| [servlet-dev] default context path |
Hi all,I argued strongly against this feature when it was proposed on the grounds it was under specified. It did not address what happens if there is a conflict between the defined default context path and web applications already installed on the server.
I lost the argument not to include the feature but I did obtain a change that stated words to the effect of "The configured default context path may be overridden by container specific configuration".
The change was sufficient for Tomcat to completely ignore the default context path feature on the basis that Tomcat has a mechanism in place to define context path that was deliberately designed to make conflicts impossible. This mechanism always applies and therefore always overrides any default context path that may be set in web.xml.
The feature is currently tested by the TCK. That TCK test assumes that the default context path will always be used. This means it is impossible for Tomcat to pass the TCK.
As a minimum, I would like to disable the default context path test in the TCK. Users that wanted to test the feature would be able to enable the test by using custom exclude list.
Ideally, I'd like to see this feature deprecated and eventually removed. I doubt there is sufficient support for that in the community.
Another possibility would be to explicitly document support for the feature as optional.
Thoughts? Mark