© 2020 The original authors.
WildFly bootable JAR application development
This document details the steps to follow in order to develop a WildFly application packaged as a bootable JAR. A bootable JAR can be run both on bare-metal and cloud platforms.
Developing an application packaged as a bootable JAR is not different from developing an application for a traditional WildFly server installation using Maven. The extra steps required to package your application inside a bootable JAR are handled by the org.wildfly.plugins:wildfly-jar-maven-plugin Maven plugin.
This document contains the minimal information set required to build and run a WildFly bootable JAR. Complete information on the Maven plugin usage can be found in the bootable JAR documentation.
1. Adding the bootable JAR Maven plugin to your pom file
This is done by adding an extra build step to your application deployment Maven pom.xml file.
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.wildfly.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>wildfly-jar-maven-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
...
</configuration>
<executions>
<execution>
<goals>
<goal>package</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>The next chapter covers the plugin configuration items that are required to identify the WildFly server version and content.
2. Galleon configuration
The Bootable JAR Maven plugin depends on Galleon to construct the WildFly server contained in the JAR file.
Galleon is configured thanks to the Maven plugin <configuration>
The first required piece of information that Galleon needs is a reference to the WildFly Galleon feature-pack. The WildFly Galleon feature-pack is a maven artifact that contains everything needed to dynamically provision a server. This feature-pack, as well as the feature-packs on which its depends, are deployed in public maven repositories.
When the bootable JAR Maven plugin builds a JAR, WildFly feature-packs are retrieved and their content is assembled to create the server contained in the JAR.
Once you have identified a WildFly Galleon feature-pack, you need to select a set of WildFly Layers that are used to compose the server.
The set of Galleon layers to include is driven by the needs of the application you are developing. The list of WildFly Layers provides details on the server features that each layer brings. Make sure that the API and server features you are using (eg: Jakarta RESTful Web Services, MicroProfile Config, datasources) are provided by the layers you are choosing.
If you decide not to specify Galleon layers, a server containing all MicroProfile subsystems is
provisioned. (The server configuration is identical to the standalone-microprofile.xml
Maven Plugin configuration extract example:
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.wildfly.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>wildfly-jar-maven-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<feature-pack-location>wildfly@maven(org.jboss.universe:community-universe)</feature-pack-location> (1)
<layers>
<layer>jaxrs-server</layer> (2)
</layers>
</configuration>
<executions>
<execution>
<goals>
<goal>package</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>(1) In this plugin configuration extract, we are retrieving the latest WildFly Galleon feature-pack installed in the
org.jboss.universe:community-universewildfly@maven(org.jboss.universe:community-universe)#21.0.0.Final
(2) The jaxrs-server layer and all its dependencies are provisioned.
|
If your project is using WildFly Preview, the |
2.1. WildFly Layers
A Galleon layer is a name that identifies a server capability (e.g.: jaxrs, ejb, microprofile-config, jpa) or an aggregation of such capabilities. A layer captures a server capability in the form of:
-
A piece of server XML configuration (e.g.: extension, configured subsystem, interfaces) that describes the capability.
-
A set of modules and other filesystem content that implements the capability.
When you are using a layer, it delivers these pieces of information in order for Galleon to assemble a server containing only the required configuration and modules.
In the tables below we provide basic information about all of the layers WildFly provides.
Besides the layer names and a brief description of each, the tables below detail the various dependency relationships between layers. If the capabilities provided by a layer A require capabilities provided by another layer B, then layer A will depend on layer B. If you ask for layer A, then Galleon will automatically provide B as well. In some cases A’s dependency on B can be optional; that is A typically comes with B, but can function without it. In this case if you ask for A by default Galleon will provide B as well, but you can tell Galleon to exclude B.
Some layers are logical alternatives to other layers. If two layers are alternatives to each other they both provide the same general capabilities, but with different implementation characteristics. For example a number of layers provide the capability to cache different types of objects. These layers typically come in pairs of alternatives, where one alternative provides local caching, while the other provides distributed caching. If a layer you want has an optional dependency on a layer that has an alternative, you can exclude that dependency and instead specify the alternative. If a layer has an alternative the Description column in the tables below will identify it.
|
If the elytron layer is present, security will be handled by the elytron subsystem. The undertow and ejb subsystems are configured with an other application-security-domain that references the Elytron ApplicationDomain security domain. |
2.1.1. Foundational Galleon layers
A single Galleon layer can provide a relatively small set of capabilities, but most users will want to start with a broader set of capabilities without having to spell out all the details. To help with this WildFly provides a few foundational layers all of which provide typical core WildFly capabilities like the logging subsystem and a secure remote management interface.
You don’t have to base your WildFly installation on one of these foundational layers, but doing so may be more convenient.
| Name | Description | Dependencies |
|---|---|---|
A servlet container with support for datasources. |
core-server |
|
An extension of datasources-web-server with support for Jakarta RESTful Web Services, CDI and JPA. |
bean-validation (optional) |
|
An extension of jaxrs-server to address common cloud requirements. |
ee-security (optional) |
|
A typical manageable server core. This layer could serve as a base for a more specialized WildFly that doesn’t need the capabilities provided by the other foundational layers. |
core-management (optional) |
2.1.2. Basic Galleon Layers
Name |
Description |
Dependencies |
Empty runnable server. |
git-history (optional) |
|
Support for Jakarta Batch. |
||
Support for Jakarta Bean Validation. |
base-server |
|
Support for Jakarta Contexts and Dependency Injection. |
base-server |
|
An aggregation of some basic layers to address cloud use cases. |
bean-validation (optional) |
|
Support for server management services. |
||
Support for jboss-cli, add-user and elytron-tool launch scripts and configuration files. |
management (optional) |
|
Support for datasources. |
||
Support for deployment directory scanning. |
||
Support for discovery. |
||
Support for common functionality in the Jakarta EE platform. |
||
Support for EE Security. |
||
Support for invoking Jakarta Enterprise Beans over HTTP. |
||
Support for Jakarta Enterprise Beans, excluding the IIOP protocol. |
ejb-lite |
|
Infinispan-based distributed cache for stateful session beans. |
||
Support for Jakarta Enterprise Beans Lite. |
ejb-local-cache (optional) |
|
Infinispan-based local cache for stateful session beans. |
||
Support for Elytron security. |
||
Support for an embedded Apache Activemq Artemis Jakarta Messaging broker. |
||
Support for using git for configuration management. |
||
Support for Hibernate Search. The jpa dependency can be excluded and jpa-distributed used instead. |
jpa (optional) |
|
Support for an H2 datasource |
||
Support for an H2 datasource set as the ee subsystem default datasource. |
||
Support for the H2 JDBC driver. |
||
Support for IIOP |
||
Support for XNIO workers and buffer pools. |
||
Support for JAXRS. |
web-server |
|
Support for the JBoss Diagnostic Reporting (JDR) subsystem. |
base-server |
|
Deprecated - use messaging-activemq. |
||
Support for registration of Management Model MBeans. |
||
Support for a JMX remoting connector. |
jmx |
|
Support for JPA (using the latest WildFly supported Hibernate release). |
bean-validation (optional) |
|
Support for JPA with a distributed second level cache. |
bean-validation (optional) |
|
Support for Jakarta Server Faces. |
bean-validation (optional) |
|
Support for JSON Binding (Jakarta JSON Binding) provisioning the Jakarta JSON Binding API and Implementation modules. |
||
Support for JSON Processing (Jakarta JSON Processing) provisioning the Jakarta JSON Processing API and Implementation modules. |
||
Support for the logging subsystem. |
||
Support for Jakarta Mail. |
||
Support for remote access to management interfaces secured using Elytron. |
||
Support for connections to a remote Jakarta Messaging broker. |
||
Support for MicroProfile Config. |
||
Support for MicroProfile Fault Tolerance. |
||
Support for MicroProfile Health. |
||
Support for MicroProfile JWT. |
||
Support for MicroProfile Metrics. |
||
Support for MicroProfile OpenAPI. |
||
Support for MicroProfile OpenTracing. |
||
Support for available MicroProfile platform specifications. |
microprofile-config (optional) |
|
Support for MicroProfile REST client. |
||
Support for MicroProfile Reactive Messaging |
||
Support for MicroProfile Reactive Messaging Kafka connector |
||
Support for MicroProfile Reactive Streams Operators |
||
Support for mod_cluster subsystem. |
||
Support for JNDI. |
||
Support for MicroProfile monitoring features. |
microprofile-config (optional) |
|
Support for legacy JBoss Microcontainer applications. |
||
Support for connections to a remote Apache Activemq Artemis Jakarta Messaging broker. |
||
Support for inbound and outbound JBoss Remoting connections, secured using Elytron. |
||
Support for request management |
||
Support for deployment of Jakarta Connectors resource adapters. |
||
Support for SAR archives to deploy MBeans. |
||
Support for applying security manager permissions to applications. |
||
Support for transactions. |
||
Support for the Undertow HTTP server. Provides servlet support but does not provide typical EE integration like resource injection. Use web-server for a servlet container with EE integration. |
||
Support for the Undertow HTTPS server secured using the applicationSSC SSLContext. |
||
Support for Undertow configured as a load balancer. |
||
Support for distributable web applications. Configures a non-local Infinispan-based container web cache for data session handling suitable to clustering environments. |
||
Support for loading the HAL web console from the /console context on the HTTP management interface. Not required to use a HAL console obtained independently and configured to connect to the server. |
||
Support for distributable web applications. Configures a local Infinispan-based container web cache for data session handling suitable to single node environments. |
||
A servlet container. |
deployment-scanner (optional) |
|
Support for Jakarta XML Web Services |
ejb-lite (optional) |
| References in this document to Java Persistence API(JPA) refer to the Jakarta Persistence unless otherwise noted. References in this document to Enterprise JavaBeans(EJB) refer to the Jakarta Enterprise Beans unless otherwise noted. |
3. Additional configuration
The plugin allows you to specify additional configuration items:
-
A set of WildFly CLI scripts to execute to fine tune the server configuration.
-
Some extra content to be copied inside the bootable JAR (e.g.: server keystore).
Check this documentation for more details on how to configure execution of CLI scripts and to package extra content.
4. Packaging your application
Call ` mvn package` to package both your application and the bootable JAR in the file <project build directory>/<project final name>-bootable.jar
In order to speed-up the development of your application (avoid rebuilding the JAR each time your application is re-compiled), the Maven plugin offers a development mode that allows you to build and start the bootable JAR only once.
Check this documentation for more details on the development mode.
5. Running your application
Call java -jar <path to bootable JAR> <arguments>
In additon, you can use the wildfly-jar:runwildfly-jar:start
5.1. Bootable JAR arguments
The following arguments can be used when starting the bootable JAR:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-b[interface]=<value> |
Set system property jboss.bind.address.<interface> to the given value |
-b=<value> |
Set system property jboss.bind.address to the given value |
-D<name>[=<value>] |
Set a system property. The system properties are set by the server. They are not set by the bootable JAR JVM. |
--help |
Display help then exit |
--cli-script=<path to CLI script file> |
Path to a CLI script to execute when starting the Bootable JAR |
--deployment=<path to WAR/JAR/EAR file or exploded deployment directory> |
Application to install in the hollow JAR. Adding a deployment to an bootable JAR already containing a deployment is invalid. |
--display-galleon-config |
Display the content of the Galleon configuration used to build this bootable JAR. |
--install-dir=<path to directory to install server in> |
By default a new TEMP directory is created. TEMP directory location is controlled by the Java VM (call to |
--properties=<url> |
Load system properties from the given url |
-S<name>[=value] |
Set a security property |
-secmgr |
Activate and install the |
-u=<value> |
Set system property jboss.default.multicast.address to the given value. |
--version |
Print version and exit. |