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• Should universities put more emphasis on teaching their students about design patterns?

  - by gablin

  While I've heard about design patterns being mentioned in a few courses at uni, I know of only a single course which actually teaches design patterns. In almost all other areas (algorithms, parallelism, architecture, dynamic languages, paradigms, etc), there are several, often a basic course and an advanced course. Should universities put more emphasis about teaching their students about design patterns and provide more courses in design patters? Are lack of knowledge about design patterns common in just-graduated junior developers?

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• How common are "bandage" fixes?

  - by gablin

  Imagine the following scenario: You've detected that your (or someone else's) program has a bug - a function produces the wrong result when given a particular input. You examine the code and can't find anything wrong: it just seem to bog out when given this input. You can now do one of two things: you either examine the code further until you've found the actual cause; or you slap on a bandage by adding an if statement checking if the input is this particular input - if it is, return the expected value. To me, applying the bandage would be completely unacceptable. If the code is behaving unexpectingly on this input, what other input that you've missed will it react strangely to? It just doesn't seem like a fix at all - you're just shoveling the problem under the rug. As I wouldn't even consider doing this, I'm surprised at how often the professors and books keep reminding us about how applying "bandage" fixes is not a good idea. So this makes me wonder: just how common are these kinds of "fixes"?

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• What are the major challenges in creating a platform such as StackOverflow?

  - by gablin

  Let us assume you were to create a platform such as StackOverflow. It needs to be functional, fast and scalable, just like SO, in order to be successful. What are the major challenges you would face in such a task? I'm looking for technical challenges rather than problems such as how to advertise it and stuff like that. (I'm not looking for ways of creating a new site to challenge SO; I'm just interested in how difficult it would be to create it if it didn't already exist.)

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• What C++ coding standard do you use?

  - by gablin

  For some time now, I've been unable to settle on a coding standard and use it concistently between projects. When starting a new project, I tend to change some things around (add a space there, remove a space there, add a line break there, an extra indent there, change naming conventions, etc.). So I figured that I might provide a piece of sample code, in C++, and ask you to rewrite it to fit your standard of coding. Inspiration is always good, I say. ^^ So here goes: #ifndef _DERIVED_CLASS_H__ #define _DERIVED_CLASS_H__ /** * This is an example file used for sampling code layout. * * @author Firstname Surname */ #include <stdio> #include <string> #include <list> #include "BaseClass.h" #include "Stuff.h" /** * The DerivedClass is completely useless. It represents uselessness in all its * entirety. */ class DerivedClass : public BaseClass { //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // CONSTRUCTORS / DESTRUCTORS //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// public: /** * Constructs a useless object with default settings. * * @param value * Is never used. * @throws Exception * If something goes awry. */ DerivedClass (const int value) : uselessSize_ (0) {} /** * Constructs a copy of a given useless object. * * @param object * Object to copy. * @throws OutOfMemoryException * If necessary data cannot be allocated. */ ItemList (const DerivedClass& object) {} /** * Destroys this useless object. */ ~ItemList (); //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // PUBLIC METHODS //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// public: /** * Clones a given useless object. * * @param object * Object to copy. * @return This useless object. */ DerivedClass& operator= (const DerivedClass& object) { stuff_ = object.stuff_; uselessSize_ = object.uselessSize_; } /** * Does absolutely nothing. * * @param useless * Pointer to useless data. */ void doNothing (const int* useless) { if (useless == NULL) { return; } else { int womba = *useless; switch (womba) { case 0: cout << "This is output 0"; break; case 1: cout << "This is output 1"; break; case 2: cout << "This is output 2"; break; default: cout << "This is default output"; break; } } } /** * Does even less. */ void doEvenLess () { int mySecret = getSecret (); int gather = 0; for (int i = 0; i < mySecret; i++) { gather += 2; } } //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // PRIVATE METHODS //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// private: /** * Gets the secret value of this useless object. * * @return A secret value. */ int getSecret () const { if ((RANDOM == 42) && (stuff_.size() > 0) || (1000000000000000000 > 0) && true) { return 420; } else if (RANDOM == -1) { return ((5 * 2) + (4 - 1)) / 2; } int timer = 100; bool stopThisMadness = false; while (!stopThisMadness) { do { timer--; } while (timer > 0); stopThisMadness = true; } } //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // FIELDS //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// private: /** * Don't know what this is used for. */ static const int RANDOM = 42; /** * List of lists of stuff. */ std::list <Stuff> stuff_; /** * Specifies the size of this object's uselessness. */ size_t uselessSize_; }; #endif

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• What happens if you're unable to solve a problem?

  - by gablin

  I'm a year away from graduating from university, and I'm really looking forward to solving practical problems. Especially non-trivial ones which require a bit of research and a lot of thinking. But at the same time, that is also my greatest fear - being faced with a problem that I'm unable to solve, no matter how hard I try. And with pressure to deliver code on impending deadlines just around the corner, it does look a bit scary when viewing it from the safe playgrounds on uni (where the worst thing that can happen is that you have to redo a course or exam). So for those who have been in industry for any longer length of time, what would happen if you were told to solve a problem that you couldn't? Has it happened, and if so, what did happen? Did they just drop it and said "Oh well, guess we can make do with something else"? Were there consequences? Were you reprimanded, or even fired?

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• What to do when the programming activity becomes a problem?

  - by gablin

  I once saw a program (can't remember which) where it talked about people "experiencing flow" when they are doing something they are passionate about. When "in flow", they tend to lose track of time and surrounding, concentrating only on their activity at hand. This happens a lot for me when I program; most particularly when I face a problem. I refuse to give up until it's solved. This usually leads to hours just rushing by and I forget to eat lunch, dinner gets pushed into far into the evening, and when I finally look at the clock, it's way into the wee-hours of the night and I will only get a few hours of sleep before having to rise early in the morning. (This is not to say that I'm in flow only when facing a problem - but I find it particularly hard to stop programming and step back when there's something I can't solve immediately.) I love programming, but I hate it when it disrupts my normal routines (most importantly eating and sleeping patterns). And sitting still for so many hours, staring a screen, is not healthy. Please, any ideas on how I can get my rampant programming activity under control?

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• Should every programmer keep a "Lessons Learned" journal?

  - by gablin

  Every time I've finished a project, there is always something that I've learned (otherwise I don't find it very motivating). But I can't remember everything, and much later I may stumble across the same problem that I encountered in a previous project but no longer how I solved it (or at least what attempts I made). So would it be a good idea to write this down in a journal of some sort? I know that writing stuff down feels like writing documentation (which not everyone enjoys doing), and hope our memory to serve us when needed. But having it documented, it could be shared with other programmers and learn what lessons they learned. So, what do you think?

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• How to avoid getting carried away with details?

  - by gablin

  When I program, I often get too involved with details. There might be some little thing that doesn't do exactly what I want it to, or maybe there's some little feature I want to add. Either way, none are really essential to the application - it's just a minor niusance (if any). However, when trying to fix it, I may happen to spend way more time on it than I planned, and there are things much more important that I should be doing instead of dealing with this little detail. What can I do to avoid getting carried away with details, when there's more essential things that need doing? (I didn't know how to tag this question, so feel free to add whatever appropriate tags that are missing.)

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• Will software development be completely outsourced to Asia?

  - by gablin

  Lots of things are nowadays done in Asia which used to be done in the U.S. or Europe: car manufacturing, making of clothes and shoes, almost all computer components, etc. And it looks that part of software development is heading the same way. In fact, it is already underway. Where I previously worked as a functional tester for a 150+ developers-project, almost a third of the positions were outsourced to India. Will this process go further and further until all software development is done in Asia?

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• Best book for learning C++? [closed]

  - by gablin

  Possible Duplicate: Is there a good book to grok C++? I'm lacking a good book for learning C++. Although I'm not an entirely novice, I've learnt C++ mostly by trail-and-error and googling so I don't know all about best practices concerning C++. So what book or books should I get and read? Please only put 1 book per answer, for voting purposes, and maybe a short description of who it's targeted at. Hey, what happened to the community wiki option...?

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• "// ..." comments at end of code block after } - good or bad?

  - by gablin

  I've often seen such comments be used: function foo() { ... } // foo while (...) { ... } // while if (...) { ... } // if and sometimes even as far as if (condition) { ... } // if (condition) I've never understood this practice and thus never applied it. If your code is so long that you need to know what this ending } is then perhaps you should consider splitting it up into separate functions. Also, most developers tools are able to jump to the matching bracket. And finally the last is, for me, a clear violation to the DRY principle; if you change the condition you would have to remember to change the comment as well (or else it could get messy for the maintainer, or even for you). So why do people use this? Should we use it, or is it bad practice?

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• How to visualize code?

  - by gablin

  I've mostly only had to read my own code. As such, I've had no need to visualize the code as I already know how each and every class and module communicate with one another. But the few times I've had to read someone else's code - let us now assume we are talking about at least one larger module which contains several internal classes - I've almost always found myself wishing "This would have been so much easier to understand if I could just visualize it!" So what are the common methods or tools for enabling this? Which do you use, and why do you prefer them over the others? I've heard stuff like UML, module and class diagrams, but I imagine there are more. Furthermore, any of these is most likely better than anything I can devise on my own. EDIT: For those who answer with "Use pen and paper and just draw it": This isn't very helpful unless you explain this further. What exactly am I supposed to draw? A box for each class? Should I include the public methods? What about its fields? How should I draw connections that explain how one class uses another? What about modules? What if the language isn't object-oriented but functional or logical, or even just imperative (C, for instance)? What about global variables and functions? Is there an already-standardized way of drawing this, or do I need to think up of a method of my own? You get the drift.

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• What are invariants, how can they be used, and have you ever used it in your program?

  - by gablin

  I'm reading Coders at Work, and in it there's a lot of talk about invariants. As far as I've understood it, an invariant is a condition which holds both before and after an expression. They're, among other things, useful in proving that loop is correct, if I remember my Logic course correctly. Is my description correct, or have I missed something? Have you ever used them in your program? And if so, how did they benefit?

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• When is it time to start afresh instead of trying to rewrite the existing project?

  - by gablin

  As projects grow and age and new features are introduced, there may come a time when it's probably better to start anew. Some features may require so much rewriting that it would be easier (and maybe faster) to just rewrite the whole thing from scratch. Also, then you have the opportunity to apply what you've learned from the first project and thus improve the code and design of the successor. Is there a way of recognizing when this time is? Is it just a gut feeling, or could you say that "after x years, you probably should start over", or some other rule of thumb?

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• "// ..." comments at end of code block after } - good or bad?

  - by gablin

  I've often seen such comments be used: function foo() { ... } // foo while (...) { ... } // while if (...) { ... } // if and sometimes even as far as if (condition) { ... } // if (condition) I've never understood this practice and thus never applied it. If your code is so long that you need to know what this ending } is then perhaps you should consider splitting it up into separate functions. Also, most developers tools are able to jump to the matching bracket. And finally the last is, for me, a clear violation to the DRY principle; if you change the condition you would have to remember to change the comment as well (or else it could get messy for the maintainer, or even for you). So why do people use this? Should we use it, or is it bad practice?

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• 5 years of university education vs. 5 years of work experience - Which would you pick if hiring? [closed]

  - by gablin

  Say you need to hire a programmer. You have two candidates at your table: one has studied 5 years at uni (and holds a Master's degree, of course), but has no work experience; and the other holds no university degree but has worked for 5 years. Also assume that they both know the same programming languages, have about the same personality and spend equal amount of time programming on their spare time. If you only had this information to go on, which would you pick?

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• Do you feel that you, as a programmer, make a difference?

  - by gablin

  When I graduate from uni my desire is to land a job where I feel that what I do as a programmer makes a difference and contribute to the project. My code, no matter how small, is useful to the project, is being used by the project, and takes it forward. My work matters and thus I feel that I make a difference. In contrast, one of my fears is that my work just doesn't matter. Either it is just meaningless to the project but you're told to do it anyway, or your code is useful but not used in the project, or you feel that the project as a whole is just pointless, for whatever reason. Is this something that you've experienced, or are experiencing? Do you feel that you, as a programmer, make a difference, or do you feel that what you do just doesn't matter?

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• Should debug code be left in place, always, or added only when debugging and removed when the bug has been found?

  - by gablin

  I, for one, only add debug code (such as print statements) when I'm trying to locate a bug. And once I've found it, I remove the debug code (and add a test case which specifically tests for that bug). I feel that it's cluttering the real code and therefore has no place there unless I'm debugging. How do you do it? Do you leave the debug code in place, or remove it when obsolete (which may be difficult to judge when that is)?

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• Need help configurating my Tomcat server without any WAR files

  - by gablin

  I just reinstalled my entire server, and now I can't seem to get my JSP-based website to work on Tomcat anymore. I use the same server.xml file, which worked perfectly before the reinstallation, but no longer. Here's the content of the server.xml file which worked before: <!--APR library loader. Documentation at /docs/apr.html --> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener" SSLEngine="on" /> <!--Initialize Jasper prior to webapps are loaded. Documentation at /docs/jasper-howto.html --> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.JasperListener" /> <!-- JMX Support for the Tomcat server. Documentation at /docs/non-existent.html --> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.mbeans.ServerLifecycleListener" /> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.mbeans.GlobalResourcesLifecycleListener" /> <!-- Global JNDI resources Documentation at /docs/jndi-resources-howto.html --> <GlobalNamingResources> <!-- Editable user database that can also be used by UserDatabaseRealm to authenticate users --> <Resource name="UserDatabase" auth="Container" type="org.apache.catalina.UserDatabase" description="User database that can be updated and saved" factory="org.apache.catalina.users.MemoryUserDatabaseFactory" pathname="conf/tomcat-users.xml" /> </GlobalNamingResources> <!-- A "Service" is a collection of one or more "Connectors" that share a single "Container" Note: A "Service" is not itself a "Container", so you may not define subcomponents such as "Valves" at this level. Documentation at /docs/config/service.html --> <Service name="Catalina"> <!--The connectors can use a shared executor, you can define one or more named thread pools--> <!-- <Executor name="tomcatThreadPool" namePrefix="catalina-exec-" maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="4"/> --> <!-- A "Connector" represents an endpoint by which requests are received and responses are returned. Documentation at : Java HTTP Connector: /docs/config/http.html (blocking & non-blocking) Java AJP Connector: /docs/config/ajp.html APR (HTTP/AJP) Connector: /docs/apr.html Define a non-SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8080 --> <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" /> <!-- A "Connector" using the shared thread pool--> <!-- <Connector executor="tomcatThreadPool" port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" /> --> <!-- Define a SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8443 This connector uses the JSSE configuration, when using APR, the connector should be using the OpenSSL style configuration described in the APR documentation --> <!-- <Connector port="8443" protocol="HTTP/1.1" SSLEnabled="true" maxThreads="150" scheme="https" secure="true" clientAuth="false" sslProtocol="TLS" /> --> <!-- Define an AJP 1.3 Connector on port 8009 --> <Connector port="8009" protocol="AJP/1.3" redirectPort="8443" /> <!-- An Engine represents the entry point (within Catalina) that processes every request. The Engine implementation for Tomcat stand alone analyzes the HTTP headers included with the request, and passes them on to the appropriate Host (virtual host). Documentation at /docs/config/engine.html --> <!-- You should set jvmRoute to support load-balancing via AJP ie : <Engine name="Standalone" defaultHost="localhost" jvmRoute="jvm1"> --> <Engine name="Catalina" defaultHost="localhost"> <!--For clustering, please take a look at documentation at: /docs/cluster-howto.html (simple how to) /docs/config/cluster.html (reference documentation) --> <!-- <Cluster className="org.apache.catalina.ha.tcp.SimpleTcpCluster"/> --> <!-- The request dumper valve dumps useful debugging information about the request and response data received and sent by Tomcat. Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html --> <!-- <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.RequestDumperValve"/> --> <!-- This Realm uses the UserDatabase configured in the global JNDI resources under the key "UserDatabase". Any edits that are performed against this UserDatabase are immediately available for use by the Realm. --> <Realm className="org.apache.catalina.realm.UserDatabaseRealm" resourceName="UserDatabase"/> <!-- Define the default virtual host Note: XML Schema validation will not work with Xerces 2.2. --> <!-- <Host name="localhost" appBase="webapps" unpackWARs="true" autoDeploy="true" xmlValidation="false" xmlNamespaceAware="false"> --> <!-- SingleSignOn valve, share authentication between web applications Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html --> <!-- <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.authenticator.SingleSignOn" /> --> <!-- Access log processes all example. Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html --> <!-- <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.AccessLogValve" directory="logs" prefix="localhost_access_log." suffix=".txt" pattern="common" resolveHosts="false"/> --> <!-- </Host> --> <Host name="www.rebootradio.nu"> <Alias>rebootradio.nu</Alias> <Context path="" docBase="D:/services/http/rebootradio.nu" debug="1" reloadable="true"/> </Host> </Engine> </Service> </Server> The JSP site doesn't use any WAR files or anything like that; there's just a default.jsp in the specified folder D:/services/http/rebootradio.nu which loads the site. As I said, this configuration worked before, but now with the latest verion of XAMPP and Tomcat it doesn't work anymore. All I get is a 404 message saying The requested resource () is not available.

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• Need help configurating my Tomcat server

  - by gablin

  I just reinstalled my entire server, and now I can't seem to get my JSP-based website to work on Tomcat anymore. I use the same server.xml file, which worked perfectly before the reinstallation, but no longer. Here's the content of the server.xml file which worked before: <!--APR library loader. Documentation at /docs/apr.html --> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener" SSLEngine="on" /> <!--Initialize Jasper prior to webapps are loaded. Documentation at /docs/jasper-howto.html --> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.core.JasperListener" /> <!-- JMX Support for the Tomcat server. Documentation at /docs/non-existent.html --> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.mbeans.ServerLifecycleListener" /> <Listener className="org.apache.catalina.mbeans.GlobalResourcesLifecycleListener" /> <!-- Global JNDI resources Documentation at /docs/jndi-resources-howto.html --> <GlobalNamingResources> <!-- Editable user database that can also be used by UserDatabaseRealm to authenticate users --> <Resource name="UserDatabase" auth="Container" type="org.apache.catalina.UserDatabase" description="User database that can be updated and saved" factory="org.apache.catalina.users.MemoryUserDatabaseFactory" pathname="conf/tomcat-users.xml" /> </GlobalNamingResources> <!-- A "Service" is a collection of one or more "Connectors" that share a single "Container" Note: A "Service" is not itself a "Container", so you may not define subcomponents such as "Valves" at this level. Documentation at /docs/config/service.html --> <Service name="Catalina"> <!--The connectors can use a shared executor, you can define one or more named thread pools--> <!-- <Executor name="tomcatThreadPool" namePrefix="catalina-exec-" maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="4"/> --> <!-- A "Connector" represents an endpoint by which requests are received and responses are returned. Documentation at : Java HTTP Connector: /docs/config/http.html (blocking & non-blocking) Java AJP Connector: /docs/config/ajp.html APR (HTTP/AJP) Connector: /docs/apr.html Define a non-SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8080 --> <Connector port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" /> <!-- A "Connector" using the shared thread pool--> <!-- <Connector executor="tomcatThreadPool" port="8080" protocol="HTTP/1.1" connectionTimeout="20000" redirectPort="8443" /> --> <!-- Define a SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8443 This connector uses the JSSE configuration, when using APR, the connector should be using the OpenSSL style configuration described in the APR documentation --> <!-- <Connector port="8443" protocol="HTTP/1.1" SSLEnabled="true" maxThreads="150" scheme="https" secure="true" clientAuth="false" sslProtocol="TLS" /> --> <!-- Define an AJP 1.3 Connector on port 8009 --> <Connector port="8009" protocol="AJP/1.3" redirectPort="8443" /> <!-- An Engine represents the entry point (within Catalina) that processes every request. The Engine implementation for Tomcat stand alone analyzes the HTTP headers included with the request, and passes them on to the appropriate Host (virtual host). Documentation at /docs/config/engine.html --> <!-- You should set jvmRoute to support load-balancing via AJP ie : <Engine name="Standalone" defaultHost="localhost" jvmRoute="jvm1"> --> <Engine name="Catalina" defaultHost="localhost"> <!--For clustering, please take a look at documentation at: /docs/cluster-howto.html (simple how to) /docs/config/cluster.html (reference documentation) --> <!-- <Cluster className="org.apache.catalina.ha.tcp.SimpleTcpCluster"/> --> <!-- The request dumper valve dumps useful debugging information about the request and response data received and sent by Tomcat. Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html --> <!-- <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.RequestDumperValve"/> --> <!-- This Realm uses the UserDatabase configured in the global JNDI resources under the key "UserDatabase". Any edits that are performed against this UserDatabase are immediately available for use by the Realm. --> <Realm className="org.apache.catalina.realm.UserDatabaseRealm" resourceName="UserDatabase"/> <!-- Define the default virtual host Note: XML Schema validation will not work with Xerces 2.2. --> <!-- <Host name="localhost" appBase="webapps" unpackWARs="true" autoDeploy="true" xmlValidation="false" xmlNamespaceAware="false"> --> <!-- SingleSignOn valve, share authentication between web applications Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html --> <!-- <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.authenticator.SingleSignOn" /> --> <!-- Access log processes all example. Documentation at: /docs/config/valve.html --> <!-- <Valve className="org.apache.catalina.valves.AccessLogValve" directory="logs" prefix="localhost_access_log." suffix=".txt" pattern="common" resolveHosts="false"/> --> <!-- </Host> --> <Host name="www.rebootradio.nu"> <Alias>rebootradio.nu</Alias> <Context path="" docBase="D:/services/http/rebootradio.nu" debug="1" reloadable="true"/> </Host> </Engine> </Service> </Server> The JSP site doesn't use any WAR files or anything like that; there's just a default.jsp in the specified folder D:/services/http/rebootradio.nu which loads the site. As I said, this configuration worked before, but now with the latest verion of XAMPP and Tomcat it doesn't work anymore. All I get is a 404 message saying The requested resource () is not available.

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