Cannot make .war file using tomcat with eclipse and ant

Question

i have made all necesary configuration for deploying application using eclipse and ant for the tomcat server.
when i start the server by clicking the tomcat icon on eclipse toolbar, the message is prompted that "missing application web.xml and using defaults". i have placed the web.xml file in the web/WEB-INF directory of the source project directory.
also when i use ant by right-clicking on the build.xml file and choose Run as ant.. the process creates a desired .war file in webapps folder of the tomcat server but that war file does not works.
where is the error i cannot figure out.
am attaching the code of build.xml for reference.
please help.
build.xml:-
<project name="BecilCTI" default="compile" basedir=".">
<property file="build.properties"/>
<property file="${user.home}/build.properties"/>
<property name="app.name" value="BecilCTI"/>
<property name="app.path" value="/${app.name}"/>
<property name="app.version" value="0.1-dev"/>
<property name="build.home" value="${basedir}/build"/>
<property name="catalina.home" value="c:/Tomcat_5.5"/> <!-- UPDATE THIS! -->
<property name="dist.home" value="${basedir}/dist"/>
<property name="docs.home" value="${basedir}/docs"/>
<property name="manager.url" value="http://localhost:8080/manager"/>
<property name="src.home" value="${basedir}/src"/>
<property name="web.home" value="${basedir}/web"/>
<property name="compile.debug" value="true"/>
<property name="compile.deprecation" value="false"/>
<property name="compile.optimize" value="true"/>
<!--<property name="build.compiler" value="org.eclipse.jdt.core.JDTCompilerAdapter"/>-->
<path id="compile.classpath">
<!-- Include all elements that Tomcat exposes to applications -->
<pathelement location="${catalina.home}/common/classes"/>
<fileset dir="${catalina.home}/common/endorsed">
<include name="*.jar"/>
</fileset>
<fileset dir="${catalina.home}/common/lib">
<include name="*.jar"/>
</fileset>
<pathelement location="${catalina.home}/shared/classes"/>
<fileset dir="${catalina.home}/shared/lib">
<include name="*.jar"/>
</fileset>
</path>
<target name="all" depends="clean,compile"
description="Clean build and dist directories, then compile"/>
<target name="clean"
description="Delete old build and dist directories">
     <echo message="Cleaning all dirs."/>
<delete dir="${build.home}"/>
<delete dir="${dist.home}"/>
</target>
<target name="compile" depends="prepare"
description="Compile Java sources">
<!-- Compile Java classes as necessary -->
<mkdir dir="${build.home}/WEB-INF/classes"/>
<javac srcdir="${src.home}"
destdir="${build.home}/WEB-INF/classes"
debug="${compile.debug}"
deprecation="${compile.deprecation}"
optimize="${compile.optimize}">
<classpath refid="compile.classpath"/>
</javac>
<!-- Copy application resources -->
<copy todir="${build.home}/WEB-INF/classes">
<fileset dir="${src.home}" excludes="**/*.java"/>
</copy>
</target>
<target name="dist" depends="compile"
description="Create binary distribution">
<!-- Copy documentation subdirectories
<mkdir dir="${dist.home}/docs"/>
<copy todir="${dist.home}/docs">
<fileset dir="${docs.home}"/>
</copy> -->
<!-- Create application JAR file -->
<jar jarfile="${catalina.home}/webapps/${app.name}.war"
basedir="${build.home}"/>
<!-- Copy additional files to ${dist.home} as necessary -->
</target>
<target name="install" depends="compile"
description="Install application to servlet container">
<deploy url="${manager.url}"
username="${manager.username}"
password="${manager.password}"
path="${app.path}"
localWar="file://${build.home}"/>
</target>
<target name="list"
description="List installed applications on servlet container">
<list url="${manager.url}"
username="${manager.username}"
password="${manager.password}"/>
</target>
<target name="prepare">
<!-- Create build directories as needed -->
<mkdir dir="${build.home}"/>
<mkdir dir="${build.home}/WEB-INF"/>
<mkdir dir="${build.home}/WEB-INF/classes"/>
<!-- Copy static content of this web application -->
<copy todir="${build.home}">
<fileset dir="${web.home}"/>
</copy>
<mkdir dir="${build.home}/WEB-INF/lib"/>
</target>
<target name="reload" depends="compile"
description="Reload application on servlet container">
<reload url="${manager.url}"
username="${manager.username}"
password="${manager.password}"
path="${app.path}"/>
</target>
<target name="remove"
description="Remove application on servlet container">
<undeploy url="${manager.url}"
username="${manager.username}"
password="${manager.password}"
path="${app.path}"/>
</target>
</project>

Answer 1

So is context.xml actually overwriting the settings found in server.xml?I think so. The way I understand it is the the context.xml file saves you from having to edit server.xml. It is preferred for each web app to do its own config, rather than lumping them all together in server.xml.
And what would be the best way to create the war file? IAt its heart, a WAR is just a zip file with its contents laid out in according to the specification of a web application directory structure.
So the simplest way to make a war file is to zip up your directory structure with a tool like winzip, and rename it to be myApp.war.
Regarding ant, I would recommend you take a look through [url http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-4.1-doc/appdev/index.html
]this tutorial. It explains the basics of website layout, configuration and deployment.
On [url http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat-4.1-doc/appdev/source.html] this page  in particular, it includes a link to a basic ant file that you can use as a starting point.
Cheers,
evnafets