Confusion over Context.list and listBindings

Question

Sorry for this newbie question.
How do I list all the bindings I have created? Working on Windows, the JNDI service creates a file called .bindings, which holds all the bindings. I can bind, unbind, rebind and lookup fine. But I cannot list the bindings.
Here is sample code to illustrate what I mean.
import java.util.*;
import javax.naming.*;
import sun.jdbc.odbc.ee.DataSource;
public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] arg) throws NamingException {
        final DataSource ds1 = new DataSource();
        final DataSource ds2;
        final Hashtable env = new Hashtable(2);
        final Context ctx;
        // Bind a DataSource to the name "MyTest". The ".bindings" file
        // goes into "C:\My Documents".
        env.put(Context.INITIAL_CONTEXT_FACTORY,
                "com.sun.jndi.fscontext.RefFSContextFactory");
        env.put(Context.PROVIDER_URL, "file:C:/My Documents");
        ctx = new InitialContext(env);
        ds1.setDatabaseName(";FILEDSN=MyTest");
        ctx.bind("jdbc/MyTest", ds1);
        // Verify that the DataSource was saved where we can look it up.
        // I have used this method in several programs and it works
        // perfectly.
        ds2 = (DataSource) ctx.lookup("jdbc/MyTest");
        // Look up the current bindings.
        // This is the part where I'm doing something wrong.
LookUpCurrentBindings :
        for (final NamingEnumeration ne = ctx.list(""); ne.hasMore(); ) {
            final NameClassPair ncp = (NameClassPair) ne.next();
            // I expect the following to show "jdbc/MyTest", but instead
            // it lists the files in the directory "C:\My Documents".
            // For example, "desktop.ini" and ".bindings".
            System.out.println(ncp.getName());
}Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Aha! I found out what the problem was. It was indeed to do with my "newbie" status in JNDI, not understanding some basics. If the .binding file is in a directory of its own, in this case jdbc, it works! Specifically:
(1) Create the context jdbc within the directory (this creates the directory C:/My Documents/jdbc).
(2) Bind the names within that directory (e.g. MyTest instead of jdbc/MyTest).
(3) The list() and listBindings() functions list both the .binding file (class java.io.File) and the bound objects (their correct classes, in this case sun.jdbc.odbc.ee.DataSource).
Here is the code that I used.
import java.util.*;
import javax.naming.*;
import sun.jdbc.odbc.ee.DataSource;
public class Test2 {
    public static void main(String[] arg) throws NamingException {
        final DataSource ds1 = new DataSource();
        final DataSource ds2;
        final Hashtable env = new Hashtable(2);
        Context ctx;
        // Create a context called "jdbc" within the base directory.
        env.put(Context.INITIAL_CONTEXT_FACTORY,
                "com.sun.jndi.fscontext.RefFSContextFactory");
        env.put(Context.PROVIDER_URL, "file:C:/My Documents");
        ctx = new InitialContext(env);
        try {
            // Find the "jdbc" directory as a Context.
            ctx = (Context) ctx.lookup("jdbc");
        } catch (NamingException e) {
            // Create the "jdbc" directory as a Context.
            ctx = ctx.createSubcontext("jdbc");
        // Bind the new DataSource in the context to the name MyTest.
        ds1.setDatabaseName(";FILEDSN=MyTest");
        ctx.bind("MyTest", ds1);
        // Verify that the DataSource was saved where we can look it up.
        ds2 = (DataSource) ctx.lookup("MyTest");
        if (! ds1.getDatabaseName().equals(ds2.getDatabaseName())) {
            throw new IllegalStateException("Oops, something funny happened.");
        // Add another binding, just for fun.
        ctx.bind("ForGoodMeasure", ds2);
        // Look up the current bindings. This displays the file .bindings
        // (class java.io.File) and the bindings within that file (class
        // sun.jdbc.odbc.ee.DataSource).
LookUpCurrentBindings :
        for (final NamingEnumeration ne = ctx.list(""); ne.hasMore(); ) {
            final NameClassPair ncp = (NameClassPair) ne.next();
            System.out.println(ncp.getName() + "\t\t" + ncp.getClassName());
        ctx.close();
}And here is the output.
.bindings               java.io.File
ForGoodMeasure          sun.jdbc.odbc.ee.DataSource
MyTest          sun.jdbc.odbc.ee.DataSourceBala, thank you so much for your input, which led me to the right answer. I shall pass a couple of Dukes your way.
Paddy