J2EE applications executable on Application Server are formatted in either the exploded archive format or archive format. When developing an application with Eclipse, you choose the format of the J2EE application depending on whether the debug environment exists on a local host or remote host:

If the debug environment exists on a local host:

Exploded archive format

If the debug environment exists on a remote host:

Archive format

Reference note

If you use the exploded archive format, reload functionality that automatically detects revised source files and updates the deployed application can be used. If you use the reload functionality, the operating efficiency improves because the revised source files are redeployed dynamically in fewer steps. This section describes the procedure of developing J2EE applications using the exploded archive format.

Organization of this section

1.4.1 J2EE applications in exploded archive format

1.4.2 J2EE applications in archive format