a HTML table.
      } catch (SQLException e) {
          throw new ServletException("Retrieving products failed!", e);
      }
  }
```
This way dealing with exceptions is easier. The DB is not accessed in the midst of JSP rendering, but far before the JSP is been displayed. You still have the possibility to change the response whenever the DB access throws an exception. In the above example, the default error 500 page will be displayed which you can anyway customize by an <error-page> in web.xml.

If you want to invoke some Java code to process a POST request, such as gathering data from a submitted HTML form and doing some business stuff with it (conversion, validation, saving in DB, etcetera), then implement a servlet and write code accordingly in doPost() method. E.g.:

  protected void doPost(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
      String username = request.getParameter("username");
      String password = request.getParameter("password");
      User user = userService.find(username, password);

      if (user != null) {
          request.getSession().setAttribute("user", user); // Login user.
          response.sendRedirect("home"); // Redirect to home page.
      } else {
          request.setAttribute("message", "Unknown username/password. Please retry."); // Store error message in request scope.
          request.getRequestDispatcher("/WEB-INF/login.jsp").forward(request, response); // Forward to JSP page to redisplay login form with error.
      }
  }

This way dealing with different result page destinations is easier: redisplaying the form with validation errors in case of an error (in this particular example you can redisplay it using ${message} in EL), or just taking to the desired target page in case of success.

If you want to invoke some Java code to control the execution plan and/or the destination of the request and the response, then implement a servlet according to the MVC's Front Controller Pattern. E.g.:

  protected void service(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
      try {
          Action action = ActionFactory.getAction(request);
          String view = action.execute(request, response);

          if (view.equals(request.getPathInfo().substring(1)) {
              request.getRequestDispatcher("/WEB-INF/" + view + ".jsp").forward(request, response);
          } else {
              response.sendRedirect(view);
          }
      } catch (Exception e) {
          throw new ServletException("Executing action failed.", e);
      }
  }

Or just adopt an MVC framework like JSF, Spring MVC, Wicket, etc so that you end up with just a JSP/Facelets page and a JavaBean class without the need for a custom servlet.

If you want to invoke some Java code to control the flow inside a JSP page, then you need to grab an (existing) flow control taglib like JSTL core. E.g. displaying List<Product> in a table:
```
  <%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/core" prefix="c" %>
  ...
  <table>
      <c:forEach items="${products}" var="product">
          <tr>
              <td>${product.name}</td>
              <td>${product.description}</td>
              <td>${product.price}</td>
          </tr>
      </c:forEach>
  </table>
```
With XML-style tags which fit nicely among all that HTML, the code is better readable (and thus better maintainable) than a bunch of scriptlets with various opening and closing braces ("Where the heck does this closing brace belong to?"). An easy aid is to configure your web application to throw an exception whenever scriptlets are still been used by adding the following piece to web.xml:
```
  <jsp-config>
      <jsp-property-group>
          <url-pattern>*.jsp</url-pattern>
          <scripting-invalid>true</scripting-invalid>
      </jsp-property-group>
  </jsp-config>
```
In Facelets, the successor of JSP, which is part of the Java EE provided MVC framework JSF, it is already not possible to use scriptlets. This way you're automatically forced to do things "the right way".
If you want to invoke some Java code to access and display "backend" data inside a JSP page, then you need to use EL (Expression Language), those ${} things. E.g. redisplaying submitted input values:
```
  <input type="text" name="foo" value="${param.foo}" />
```
The ${param.foo} displays the outcome of request.getParameter("foo").
If you want to invoke some utility Java code directly in the JSP page (typically public static methods), then you need to define them as EL functions. There's a standard functions taglib in JSTL, but you can also easily create functions yourself. Here's an example how JSTL fn:escapeXml is useful to prevent XSS attacks.
```
  <%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsp/jstl/functions" prefix="fn" %>
  ...
  <input type="text" name="foo" value="${fn:escapeXml(param.foo)}" />
```
Note that the XSS sensitivity is in no way specifically related to Java/JSP/JSTL/EL/whatever, this problem needs to be taken into account in every web application you develop. The problem of scriptlets is that it provides no way of builtin preventions, at least not using the standard Java API. JSP's successor Facelets has already implicit HTML escaping, so you don't need to worry about XSS holes in Facelets.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Java – How to create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven

Java – How to avoid Java code in JSP files, using JSP 2

See also:

Related Topic