Adding custom object to JNDI on Weblogic 10

Question

Is it possible to add a custom object (String or URL) to JNDI using Weblogic Server Administration Console (Weblogic 10.0) or by editing server's configuration file (config.xml)?

Answer 1

I don't think so. Quoting Load objects in the JNDI tree:

Using the Administration Console, you can load WebLogic Server J2EE services and components, such as RMI, JMS, EJBs, and JDBC Data Sources, in the JNDI tree.

And indeed, I couldn't find a way to add a String or URL using the console.

AFAIK, the standard way is to put an env-entry in your deployment descriptor (web.xml, ejb-jar.xml):

<env-entry>
    <env-entry-name>string/foo</env-entry-name>
    <env-entry-type>java.lang.String</env-entry-type>
    <env-entry-value>foobar</env-entry-value>
</env-entry>

<env-entry>
    <env-entry-name>url/bar</env-entry-name>
    <env-entry-type>java.net.URL</env-entry-type>
    <env-entry-value>http://foobar/</env-entry-value>
</env-entry>

Answer 2

I have reached this with exactly the same problem. In Websphere, for example, I can add arbitrary parameters such as temporary directories, passwords, and other information to JNDI without having to recompile/rebuild the EAR.

I've searched for a while and seems Weblogic lacks this feature. What I did was write a helper class that first searches JNDI for a given configuration key, and if it doesn't find it then falls back to searching environment or system variables.

Perhaps this could be enhanced to also search for those properties prefixed by the application's name or context root, discovered at runtime, to avoid name clashes when multiple instances of the same EAR are deployed.