You can configure the application class loaders for an application server. Class loaders enable applications that are deployed on the application server to access repositories of available classes and resources.
Before you begin
This article assumes that an administrator created an application server on a WebSphere Application Server product.Why and when to perform this task
Configure the class loaders of an application server to set class-loader policy and mode values which affect all applications that are deployed on the server. Use the administrative console to configure the class loaders.Steps for this task
Option | Description |
Single | Applications are not isolated from each other. Uses a single application class loader to load all of the EJB modules, shared libraries, and dependency JAR files in the system. |
Multiple | Applications are isolated from each other. Gives each application its own class loader to load the EJB modules, shared libraries, and dependency JAR files of that application. |
Option | Description |
Parent first | Causes the class loader to delegate the loading of classes to its parent class loader before attempting to load the class from its local class path. Parent first is the default value for class loading mode. |
Parent last | Causes the class loader to attempt to load classes from its local class path before delegating the class loading to its parent. Using this policy, an application class loader can override and provide its own version of a class that exists in the parent class loader. |
What to do next
Save the changes to the administrative configuration.Related concepts
Class loaders
Shared library files
Related tasks
Class loading
Related reference
Class loader collection