So far my experience of Glassfish has been very disappointing. Since I want to stick as much as possible to standard java architecture in my applications (JSF, GLassfish, Netbeans),
My immediate problem is that I'm developing a web application and after some time deploying and re-deploying the server becomes slower and eventually requires a re-install. I'm using GF 4.0 that comes bundles with Netbeans 7.3.1
My second question - Is there an end to end tutorial on how to create a simple form based login application using JDBC connection pooling and Netbeans IDE? This should include end to end configuration and NO INVISIBLE SHORTCUTS! Many of the tutorials I've seen make sweeping assumptions without providing explanations (eg: 'configure your server according to the GlassFish user guide' - there's so many configuration options that this kind of statement is almost meaningless).
Either Glassfish is such a complicated architecture that there is no generic way to create simple applications OR testing end to end applications on the open source edition has been sporadic.
I can't think of another reason or justification why anybody with at least basic knowledge of JEE would have to spend days tinkering with settings to deploy a very simple application. I'm going to be patient and open minded. It was much easier and more practical to work in Tomcat. Maybe JBoss is the better option for small scale enterprise apps and GF is only good for very large apps involving very complex configuration and customization? I'm going to persevere and keep and open mind. Any suggestions or recommendations about successfully learning and deploying Glassfish would be appreciated.
Would also welcome any views about WilfFly and TomEE as alternative technologies. Thanks in advance!