jboss-websocket-hello: A simple WebSocket application

Author: Sande Gilda, Emmanuel Hugonett
Level: Beginner
Technologies: WebSocket, CDI, JSF
Summary: The websocket-hello quickstart demonstrates how to create a simple WebSocket application.
Target Product: JBoss EAP
Source: https://github.com/jboss-developer/jboss-eap-quickstarts

What is it?

The websocket-hello quickstart demonstrates how to create a simple WebSocket-enabled application in Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform. It consists of the following:

• A JavaScript enabled WebSocket HTML client.
• A WebSocket server endpoint that uses annotations to interact with the WebSocket events.
• A jboss-web.xml file configured to enable WebSockets

WebSockets are a requirement of the Java EE 7 specification and are implemented in JBoss EAP 7. They are configured in the undertow subsystem of the server configuration file. This quickstart uses the WebSocket default settings, so it is not necessary to modify the server configuration to deploy and run this quickstart.

Note: This quickstart demonstrates only a few of the basic functions. A fully functional application should provide better error handling and intercept and handle additional events.

System requirements

The application this project produces is designed to be run on Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 or later.

All you need to build this project is Java 8.0 (Java SDK 1.8) or later and Maven 3.1.1 or later. See Configure Maven for JBoss EAP 7 to make sure you are configured correctly for testing the quickstarts.

Use of EAP7_HOME

In the following instructions, replace EAP7_HOME with the actual path to your JBoss EAP installation. The installation path is described in detail here: Use of EAP7_HOME and JBOSS_HOME Variables.

Start the JBoss EAP Server

1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the root of the JBoss EAP directory.

2. The following shows the command line to start the server:

    For Linux:   EAP7_HOME/bin/standalone.sh
    For Windows: EAP7_HOME\bin\standalone.bat
   

Build and Deploy the Quickstart

1. Make sure you have started the JBoss EAP server as described above.

2. Open a command prompt and navigate to the root directory of this quickstart.

3. Type this command to build and deploy the archive:

    mvn clean install wildfly:deploy
   

4. This will deploy target/jboss-websocket-hello.war to the running instance of the server.

Access the application

The application will be running at the following URL: http://localhost:8080/jboss-websocket-hello.

1. Click on the Open Connection button to create the WebSocket connection and display current status of Open.
2. Type a name and click Say Hello to create and send the 'Say hello to <NAME>' message. The message appears in the server log and a response is sent to the client.
3. Click on the Close Connection button to close the WebSocket connection and display the current status of Closed.
4. If you attempt to send another message after closing the connection, the following message appears on the page: "WebSocket connection is not established. Please click the Open Connection button".

Undeploy the Archive

1. Make sure you have started the JBoss EAP server as described above.

2. Open a command prompt and navigate to the root directory of this quickstart.

3. When you are finished testing, type this command to undeploy the archive:

    mvn wildfly:undeploy
   

Run the Quickstart in Red Hat JBoss Developer Studio or Eclipse

You can also start the server and deploy the quickstarts or run the Arquillian tests from Eclipse using JBoss tools. For general information about how to import a quickstart, add a JBoss EAP server, and build and deploy a quickstart, see Use JBoss Developer Studio or Eclipse to Run the Quickstarts

Debug the Application

If you want to debug the source code of any library in the project, run the following command to pull the source into your local repository. The IDE should then detect it.

    mvn dependency:sources