The Apache Foundation’s Tomcat 7.0 servlet container cuts down on memory leaks and supports new specifications that are intended to ease development.
A beta of Tomcat 7.0 became available on June 29. It targets application-caused memory leaks by eliminating defects specific to Java APIs, and also includes patches for common application-caused memory leaks, according to Apache.
“One of the biggest complaints in production has been memory use. It will not be shut down as often,” said Sateesh Narahari, director of product management at MuleSoft. MuleSoft produces Tcat, a commercial implementation of Tomcat.
The beta implements the Servlet 3.0, JavaServer Pages 2.1 and Expression Language 2.2 specifications. Servlet 3.0 adds support for asynchronous programming techniques, is designed to increase extensibility with the ability to let developers upload additional libraries as needed, and improves security with SSL session ID tracking.
In addition, developers no longer have to add library-specific configuration entries to their applications’ web.xml deployment descriptor file. A new API included in the release is designed to reduce the steps that it takes to make embeddable Tomcat applications.
MuleSoft shipped a release candidate of Tcat 6.5 R3 on Tuesday, the first commercial distribution of Tomcat 7.0; Tcat 7 is based entirely on its binaries. It builds configuration, deployment and management options on top of Tomcat, as well as introduces new user interface elements to simplify user interaction.
The final version Tcat 7 will ship in August with a subscription cost of US$595 per CPU per year.
Some highlights include integration with Windows services to run and manage Tomcat without requiring Tomcat administrators to log into the server; the ability to share application configurations across multiple environments; and a new application deployment model for servers and groups that dramatically speeds up deployments, Narahari said.
