Load java file

Question

I have a jsp/java web application running on solaris using tomcat. When I change a jsp file and view the webpage through IE, the change is instant. But, when I make a change to a java file and compile the project, the new class files are created but the change does not take affect on IE until after I restart tomcat. Is there an easier way to have those class files reload other than restarting tomcat?
Thanks

Answer 1

The JVM running the tomcat server has already loaded
the servlet's .class file and initialised the servlet
object. It won't reload the .class file or restart
the servlet automatically. One solution is to stop
and then restart tomcat, so it will use the new
.class file.
Another solution is to use the manager application
to issue a reload command for your web application.
This will force tomcat to reload the new .class
files without having to shutdown tomcat. For
example: If your web application is called myapp and
located in webapp/myapp, then using the following
URL will use the manager to reload the application:
http://localhost:8080/manager/reload?path=/myapp
Those are the difficult ways of doing it. The real good solution in a development environment, which you guys have been overlooking, is to configure the Context of the web application as reloadable.
http://www.coreservlets.com/Apache-Tomcat-Tutorial/#Servlet-Reloading
An example is mentioned on the link above.