How to configure MySQL DataSource in Tomcat 6

1. Get MySQL JDBC Driver

Get JDBC driver here – http://www.mysql.com/products/connector/ , for example, mysql-connector-java-5.1.9.jar, and copy it to $TOMCAT\lib folder.

2. Create META-INF/context.xml

Add a file META-INF/context.xml into the root of your web application folder, which defines database connection detail :

File : META-INF/context.xml

<Context>

  <Resource name="jdbc/bestjavapractices " auth="Container" type="javax.sql.DataSource"

               maxActive="50" maxIdle="30" maxWait="10000"

               username="mysqluser" password="mysqlpassword"

               driverClassName="com.mysql.jdbc.Driver"

               url="jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/bestjavapractices"/>

</Context>

3. web.xml configuration

In web.xml, defines your MySQL datasource again :

  <resource-ref>

        <description>MySQL Datasource example</description>

        <res-ref-name>jdbc/bestjavapractices </res-ref-name>

        <res-type>javax.sql.DataSource</res-type>

        <res-auth>Container</res-auth>

  </resource-ref>

See a full web.xml example below :

File : web.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

        xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee"

        xmlns:web="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd"

        xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee

        http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd"

        id="WebApp_ID" version="2.5">

  <display-name>MySQL DataSource Example</display-name>

  <resource-ref>

        <description>MySQL Datasource example</description>

        <res-ref-name>jdbc/bestjavapractices </res-ref-name>

        <res-type>javax.sql.DataSource</res-type>

        <res-auth>Container</res-auth>

  </resource-ref>

</web-app>

4. Run It

Resource injection (@Resource) is the easiest way to get the datasource from Tomcat, see below :

import javax.annotation.Resource;

public class CustomerBean{

        @Resource(name="jdbc/bestjavapractices ")

        private DataSource ds;

        public List<Customer> getCustomerList() throws SQLException{

          //get database connection

          Connection con = ds.getConnection();

          //...

Alternatively, you can also get the datasource via context lookup service :

import javax.naming.Context;

import javax.naming.InitialContext;

public class CustomerBean{

        private DataSource ds;

        public CustomerBean(){

          try {

               Context ctx = new InitialContext();

               ds = (DataSource)ctx.lookup("java:comp/env/jdbc/bestjavapractices ");

          } catch (NamingException e) {

               e.printStackTrace();

          }

        }

        public List<Customer> getCustomerList() throws SQLException{

          //get database connection

          Connection con = ds.getConnection();

          //...

Reference

1. Tomcat 6 : JNDI Datasource HOW-TO