Java.io.File constructor - pathnames on tomcat

Question

Hi,
I am trying to implement a file upload feature on my website using Flash 8 and jakarta commons FileUpload.
I'm running into problems with the java.io.File class. I want to save uploaded files in a folder not relative to the calling page's context.
When I use the following three lines, the files get saved correctly (in an "/uploads" folder in the current context):
File fullFile = new File(item.getName());
File savedFile = new File(getServletContext().getRealPath("/uploads"), fullFile.getName());
item.write(savedFile);
However, when I use the following instead of the second line, I get an http 500 error:
File savedFile = new File("/absolute/path/to/another/context/uploads", fullFile.getName());
What's strange is when I put in a println, I see that
getServletContext().getRealPath("/uploads") = /usr/local/tomcat/webapps/mywebapp/uploads
However, when I substitute the string in the new File(String parent, String child) method, I also get a http 500 error:
File savedFile = new File("/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/mywebapp/uploads", fullFile.getName());
This is the stack trace:
2006-02-03 12:12:05 StandardWrapperValve[jsp]: Servlet.service() for servlet jsp
threw exception
org.apache.jasper.JasperException: /upload.jsp(11,2) Unterminated <% tag
at org.apache.jasper.compiler.DefaultErrorHandler.jspError(DefaultErrorH
andler.java:39)
at org.apache.jasper.compiler.ErrorDispatcher.dispatch(ErrorDispatcher.j
ava:409)
at org.apache.jasper.compiler.ErrorDispatcher.jspError(ErrorDispatcher.j
ava:134)
at org.apache.jasper.compiler.Parser.parseScriptlet(Parser.java:796)
Am I understanding the methods incorrectly?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! I am completely stuck
Thank you.

Answer 1

May be the security manager is not allowing to save files in the folders outside your context.
Put your code within a try catch block and see it there is any exception and if yes print the stack trace and look whats in it