webapps_main and root directories

Apache Tomcat and duplicate directories

[tedster]

I just jumped into a clean up project with a client who has changed their entire web team and has precious little documentation for what the previous group did.

What I see on the server has me very confused (I'm not much of a server guy). There are a set of folders in the /webapps_main/ directory that are duplicates of folders that exist one level down, in /webapps_main/ROOT/

1. Is there a functional reason for duplicating directories like this? Is it maybe done automatically in some process?

2. In a related question, I also see duplicates for subdomains -- that is, there are top level directores named /webapps_newyork/ that are duplicated in /webapps_main/ROOT/newyork/.

These are the files that you see when you type in http://newyork.example.com -- right now the maintenance of these subdomains involves people remembering to update BOTH sets of files manually. That just can't be right.

Can anyone enlighten me about what might be going on, the relationship between /webapps_main/ and /ROOT/ and subdirectories?

[jdMorgan]

tedster,

I can't answer for Tomcat -- I've never used it. But is it possible that the subdirectories might be "production/test" and the root is "release"... or vice-versa? A quick check of file sizes and dates might reveal something.

The other possibility is that these are aliased directories, and that the file "copies" you see in one or the other location may, in fact, be the same file but with an alias filepath or a symbolic link. In this case, the sizes/dates should be identical across entire directories.

If neither of those cases obtains, then it may just be some "Tomcat thing."

I have no doubt that when you're done, the documentation, usability, and content will be in much better shape! ;)

Jim