Hi, Dave.
What you describe is not supported currently.
It's an interesting idea; go ahead and open an RFE for it.
The Java EE spec does not directly address directory deployment, even though it's a common feature in app server implementations. The spec does say this, on the subject of the lib directory (or library-directory setting if present):
"All files in this directory (but not subdirectories) with a .jar extension must
be made available to all components packaged in the EAR file, including
application clients. "
Because directory deployment is already outside the spec (although not in contradiction to the spec) it might not be too much of a stretch to allow directories (as well as JARs) in the lib directory to be included in the class path for directory-deployed apps only. But that would, strictly speaking, go against the spec as to exactly what in the lib directory should be available to the application.
Another approach you might consider for the classes that you control would be to deploy them in directories in the EAR (not under lib) and then refer to those directories in the Class-Path of the manifest of the components that depend on those classes. This falls within the current spec and, therefore, the current implementation.
- Tim (one of those deployment people Vince referred to)
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