Proper understanding of the WebSphere requires a thorough knowledge about the wsadmin tool. What is it? What are its functions? How does it differ from the wscp? Here is a quick look at the relevant details regarding wsadmin that would be of considerable help in understanding WebSphere administration.
How do you define wsadmin? The wsadmin tool is the scripting language of the V5 application server. The chief task of this tool is to run scripts. It is possible to use this tool for WebSphere Application Server management, configuration, server run-time operations and application deployment.
What are the main features of it? The Bean Scripting Framework (BSF) is used by the wsadmin tool for the following features:
• Offers access from supported languages to Java objects and methods
• Offers architecture for incorporation of scripting into Java applications and applets with ease
• Offers independence to applications that are not necessarily bound to a scripting language
• Offers different language scripts the access to Java objects
What are the current supported languages for it? For the wsadmin tool, the supported languages presently are – Jacl and Jython. Jacl is the Java Command Language, which has as its basis the Tcl scripting. Jython, on the other hand, is the OO language Python in its Java implementation format.
Does it differ from wscp? The WebSphere objects from wsadmin and wscp are completely distinct from one another. Moreover, the wsadmin distinguishes static configurations from dynamic changes. Tcl may be simple and easy to learn; however, the same cannot be said for the wsadmin tool.
What is it used for? This tool is usually used for bulk tasks that are repeatable in nature. Examples of these tasks include adding, in a repeatable way, a set of definitions and changing an environment variable’s value on each of the servers in all the cells. The tool can do every task in the Admin Console, but may not do so in an intuitive manner.
What is JMX MBeans? The wsadmin tool serves as an interface to Java objects, which communicate with MBeans, and ensure their access by scripts. The four built-in objects have different functions, which are as follows:
· AdminConfig is used for creating or changing the WebSphere configuration
· AdminApp is used for installing, modifying or administering WebSphere applications
· AdminControl is used for working with objects that are live running and performing data types and traces conversion
Each of these objects has specific operations and functions, which come in handy for the proper use of the wsadmin tool. The task of the Help (Jacl) or Help (Jython) is to display help information on general topics and details on the running MBeans.
How is an application installed? Every WebSphere application developer needs to have an idea about this. For this, the AdminApp needs to be used. You can get the configurable options for this or use it inside a command in an interactive manner. Next, you need to get the task information and use it to build the options required for installation. Steven Hayes is a server administrator with years of experience. He offers a brief overview of the way the wsadmin tool helps WebSphere administration.
