JBoss, a widely used open-source J2EE container for configuring and deploying Java applications, is included in Mac OS X Server. The current version, JBoss 3.2.3, is part of Mac OS X Server v10.3 Panther.

You can run JBoss from the command line (in Terminal), but there are applications included in Mac OS X Server to make it easier for you to configure JBoss and deploy your applications. See the document, "Java Application Server Administration," for details on these applications and Apple's modifications to JBoss.

Documentation and sample source code to help you configure and test your container is available from the Mac OS X Server Documentation page.

Documentation for JBoss is provided by the JBoss Group; they also provides forums and a wiki for discussions of JBoss technologies.

The Java Application Server Update 2.0 is available for installation on Mac OS X Server 10.3. It includes fixes necessary to work with Java 1.4.2, which is found in versions of Mac OS X starting with Mac OS X 10.3.1. It also updates the installed WebObjects deployment to version 5.2.3.

For Developers

An installation package for developers that want to build J2EE applications to run with JBoss is available on the ADC Member Site. Log into the ADC Member Site, then navigate to: Download Software> Developer Tools> Application Servers Developer Preview.

This download contains the project templates and assistants needed to create J2EE application projects in Xcode. It will also install a complete copy of JBoss and Tomcat, so that you can install it on a Mac OS X client system and use it to investigate J2EE technologies. If the user installs this J2EE package on a Mac OS X Server system, it may be advisable to move aside the /Library/JBoss and /Library/Tomcat directories so that any configuration changes already made will not be lost.

Posted: 2004-06-21