Class loading

Class loaders are part of the Java™ virtual machine (JVM) code and are responsible for finding and loading class files. Class loaders enable applications that are deployed on servers to access repositories of available classes and resources. Application developers and deployers must consider the location of class and resource files, and the class loaders used to access those files, to make the files available to deployed applications. Class loaders affect the packaging of applications and the runtime behavior of packaged applications of deployed applications.

1. If an installed application module uses a resource, create a resource provider that specifies the directory name of the resource drivers.

   Do not specify the resource Java archive (JAR) file names. All JAR files in the specified directory are added into the class path of the WebSphere Application Server extensions class loader. If a resource driver requires a native library (.dll or .so file), specify the name of the directory that contains the library in the native path of the resource configuration.

2. Specify class-loader values for an application server.
3. Specify class-loader values for an installed enterprise application.
4. Specify the class-loader mode for an installed web module.
5. If your deployed application uses shared library files, associate the shared library files with your application.
   Use a library reference to associate a shared library file with your application.
   1. If you have not done so already, define shared libraries for library files that your applications need.
   2. Define a library reference for each shared library that your application uses.