WildFly Bootable JAR Datasource configuration

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WildFly Bootable JAR is an efficient packaging format offered by the WildFly application server, enabling the creation of self-contained, executable JAR files for deploying Java EE applications. In this article we will learn how to configure a Datasource connection so that you can use Jakarta Persistence API with it.

Bootable JAR Overview

Firstly, if you are new to WIldFly Bootable JAR we have a quickstart introduction to it that will get you up to speed: Turn your WildFly application in a Bootable JAR

From the quickstart, you should be able to grasp two key concepts of the Bootable JAR architecture:

Feature Pack: A feature pack in WildFly represents a collection of related features, subsystems, and functionalities bundled together for modular deployment. It includes a set of extensions, configurations, and capabilities designed to address specific use cases or requirements. For example, the wildfly-datasources-galleon-pack allows automatic binding of the Datasource subsystem from a set of environment variables or System Properties

Layers: A layer in WildFly represents a logical grouping of feature packs and configurations that define specific aspects of the server’s behavior or characteristics. Layers enable the modular assembly of the server by grouping related functionalities together. For example, the postgresql-datasource allows installing the PostgreSQL Driver and Datasource

Installing a Datasource with Bootable JAR

After our introduction, let’s see how to install a DataSource, for example PostgreSQL Datasource. In order to install it, we need to include the following configuration elements:

  • wildfly-datasources-galleon-pack Feature Pack
  • postgresql-datasource Layer

Here is a configuration you can add to your WildFly project, to install the Datasource.

<plugin>
	<groupId>org.wildfly.plugins</groupId>
	<artifactId>wildfly-jar-maven-plugin</artifactId>
	<version>10.0.0.Final</version>
	<configuration>
		<feature-packs>
			<feature-pack>
				<location>wildfly@maven(org.jboss.universe:community-universe)#${version.wildfly}</location>
			</feature-pack>
			<feature-pack>
				<groupId>org.wildfly</groupId>
				<artifactId>wildfly-datasources-galleon-pack</artifactId>
				<version>${version.wildfly.datasources.galleon-pack}</version>
			</feature-pack>
		</feature-packs>
		<layers>
			<layer>jaxrs</layer>
			<layer>jpa</layer>
			<layer>postgresql-datasource</layer>
		</layers>
		<excluded-layers>
			<layer>deployment-scanner</layer>
		</excluded-layers>
		<plugin-options>
			<jboss-fork-embedded>${plugin.fork.embedded}</jboss-fork-embedded>
		</plugin-options>
	</configuration>
	<executions>
		<execution>
			<goals>
				<goal>package</goal>
			</goals>
		</execution>
	</executions>
</plugin>

Configuring the DataSource settings

By default, the postgresql-datasource Layer will attempt to install a DataSource with the JNDI name java:jboss/datasources/PostgreSQLDS . Therefore, you need to include this binding in your persistence.xml or equivalent.

<persistence version="3.0" xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/persistence"
             xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
             xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/persistence https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/persistence/persistence_3_0.xsd">
    <persistence-unit name="primary">
        <jta-data-source>java:jboss/datasources/PostgreSQLDS</jta-data-source>
        <properties>
            <!-- Properties for Hibernate -->
            <property name="hibernate.dialect" value="org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect"/>
            <property name="hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto" value="create-drop"/>
            <property name="hibernate.show_sql" value="true"/>
        </properties>
    </persistence-unit>
</persistence>

Then, we need to provide some values for the Database username, password and DB in order to connect to a specific Database instance. You can find here the list of Environment variables or Java System Properties that you can inject into the Datasource: https://github.com/wildfly-extras/wildfly-datasources-galleon-pack/tree/main/doc/postgresql

For example, we will export the following environment variables before starting the Bootable JAR application

export POSTGRESQL_DATABASE=postgresDB
export POSTGRESQL_PASSWORD=postgres
export POSTGRESQL_USER=postgres

Lastly, boot PostgreSQL. For example with Docker:

 docker run --rm --name postgresdb -e POSTGRES_USER=postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres -e POSTGRES_DB=postgresDB -d -p 5432:5432 postgres:13

Starting the Bootable JAR application

At the end of this article you will find a simple JPA application with a REST Endpoint to return some records from the DB. To boot it, you can simply execute:

mvn install wildfly-jar:run

Then, query the sample /customers endpoint to verify that you can return a Customer from the PostgreSQL DB:

wildfly bootable jar datasource configuration

Conclusion

WildFly Bootable JAR revolutionizes the deployment paradigm by offering a convenient, self-contained packaging format for Jakarta EE applications. It empowers developers to simplify the creation of resources such as Datasources or other Jakarta EE resources.

Source code: https://github.com/fmarchioni/mastertheboss/tree/master/bootable-jar/datasource

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