How to store string values in context.xml

Question

I'd like to store connection URLs in a JNDI binding for my Tomcat application. Since Tomcat uses context.xml for JNDI resource defining, I need to figure out the propert way to store a String (or multiple strings for multiple connections) in context.xml.

My reason for doing this is so that I can define different strings for different environments, and load them through JNDI.

Usually, I see entries like so:

<Context ...>
    <Resource name="someName" auth="Container"
            type="someFullyQualifiedClassName"
            description="Some description."/>
</Context>

Is it really just as simple as:

<Context ...>
    <Resource name="myConnectionURL" auth="Container"
            type="java.lang.String"
            description="A connection URL string."/>
</Context>

If so, where do I actually store the String value?!?! And if it's not correct, then what is the proper way for me to store, for instance, "amqp:5272//blah.example.com&param1=4" in context.xml so I could then look it up like so:

Context ctx = new InitialContext();
String connectionURL = (String)ctx.lookup("myConnectionURL");

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

You can use an Environmenttag:

<Context>
    <Environment name="myConnectionURL" value="amqp:5272//blah.example.com&param1=4" type="java.lang.String"/>
</Context>

And you can read it almost as you specified in the question:

InitialContext initialContext = new InitialContext();
Context environmentContext = (Context) initialContext.lookup("java:/comp/env");
String connectionURL = (String) environmentContext.lookup("myConnectionURL");

This is much the same as using a Parameter tag, but without the need for a ServletContext.