## Chapter 10. Create new applications in Red5

This document describes how new applications can be created in Red5. It applies to the new API introduced by Red5 0.4.

## 10.1. The application directory

Red5 stores all application definitions as folders inside the "webapps" directory beneath the root of Red5. So the first thing you will have to do in order to create a new application, is to create a new subfolder in "webapps". By convention this folder should get the same name the application will be reached later.

Inside your new application, you will need a folder "WEB-INF" containing configuration files about the classes to use. You can use the templates provided by Red5 in the folder "doc/ templates/myapp".

During the start of Red5, all folders inside "webapps" are searched for a directory "WEB- INF" containing the configuration files.

## 10.2. Configuration

The main configuration file that is loaded is "web.xml". It contains the following parameters:

### 10.2.1. webAppRootKey

Unique name for this application, should be the public name:

    <context-param>
        <param-name>webAppRootKey</param-name>
        <param-value>/myapp</param-value>
    </context-param>

## 10.3. Handler configuration

Every handler configuration file must contain at least three beans:

### 10.3.1. Context

The context bean has the reserved name web.context and is used to map paths to scopes, lookup services and handlers. The default class for this is org.red5.server.Context.

By default this bean is specified as:

    <bean id="web.context" class="org.red5.server.Context"
        autowire="byType" />

Every application can only have one context. However this context can be shared across multiple scopes.

### 10.3.2. Scopes

Every application needs at least one scope that links the handler to the context and the server. The scopes can be used to build a tree where clients can connect to every node and share objects inside this scope (like shared objects or live streams). You can see the scopes as rooms or instances.

The default scope usually has the name web.scope, but the name can be chosen arbitrarily.

The bean has the following properties:

- server This references the global server red5.server. - parent References the parent for this scope and usually is global.scope. - context The server context for this scope, use the web.context from above. - handler The handler for this scope (see below). - contextPath The path to use when connecting to this scope. - virtualHosts A comma separated list of hostnames or ip addresses this scope runs at.

A sample definition looks like this:

    <bean id="web.scope" class="org.red5.server.WebScope"
        init-method="register">
        <property name="server" ref="red5.server" />
        <property name="parent" ref="global.scope" />
        <property name="context" ref="web.context" />
        <property name="handler" ref="web.handler" />
        <property name="contextPath" value="/myapp" />
        <property name="virtualHosts" value="localhost, 127.0.0.1" />
    </bean>

You can move the values for contextPath and virtualHosts to a separate properties file and use parameters. In that case you need another bean:

    <bean id="placeholderConfig"
        class="org.springframework.beans.factory.config.PropertyPlaceholderConfigurer">
    Create new applications in Red5
        <property name="location" value="/WEB-INF/red5-web.properties" />
    </bean>

Assuming a red5-web.properties containing the following data:

webapp.contextPath=/myapp
webapp.virtualHosts=localhost, 127.0.0.1

the properties of the scope can now be changed to:

    <property name="contextPath" value="${webapp.contextPath}" />
    <property name="virtualHosts" value="${webapp.virtualHosts}" />

The contextPath specified in the configuration can be seen as "root" path of the scope.

You can add additional elements after the configured path when connecting to dynamically create extra scopes.

These extra scopes all use the same handler but have their own properties, shared objects and live streams.

## 10.4. Handlers

Every context needs a handler that implements the methods called when a client connects to the scope, leaves it and that contains additional methods that can be called by the client. The interface these handlers need to implement is specified by org.red5.server.api.IScopeHandler, however you can implement other interfaces if you want to control access to shared objects or streams.

A sample implementation that can be used as base class can be found at org.red5.server.adapter.ApplicationAdapter. Please refer to the javadoc documentation for further details.

The bean for a scope handler is configured by:

    <bean id="web.handler"
        class="the.path.to.my.Application"
        singleton="true" />

## 10.5. Logging

Logging Setup Tutorial

Prev | Home | Next
Part II. Red5 Core Technologies | Red5 Open Source Flash Server | Chapter 11. Deploying Red5 To Tomcat