users@javaee-spec.java.net

[javaee-spec users] Re: default resources

From: arjan tijms <arjan.tijms_at_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 22:00:17 +0100

Hi,

On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 9:30 PM, Bill Shannon <bill.shannon_at_oracle.com> wrote:
> The Java EE Compatibility rules prohibit that. It's true that they can,
> but they're not allowed to. Just because you *can* exceed the speed limit
> doesn't mean it's *legal* to do so.

Hmmm, it's indeed true that many products have an option to change
some default behavior. Like the (infamous)
org.apache.el.parser.COERCE_TO_ZERO option, which changes an
unworkable (for many cases) situation.

Portability and compatibility is one of my greatest concerns when
dealing with Java EE products, so I absolutely understand the need for
products to be as compatible as possible in the default configuration,
but I'm not 100% sure if changing behavior by the customer can or
should be forbidden.

Technically, aren't all open source products in violation then? As I
can just change something in the code, recompile and have altered
behavior. One may argue if changing some .xml file and re-packaging a
product is really that different from changing a .java file and
recompiling.

What I find more troublesome is that some certified Java EE servers
when downloaded are nothing but a JSP/Servlet container. You have to
explicitly edit a server.xml file to make them say a web profile
compatible product. Or another well known certified Java EE product
that out of the box doesn't honor any security settings in web.xml,
and only does this after fumbling with an admin web console.