How to sync java project changes to Tomcat's web app

Question

So I'm currently using VS Code for my simple java webapp, but I find it a bit tedious as I would have to deploy a .war file every time I make changes to the project itself.

The full procedure is this:

• Maven => Plugins => war:war
• Publish Server (full)
• Restart in Run Mode
• Open the servlet

This process takes about 3-5 seconds, which isn't the best since every developers constantly test / debug / updates their code.

The current extension that I use in VS Code to deploy the Tomcat server is the Community Server Connector.

I wonder if there is a way to fully sync the web app with the changes made to the project itself

Answer 1

You can use the Depoly extension.

Here is a simple maven project as an example.

compile project in MAVEN panel

After downloading the extension, add the following configuration in settings.json.

    "deploy": {
        "packages": [
            {
                "name": "frontend",
                "description": "All files in webapp",
                "files": [
                    "src/main/webapp/*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*.*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*.*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*/*.*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*/*/*.*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*/*/*/*.*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*/*/*/*",
                    "src/main/webapp/*/*/*/*/*/*.*",
                ],
                "exclude": [
                    "src/main/webapp/test/*"
                ],
                "deployOnSave": true,
                "useTargetList": true,
                "button": {
                    "text": "Deploy",
                    "tooltip": "Click here to deploy frontend to hotsite",
                    "targets": [ "HOTSITE" ]
                },
            }
        ],
        "targets": [
            {
                "type": "local",
                "name": "HOTSITE",
                "description": "A local folder",
                "dir": "target/DETE/",
                "mappings": [
                    {
                        "source": "src/main/webapp",
                        "isRegEx": false,
                        "target": "/"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ]
    }

After the addition is complete, click the Deploy button that appears in the status bar below.

Right-click on the tomcat server and select Add Deployment

Next select Exploded

Select the DETE folder generated by just clicking Deploy in the explorer

Type http://localhost:8080/DETE in the browser address bar and press Enter

Or right-click on tomcat and select Server Actions... --> Show in Browser... --> http://localhost:8080/DETE

Modify .jsp to add a line of content

Refreshing the page shows the changed content.