Azure - GitHub deployment

[tiny wolf]

@naive pilot

This is the default domain of my web app: https://historygame-app.azurewebsites.net
When you go to that specific web page, it takes a while to load and then gives you this message:
"The specified CGI application encountered an error and the server terminated the process."

First of all, since it's not actually supposed to display anything? The web app is supposed to hold Java scripts that provide a database service, which are prompted by a HttpURLConnection in the clientside Java scripts.

Secondly, would you have any idea how I'm supposed to access the scripts using the clientside Java scripts? Like what is the URL (if there is one) of the script/s? Does using GitHub deployments even allow the use of Http connections? If it doesn't, how the hell do I send data to and receive data from the scripts on the web app?

[woven ravine]

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[naive pilot]

The specified CGI application encountered an error and the server terminated the process.
looks like the application didn't give you a successful response

maybe it just doesn't answer with any response

[tiny wolf]

is it supposed to?

all I did so far with the web app was just deploy the github thing

[naive pilot]

Do you have access to logs?

[tiny wolf]

so there's no interaction

[naive pilot]

idk how that deployment is supposed to work

[tiny wolf]

as in?

the only functionality I want at the moment is:

• to be able to update my web app scripts in eclipse, have that committed to a github repo and then have those changes automatically pushed to the web app

[naive pilot]

idk what the application does, idk where and how exactly it is deployed, idk how the server works

[tiny wolf]

this is all I've done so far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2oyxbSbLPA

I literally just followed this

and the deployments work

this is the repo with the stuff I have in eclipse

which I update

and then that commits to the repo, and in turn to the web app deployment

[naive pilot]

Can you show the logs on the server?

[tiny wolf]

so that all works

[tiny wolf]

deployment logs?

[naive pilot]

the logs on Azure

idk how to get them but there should be logs for your application

[tiny wolf]

I need to enable them

which of those would you need

[naive pilot]

I have no idea what that is supposed to be

ig you might need application logging

[tiny wolf]

it's just called 'app service logs'

@naive pilot I think this offers more insight

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/deploy-continuous-deployment?tabs=github%2Cgithubactions

I've read it myself but I'm a bit lost#

"What happens to my app during deployment?
All the officially supported deployment methods make changes to the files in the /home/site/wwwroot folder of your app. These files are used to run your app. So the deployment can fail because of locked files. The app might also behave unpredictably during deployment because the files aren't all updated at the same time. This behavior is undesirable for a customer-facing app. There are a few ways to avoid these issues:

Run your app directly from the ZIP package, without unpacking it.
Stop your app or enable offline mode for it during deployment. For more information, see Deal with locked files during deployment.
Deploy to a staging slot with auto swap turned on."

[naive pilot]

Is that one for Java?

[tiny wolf]

don't think it matters

it's just a continuous deployment

[naive pilot]

it does

if the app is not deployed correctly, it won't run

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/quickstart-java?tabs=springboot&pivots=java-maven-javase

[tiny wolf]

in the app's deployment centre ^

it offers java functionality

and the deployments themselves are working just fine

@naive pilot ??

is the java aspect still an issue

[tiny wolf]

also this isn't continuous deployment

[naive pilot]

for CD, you need to do the deployment within GitHub Actions

these instructions should still apply although it might be more complicated

[tiny wolf]

wdym

I did that?

[tiny wolf]

the deployment was 'successful'

[naive pilot]

Yes but is your CD deployment specific to Java?

[tiny wolf]

although I don't actually know how to access the files

[tiny wolf]

@naive pilot well it says java here

[naive pilot]

Like how does the deployment know it's a Java application?

[tiny wolf]

java 21

[naive pilot]

I have no idea how Azure works

[tiny wolf]

build provider - github actions

java 21 runtime stack

[tiny wolf]

and yet you still probably have a better idea than me

[tiny wolf]

the deployment itself doesn't pose an issue

[tiny wolf]

otherwise it would say so in the deployment logs

even when I make changes to the scripts in the repo it says the web app updated successfully

[naive pilot]

maybe, maybe not

an incorrect deployment can also succeed (and then not work)

[tiny wolf]

there's nothing to suggest otherwise

@naive pilot oh

I have this in my root folder

it updates whenever I push changes

although I have no idea what the hell any of this is

I can't copy and paste those characters btw

if I can't fix this I can always just manually deploy the scripts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxehwu4Doa0

seems to address the issue

[tiny wolf]

@naive pilot is it supposed to be like this

just a lone app.jar

?

https://github.com/bbenz/DevOpsforJavaShops/blob/main/Exercise3.md

I've been following this but it's confusing the hell out of me

[naive pilot]

So GitHub Actions just uploaded the JAR?

How is it supposed to know how to run it?

[naive pilot]

the JAR is not supposed to be read s a text file

[naive pilot]

idk whether other files should be there as well

[naive pilot]

Did you do that part?

Note that the --server.port=80 might not be necessary if your application already uses that port

if it's a Spring Boot application, you might need to do -Dserver.port=80

[tiny wolf]

I'm using JDBC

And regular java

[tiny wolf]

Not yet

[naive pilot]

without that, it won't run I think

[tiny wolf]

wait where do I do that command

but I still need all the other stuff in the doc right?

[tiny wolf]

@naive pilot is jdbc part of spring boot

[naive pilot]

Is the application a web server?

The relevant part is whether it's a web server

[tiny wolf]

yes?

unless I'm mistaken

[naive pilot]

Is the Java application a web server?

[tiny wolf]

as in?

it queries an SQL database

on a mysql server

[naive pilot]

Does it serve HTTP requests?

[tiny wolf]

it will do yes

[naive pilot]

Does it do so already?

[tiny wolf]

at least that's what I intend

I'm hoping to use HttpsUrlConnection on java

[tiny wolf]

not yet

I haven't added that functionality

[naive pilot]

So what were you expecting when accessing that website?

[naive pilot]

that doesn't answer that question

[tiny wolf]

uh

not for it to randomly terminate

the main thing is that

this is showing the app.jar

but I need my scripts

[naive pilot]

what else did you expect to happen?

[naive pilot]

?

[tiny wolf]

from my github repo

why is it just app.jar

how am I supposed to send http requests to app.jar

[naive pilot]

because GitHub Actions just builds the JAR and puts it in the server?

[tiny wolf]

then how do I send http requests to/fro

from the client

to the web app scripts

for example if I want to insert data into my sql database

[naive pilot]

well you first need a web server

you need something receiving the HTTP requests

[tiny wolf]

using this...

package WebApp;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;

public class Connector {
    public static HttpURLConnection createConnection(String address){
        try{
            // Opens connection using URL from address argument.
            URL webURL = new URL(address);
            HttpURLConnection connection = (HttpURLConnection) webURL.openConnection();

            // Connection constraints...

            // Sets request method to POST.
            connection.setRequestMethod("POST");
            // Allows inputs from web service.
            connection.setDoInput(true);
            // Allows outputs to web service.
            connection.setDoOutput(true);
            // Timeouts for connection and reading after 15,000ms.
            connection.setConnectTimeout(15000);
            connection.setReadTimeout(15000);

            // Returns connection.
            return connection;

        } catch (IOException e){
            // Handles exceptions (i.e. connection failures).
            e.printStackTrace();
            return null;
        }
    }
}

what address am I supposed to use

when there isn't one

[tiny wolf]

I was expecting that when I made changes to the github repo that they would appear in /wwwroot

so that I could reference them by their address

my brother did a similar thing except he used PHP scripts and manually added them to the /wwwroot repository

[tiny wolf]

and then he used this and just simply used the address of the relevant script as his argument

@naive pilot

like this

[tiny wolf]

I was expecting something like this instead of a singular app.jar without anything substantive inside

and then I'd manage the http request receivers

and in the docs it says to do this

I don't have that option anywhere

also I have a feeling that something is wrong with these?

@naive pilot is this supposed to be empty

[naive pilot]

this doesn't seem right

[tiny wolf]

which part

I've watched countless tutorials and it's supposed to do most of it for you

idk what's screwing mine up

[naive pilot]

well these tutorials are about webapps, right?

[tiny wolf]

yes

[naive pilot]

then you first need a webapp/webserver

only then can you deploy it

[tiny wolf]

what's this then

[tiny wolf]

surely then it wouldn't deploy in the first place

it's deployed the app.jar

whatever that represents

[naive pilot]

idk - I guess it configures how it's supposed to be run

[tiny wolf]

how do I make a webserver then

as I said with my brother

all he did was create the web app resource

[naive pilot]

?

[tiny wolf]

put his php scripts in the /wwwroot thing

and then send http requests using HttpUrlConnection in his clientside scripts

[naive pilot]

Either you have a PHP application or a Java application

[tiny wolf]

I'm using Java instead of PHP

and I'm also trying to use github to continuously deploy

that's the only difference in our approach

[naive pilot]

then you need to include a web server inside the Java application

[naive pilot]

before deploying

[tiny wolf]

as in

the web app

or what I'm programming

jesus christ this is so confusing

I don't understand the difference between continuous deployments and manual deployments

just because github is doing it for me I need to create a web server and all of this stuff?

[tiny wolf]

my brother literally wrote the scripts in his IDE, drag and dropped them there and then referenced by URL

and that was all he did

[naive pilot]

when running the Java application, it must serve HTTP requests

[tiny wolf]

but app.jar doesn't contain any of my code

[naive pilot]

before that, you don't even need to think about deploying it

[naive pilot]

?

[tiny wolf]

and that will magically fix everything?

[naive pilot]

Do you know what a JAR is?

[naive pilot]

no but it won't work if you don't have that

[tiny wolf]

well atm I'm just trying to get the deployment working

and I don't know how I'm supposed to send data to a specific class when all I have to work with is an app.jar

[naive pilot]

you cannot deploy a web application without a web application

[tiny wolf]

right...

[naive pilot]

Do you know what a JAR is?

[tiny wolf]

packaged classes

[naive pilot]

essentially- the JAR contains all your classes (hopefully)

and running the JAR should run your project

[tiny wolf]

what if I just want to run a singular class script

for example if I have an AddUser class

or a RemoveUser class

they perform different tasks, take in different data and return different data

[naive pilot]

java -cp app.jar com.yourpackage.AddUser

[tiny wolf]

how do I query them separately

[naive pilot]

instead of java -jar app.jar

[tiny wolf]

how would I amend this then

given the address represents that of the individual scripts

[naive pilot]

it needs a main method

[tiny wolf]

what?

[naive pilot]

you can't run stuff without a main method

[tiny wolf]

that connection is to connect to the web app

it's not part of the web app

[naive pilot]

you still need a main to run Java code

[tiny wolf]

I will have a different class

which will take care of that

[naive pilot]

I recommend first making the web app

[tiny wolf]

because depending on the class I want, the address will be different

[tiny wolf]

alr

@naive pilot one last thing before I do that

[tiny wolf]

do I still have to bother with this

because apart from the main domain crashing whenever I try to load it, nothing seems to be wrong

[naive pilot]

if you want to deploy it, yes

[tiny wolf]

if the app.jar is functional

[tiny wolf]

yes but is there anything wrong

I originally thought the app.jar wasn't what it was supposed to be

but you disagree so

[naive pilot]

even if the app.jar is functional, you still need the java -jar

[tiny wolf]

where

[naive pilot]

isn't that in the tutorial?

[tiny wolf]

no

**To add a new Application Setting, click New Application Setting.

The name should be APP_CONFIGURATION_CONNECTION_STRING and the value should be the connection string from your App Configuration, starting with Endpoint=

In the app's left menu, select Configuration > General settings.

In Startup Command, add:

java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/demo-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar --server.port=80

When finished, click Update. Don't forget to click Save back in the Configuration page.

The application should restart at this time. Open the Web Site Address from the overview, and you should see the Web site. Refresh the app a few times and see if you notice any differences in the menu.

Repeat these steps to add the Application settings to your Production App.

FOr the GitHub App, use the same application setting, but use this startup command:

java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/app.jar --server.port=80**

very vague

[tiny wolf]

and Startup Command is not in Configuration > General settings

in fact I can't find it anywhere

it's not where it is in the image

[naive pilot]

well idk Azure specific stuff

[tiny wolf]

"In the app's left menu, select Configuration > General settings.

In Startup Command, add:

java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/demo-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar --server.port=80"

can I skip this stage

[naive pilot]

maybe it's somewhere else

[tiny wolf]

becaue he kept rambling on about application settings

but so far I've not made a single reference to it

[tiny wolf]

the tutorial said to create a new application setting

and then mess around with these feature flags

but none of them relate to github

to my knowledge

[tiny wolf]

and I've looked long and far and haven't found this

java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/app.jar --server.port=80

this seems important where would I put that @naive pilot

"FOr the GitHub App, use the same application setting, but use this startup command:"

??? I don't know where this is

[naive pilot]

probably somewhere in the server configuration

[tiny wolf]

it said in the github app

[naive pilot]

it should allow you to configure what to run

idk where

[tiny wolf]

the circled thing is the app setting the tutorial said to create

[naive pilot]

I cannot read that

[tiny wolf]

why not

the name is just APP_CONFIGURATION_CONNECTION_STRING

[naive pilot]

because the text in the image is unreadable

literally all the text there

[tiny wolf]

this is where the tutorial said the "Startup Command" option would be

[tiny wolf]

looks fine for me

is it too brightly coloured or something

might be my hdr

[naive pilot]

that's your image

[tiny wolf]

wtf

is this better

it looks completely fine on my screen

that's weird

[naive pilot]

hard to read but possible

[tiny wolf]

strange...

[naive pilot]

but no idea what that's supposed to mean

[tiny wolf]

might be discord

[tiny wolf]

I was just following the tutorial

it said to create an application setting

so I did

I followed every step to a T

"To add a new Application Setting, click New Application Setting.

The name should be APP_CONFIGURATION_CONNECTION_STRING and the value should be the connection string from your App Configuration, starting with Endpoint=

In the app's left menu, select Configuration > General settings.

In Startup Command, add:

java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/demo-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar --server.port=80

When finished, click Update. Don't forget to click Save back in the Configuration page.

The application should restart at this time. Open the Web Site Address from the overview, and you should see the Web site. Refresh the app a few times and see if you notice any differences in the menu.

Repeat these steps to add the Application settings to your Production App.

FOr the GitHub App, use the same application setting, but use this startup command:

java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/app.jar --server.port=80"

then I hit a stump at this point

[naive pilot]

Was the tutorial about a specific application?

[tiny wolf]

because there is no such thing about Startup Command

[naive pilot]

I told you I can't help you with finding it

[tiny wolf]

it doesn't exist

it's not where it should be and it's not anywhere else

https://github.com/bbenz/DevOpsforJavaShops/blob/main/Exercise1.md

[naive pilot]

¯_(ツ)_/¯

[tiny wolf]

this is what I'm following

I'm on exercise 3 atm

Exercise 3 - Setting up feature flags and configuring App Servers

and you're telling me that I definitely need java -jar /home/site/wwwroot/app.jar --server.port=80

and according to the tutorial "FOr the GitHub App, use the same application setting, but use this startup command:"

by github app does it mean IN GITHUB?

# More GitHub Actions for Azure: https://github.com/Azure/actions

name: Build and deploy JAR app to Azure Web App - historygame-app

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - master
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: windows-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Java version
        uses: actions/setup-java@v1
        with:
          java-version: '21'

      - name: Build with Maven
        run: |
          cd Server_Scripts
          mvn clean install

      - name: Upload artifact for deployment job
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: java-app
          path: '${{ github.workspace }}/Server_Scripts/target/*.jar'

  deploy:
    runs-on: windows-latest
    needs: build
    environment:
      name: 'Production'
      url: ${{ steps.deploy-to-webapp.outputs.webapp-url }}

    steps:
      - name: Download artifact from build job
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: java-app

      - name: Deploy to Azure Web App
        id: deploy-to-webapp
        uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v2
        with:
          app-name: 'historygame-app'
          slot-name: 'Production'
          publish-profile: ${{ secrets.AZUREAPPSERVICE_PUBLISHPROFILE_74C8926C37AE4A468A34ED5D83010300 }}
          package: '*.jar'```

this is the workflow .yml btw

[naive pilot]

maybe not with --server.port=80

[tiny wolf]

I still don't understand where I'm supposed to put that though

surely if it's not even an option it's accounted for...

[high fulcrum]

you shouldn't have to specify java the java -jar command, that is going to be taken care of by azure

it knows how to run jars. However, there is a startup command section you can put the command in if you are doing anything non standard

this would probably be easier using an azure container app though, fyi

because then your github actions only have to upload an image and the container app is pointed at a specific tag

Oh I see you got that startup command from the tutorial

what is on your application settings page

[tiny wolf]

SOMEONE WHO KNOWS AZURE

SENT FROM HEAVEN

one sec

[tiny wolf]

the azure discord server has terrible support

[tiny wolf]

it wasn't there

[high fulcrum]

yeah, the tutorial looks like its 3 years old so they have probably update the UI

[tiny wolf]

not there

[tiny wolf]

yeah but I can't find it anywhere

which leads me to believe it's no longer a feature

[high fulcrum]

just out of curiosity, could you switch from java 21 to 11 like in the tooot

[tiny wolf]

in the tooot?

[tiny wolf]

I can using the settings in the image above

should I?

java 21 should be fine with the other versions

[high fulcrum]

toot == tutorial

[tiny wolf]

o

[tiny wolf]

doesn't change the options

no startup

[high fulcrum]

just a sanity check, i didn't expect anything really

[tiny wolf]

I'm a little inexperienced with web apps and the like

so the issue I have atm is

https://historygame-app.azurewebsites.net

ever since I deployed w/ github

this web page doesn't load

gives me some message after a while along the lines of
"The specified CGI application encountered an error and the server terminated the process."

[high fulcrum]

just for additional context, have you deployed manually with success previously?/

[tiny wolf]

my brother did for a separate project

using .php files

he wrote them, deployed them manually in the zip push repo and then referenced them by url

package WebApp;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;

public class Connector {
    public static HttpURLConnection createConnection(String address){
        try{
            // Opens connection using URL from address argument.
            URL webURL = new URL(address);
            HttpURLConnection connection = (HttpURLConnection) webURL.openConnection();

            // Connection constraints...

            // Sets request method to POST.
            connection.setRequestMethod("POST");
            // Allows inputs from web service.
            connection.setDoInput(true);
            // Allows outputs to web service.
            connection.setDoOutput(true);
            // Timeouts for connection and reading after 15,000ms.
            connection.setConnectTimeout(15000);
            connection.setReadTimeout(15000);

            // Returns connection.
            return connection;

        } catch (IOException e){
            // Handles exceptions (i.e. connection failures).
            e.printStackTrace();
            return null;
        }
    }
}```

[tiny wolf]

this was generalised for using the addresses of each of the different php scripts, hence the signature

[tiny wolf]

I more or less want to copy this

I want an HttpUrlConnection

to my scripts on the web app

and then they query the database and return data

[high fulcrum]

sorry brb, i probably wont be back until later this evening

if you haven't resolved by then we could hop on a screen share

[tiny wolf]

I scared you off 😭

[high fulcrum]

lol no, gotta take my kid to muay thai

brb

[tiny wolf]

damn

https://tenor.com/view/ko-muaythai-knee-brutal-ouch-gif-12358603

[woven ravine]

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[tiny wolf]

@naive pilot startup command is only available to Linux apparently

So ig I don't have to bother with that