Calling java methods from inside servlet

Question

I new with servlet programming and I am trying to create and write a file from following java method-

public void file() throws FileNotFoundException, UnsupportedEncodingException {
    PrintWriter writer = new PrintWriter("the-file-name.txt", "UTF-8");
    writer.println("The first line");
    writer.println("The second line");
    writer.close();
    System.out.println("file created");
}

And I want to call it from servlet like this

protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {

    TryMethod tryMethod = new TryMethod();
    tryMethod.file();
}

can anyone suggest why it is not getting executed from servlet? This method gets called when called from the main method.

Answer 1

No there is typically no problem with running constructors or methods from a servlet (at least not for classes which are part of your WebApp). And if there where a problem you would get an Exception/error.

So in case you do not see the print output, it is likely the code was not executed. This could be a different method (doPost instead of doGet) or a different servlet (check your URL and servlet mapping) or it can be that your updated class was not deployed or found - or it was deployed but used another one.

The first thing I would to is to add a System.out to the doGet() method. As long as that one is not printed you do not need to worry about your own class.

Oh and to just state the obvious, your code uses the current run-directory of the web server (relative file name) which you might not have checked for the file. Try an absolute path or make it configurable. Your system.out shold however be printed regardless.