JavaServer Pages, 3rd Edition

Windows Platforms

For Windows, select jakarta-tomcat-5.0.12.zip^[1] and save it to your hard drive, for instance in a directory named C:\Jakarta. You can unpack the package either with a ZIP utility program, such as WinZip, or by using the jar command that’s included in the Java distribution. Use the Command Prompt window where you set the JAVA_HOME and PATH environment variables earlier, change to the directory in which you downloaded the ZIP file, and unpack it:

C:\> cd Jakarta
C:\Jakarta> jar xvf jakarta-tomcat-5.0.12.zip

This creates a directory structure with a top directory named jakarta-tomcat-5.0.12 with a number of subdirectories. Like most software packages, the top directory contains a file named README.txt; do exactly that. Software distributions change and if, for instance, the instructions in this chapter no longer apply when you download the software, the README.txt file should contain information about how to get started. Additional details are found in the file named RUNNING.txt.

You should also set the CATALINA_HOME environment variable to point to the Tomcat installation directory:

C:\Jakarta> set CATALINA_HOME=C:\Jakarta\jakarta-tomcat-5.0.12

If you wonder about the variable name, Catalina is the name of the servlet container, and Jasper is the name of the JSP container; together they are known as the Tomcat server.

The Tomcat installation directory contains a number of subdirectories, described later. The bin directory contains Windows batch files for starting and ...