Class Not Found Issues
Preface
This page discusses the various ways you see Class Not Found errors or very similar errors. It is strongly advised you read the following topics:
Classloader HOWTO pages: Tomcat 7.0, Tomcat 6.0.
Don't use packageless classes and declare all imported classes!
If you get a NoClassDefFoundError exception, the root cause might be the same as for a ClassNotFound exception.
Questions
Why do I get java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/servlet/Filter?
Why do I get java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: org/xml/sax/InputSource?
Answers
Why is jsp:useBean is not working?
Make sure:
- Your bean is packaged in a class.
You have fully qualified your class name (e.g.: com.bar.package.MyClass ) OR
You have imported your class into your jsp (e.g.: <%@ page import="com.bar.package.MyClass"%> )
Why do I get java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/servlet/Filter?
You probably have servlet-api.jar floating around somewhere it shouldn't be. This really messes up the classloaders since Tomcat's classloaders don't act quite as normal as one expects (see links above). servlet-api.jar should only be found only once in $CATALINA_HOME/lib.
Why do I get java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: org/xml/sax/InputSource ?
You have conflicting XML api jar files in your classpath. Read the README or RELEASE-NOTES for more information.