Class not found - from jsp sub-directories

Question

Hello:
Main-Issue:
- I have some java-class files in the \<my-web-app>\web-inf\classes directory. These classes do not belong to any packages.
- I have some jsps in the \<my-web-app>\ directory and also in some sub-directories in the \<my-web-app>\ directory. Example: \<my-web-app>\test\index1.jsp.
- The jsps in the \<my-web-app>\ directory can invoke the classes in the \<my-web-app>\web-inf\classes directory with no issues. But, the jsps in the sub-directories CANNOT see the classes in the \<my-web-app>\web-inf\classes directory. I get a "class not found" error. (this is just in oc4j).
First of all, just a background to the issue:
- I am trying to port a web application from JRUN to OC4J.
- I want to do this with minimal changes to the existing code.
- The application has been running on JRUN for a while. I only see the above mentioned error (class not found) error when trying to run it on oc4j.
- As a test, I created my own test application to verify:
(-) I wrote a simple java class (test.class) with no package and placed it in the web-inf\classes directory
(-) I wrote a jsp file (index.jsp) to invoke test.class. I placed the jsp at the top-level directory of the web-app.
(-) I wrote another jsp file (index1.jsp) to invoke test.class as well. I placed that jsp file in a sub-directory in the top-level directory of the web-app.
(-) index.jsp worked without any problems. index1.jsp gave the "class not found" error.
(-) As another test, I then modified the class to be in a package (com.benny). I then changed the jsps to call "com.benny.test" rather than just "test". This time, both index.jsp and index1.jsp worked fine.
So, I guess my question is, do these classes have to be in a package? I am trying to avoid having to make a lot of changes to the app. If they do have to be in packages, then I have re-compile a lot of class files, add import statements to jsps, etc.
Any help/suggestion would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Benny

Answer 1

So, I guess my question is, do these classes have to be in a package?Answer: yes.
As of Java1.4, classes in the "unnamed" package were no longer accessible.
What version of java were you running with JRun?
What version are you running with OC4J?
Read all about it here:
http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=4361575
If you have to repackage the classes, the IDE Eclipse has excellent support for refactoring, and wil let you put classes into packages with a minimum of fuss.