Understanding how the Java™ and WebSphere® class loaders work is critical to packaging and deploying Java EE5 applications. Failure to set up the class loaders properly most likely results in a cascade of the infamous class loading exceptions (such as ClassNotFoundException) when trying to start your application.

In IBM® Redpaper™ publication, we explain class loaders and how to customize the behavior of the WebSphere class loaders to suit your particular application’s requirements. The paper concludes with an example designed to illustrates these concepts.

This paper is the stand-alone version of chapter 13 of WebSphere Application Server V7 Administration and Configuration Guide, SG24-7615.

A brief introduction to Java class loaders

WebSphere class loaders overview

Configuring WebSphere for class loaders

Class loader viewer

Learning class loaders by example