Distributed: [AIX MacOS Linux Windows]

Defining a utility project as a shared library

You can define a utility project as a shared library and associate defined shared libraries with an application or web project.

Before you begin

To use the shared library function in the workbench, you must create a utility project and define it as a shared library. The utility project is the only project type that can be used as a shared library.

About this task

A shared library is an external Java™ archive (JAR) file that is used by one or more applications. Using shared libraries enables multiple applications published on a server to use a single library, rather than use multiple copies of the same library. After you associate shared libraries with an application or project, the application or module class loader loads classes in the shared libraries and makes those classes available to the application or module.

Procedure

To define a utility project as a shared library:

  1. Create a utility project:
    1. In the toolbar, select File > New > Project.
    2. Expand Java EE and select Utility Project. Click Next.
    3. In the Project name field, specify a name for the utility project.
    4. Under the Ear membership section, clear the Add project to an EAR check box.
    5. Under the Target runtime section, verify that WebSphere® Application Server Liberty is selected.
    6. Click Finish.
  2. Define the artifacts in the newly created utility project. For example, you can add Java classes to the utility project.
  3. Define the utility project as a shared library:
    1. In the Project Explorer view, right-click the utility project and select Properties > Liberty > Shared Library.
    2. In the Shared library ID field, type a string as an identifier for the shared library.
    3. In the Archive directory field, type or browse to a directory where you want to place the compressed copy of your utility project as a JAR file. The file name convention of the JAR file is utilityProjectName.jar, where utilityProjectName is the name of the utility project.
    4. In the Liberty Shared Library page, click Apply to confirm your changes. Click OK to close the Properties window.
  4. Optional: Set the API visibility.
    1. Right-click a utility project.
    2. Select Liberty > Shared Libraries.
    3. Select from the following check boxes to set the API visibility: API, IBM API, Spec, and Third party. The default visibility is set for API, IBM API, and Spec.
  5. Add the utility project to the server.
    Distributed: [AIX MacOS Linux Windows]For more details see Deploying applications to Liberty servers by using developer tools topic.

Results

Here is an example entry added to the server configuration (server.xml) file:
<library id="libid">
    <fileset dir="C:\temp" includes="Util.jar"/>
</library>
In addition, the JAR file is added in the specified archive directory. In the previous example, the Util.jar file is added in the C:\temp directory.