READ THIS FIRST !!! Mailing-list archive and good tips (slightly modified)

[Wolfgang Stein <zo...@gmd-net.de>]

This mailing list is obviously not moderated. Let's help ourselves !

For future noise reduction please re-post this TWICE a day
so that new subscribers get informed with max. one day delay!!!


------------- Before posting any questions ... -----------------

- please search the archive contributed by Bob Tanner
     http://archives.real-time.com/rte-tomcat/
  Search for short phrases of your server error messages.
  Search the archive again with better phrases.
  Spent some time for reading all relevant search results
  MOST beginners questions have been asked already !!!
  Another archive, started archiving later, contributed by 
  Philip J. Mikal 
     http://mikal.org/interests/java/tomcat/index.html

- RTFM. Start at 
     http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/index.html

- There is no FAQ of this mailing-list itself.
  But there is a user editable FAQ
    http://jakarta.apache.org/jyve-faq/Turbine/screen/DisplayTopics/
  which covers a lot of topics.

- Study the tomcat examples.
  Try out/put your first servlets into the /examples context and
  add an entry into /example/WEB-INF/web.xml

- Download the Servlet API 2.2 Specification at
    http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/download.html#specs 
  which is not available online.
  It describes a lot of things like 'Servlet Contexts' and
  'Mapping Requests to Servlets' and is very usefull because
  Tomcat implements this Specification

- Examine your error messages for tomcat weakly related stuff like
  CLASSPATH problems
  
- This mailing list is no automatic problem solver.
  Try the steps above and try to help yourself first.
  Ask an expert in your company or school class.
  If all this does not help and you suffered for a reasonable
  long time feel free to ask for help in this list :-)
  
- !!! This mailing list contains a lot of VIRUSES !!!
  Don't trust anybody. Don't even trust this doc.
  If your are not absolutely sure, dont't open any attachments.
  Don't read the postings with a JavaScript enabled Client.
  There are some JavaScript viruses.
  Microsoft users:
  Disable all stuff like ActiveScripting etc.
  in your mail reader.  Be carefull with attachments,
  especially of type .exe .vbs (there are also
  some virus attachments like "livestages.txt.shs".
  The .shs extension disappears/is not visible under Win but
  represents an executable script which will execute when opened
  separately.
  I don't know whether the 'show attachements inline' feature 
  will execute attachments automatically)

- Need more help ?
  - Search the archive again
  - Look at the FAQ
  - There is an archive of the messages on the Tomcat-Dev
    mailing list at
      http://www.metronet.com/~wjm/tomcat/
    where the jacarta tomcat developers discuss bugs, future
    tomcat releases etc.
  - There is a servlet related mailing list  
       SERVLET-INTEREST@JAVA.SUN.COM.
    Search its archive at
      http://archives.java.sun.com/archives/servlet-interest.html.
    Don't subscribe or you will receive hundred of messages a day 
    making you overlook your few important mails.
    Take this as an example of how the tomcat list 
    should not evolve.
  - Search DejaNews at http://www.deja.com/home_ps.shtml
  - Look at jGuru, JCentral etc.
  - Search the whole Web with a popular search engine.
    Use one with advanced or boolean queries. Refine
    your query.
    As a developer of server applications you should know
    all about it :-)
    
------------- to be continued --------------------------------------


P.S.
Maybe someone can put this into grammatical correct form.
We should be aware of the bigger this doc gets the more
it has to be maintained. 
It should be mostly a pointer to other resources and
a netiquette.

I am not sure how long this will work, but give it a chance.
I am sure that we will remember quickly when we take a look 
into our mailbox in the morning :-)

And please avoid too many comments on this doc, just refine
- Wolfgang Stein