Can JSF 2.0 be used with Websphere application server version 7.x

Question

Can JSF 2.0 be used with WebSphere Application Server version 7.x?

If so, how?

Aprylapse

Answer 1

The WebSphere Infocenter indicates that the right way to change to an alternative JSF implementation is to create a WebSphere Shared Library with the isolated classloader option enabled.

Any modules that need JSF 2 would be associated with the new shared library, and then the application would start with JSF 2 instead of JSF 1.2.

It is also necessary to have fix pack 7.0.0.19 or later installed.

Nonce

You talk about information provided on the IBM Infocenter site, but you don't provide a link. Why? – Branton

publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wasinfo/v7r0/index.jsp?topic=/… – Glottal

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but this did not work for me. When I do follow those instructions, it's still trying to load the SUN JSF-1.2 reference implementation. – Abbreviate

OK, I got it. I needed to run some fixpacks for WAS and make sure that the JSF version was at least 2.0.4. Now it's working. +1 – Abbreviate

@Ian McLaird, can you share what you did step by step, I'm having a hard time I get HttpSession not found after creating a shared library? what jars do you put on your shared library? – Loquacious

@Joset, It's now been so long that I don't remember all the steps, but the two jars that I used were jsf-api.jar and jsf-impl.jar, with the versions that I listed in my previous comment. I needed WAS 7.0.0.19 and JSF 2.0.4 or later. – Abbreviate

Answer 2

Websphere ships with JSF 1.2.something and it loads that by default. To use a different JSF library (or any other library that WS provides such as commons-logging) you need to change the way the classloader prioritizes locations. They call it 'parent last" meaning load your libs then the WS versions.

Gray

Yes but parent last is not an option when you have multiple apps some using older version – Prune

Answer 3

I've been struggling to solve this for days. Here's how I solved it.

Use the following library: javax.faces-2.1.7.jar

If you are on PrimeFaces 3.1: primefaces-3.1.1.jar

Application Server instance: Class Loading - Parent Last

Enterprise Application instance (war Module): Class Loading - Parent Last

Make sure to remove all Servlet Container libraries such as those needed by Tomcat.

Loquacious

Have you used the GlassFish implementation? The search by name of jar suggests that. Was it with WebSphere 7.0? – Percutaneous

Answer 4

Step by step setting MyFaces 2.0 on WebSphere Application Server v7 as shared library as IBM recommends: http://wasbehindtheglass.blogspot.co.uk/

I have applied similar steps for Majorra/JSF 2.0.4 and created a shared library using only jsf-api.jar and jsf-impl.jar. As @Ian McLaird has told WAS 7.0.0.19 and JSF 2.0.4 are required. JSF 2.1.x requires Servlet 3 and is not supported by WAS7

Nealah

And if your are using RAD and you don't want to change set the shared library from WAS7 admin console each time you deploy the application, then you can include a deployment descriptor (named as deployment.xml) in your project which sets the shared library. See the link for details: webspheretools.com/sites/webspheretools.nsf/docs/… – Nealah

Have you tried with MyFaces 2.1 or you're writing that it won't work basing on other source? If so, could you post it? – Percutaneous

Answer 5

My Experience:

-> WAS 7.0.0.11 on Windows

-> javax.faces-2.0.11.jar in WEB-INF/lib of my War application

-> WAS Shared librairies with javax.faces-2.0.11.jar with Isolated Class Loader

-> WAS Shared librairies associated with my War App

-> No change on Class Loader for instance and application (PARENT_FIRST)

With this conf (above) the application works fine with JSF 2.0 on WAS 7. if i delete the javax.faces-2.0.11.jar from my War app, it doesn't works.

Cruickshank

Answer 6

Following worked for me

• Create a shared library and put your JSF 2.0 jars in it.
• Also add EL 2.2 API and EL-Impl 2.2 jars as well since JSF 2.0 implicitly needs this.
• Add this library to your application and make classloader preference as PARENT_LAST.

Change web.xml as following

 <context-param>
                <param-name>com.sun.faces.expressionFactory</param-name>
                <param-value>com.sun.el.ExpressionFactoryImpl</param-value>
    </context-param>
    <listener>
        <listener-class>com.sun.faces.config.ConfigureListener</listener-class>
    </listener>

Thats it .

Daggna

Answer 7

Hi I could run my website using this libraries

Configuring in web.xml of my project

 <context-param>
    <param-name>com.sun.faces.expressionFactory</param-name>
    <param-value>com.sun.el.ExpressionFactoryImpl</param-value>
</context-param>

Configuring in websphere to load my libraries (Parent Last)

Regards

Jurisconsult

Answer 8

Thank you guys!

It worked with a newer version of javax.faces. See the maven dependencies:

    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.glassfish</groupId>
        <artifactId>javax.faces</artifactId>
        <version>2.1.29-08</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.el</groupId>
        <artifactId>el-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.2</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.sun.el</groupId>
        <artifactId>el-impl</artifactId>
        <version>2.2</version>
    </dependency>

Don't forget to add the following in your web.xml:

<context-param>
   <param-name>com.sun.faces.expressionFactory</param-name>
   <param-value>com.sun.el.ExpressionFactoryImpl</param-value>
</context-param>

And finally change the WebSphere class loader order of the application and the module to the (parent last) settings: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSAW57_7.0.0/com.ibm.websphere.nd.doc/info/ae/ae/urun_rclassloader_inst.html

Regards

Potman