Java web service struggling to communicate with Perl backend - any ideas?

Backend
1

Hey everyone,

I’m hitting a wall with my project. We’ve got a Java web service that’s supposed to talk to our backend, which is a mix of C and Perl. We’re using ProcessBuilder to run a UNIX job called FrameworkHandler.

ProcessBuilder pb = new ProcessBuilder();
pb.command("FrameworkHandler", "-a", "ACTION");
Process p = pb.start();

The FrameworkHandler kicks off a Perl script that does some XML file comparisons. The Perl bit looks like this:

sub log_issue {
    my $problem = shift;
    print STDERR "$problem\n";
}

Here’s the weird part: when there’s a difference between the XML files, the Perl script gets stuck in the log_issue function. It works fine if I run it directly in UNIX, but through the web service, it’s like it hits a brick wall after the diff command.

I’m wondering if maybe the XML tags are causing trouble? Like, could the < and > symbols be messing things up?

If anyone’s run into something like this before, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks a bunch!

2

I’ve encountered similar issues before. One potential problem could be character encoding mismatches between Java and Perl. Ensure both sides are using the same encoding (e.g., UTF-8). Additionally, consider implementing proper error handling and logging in your Java code to capture any exceptions or error messages from the Perl script. This can provide valuable insights into where exactly the process is failing. Lastly, have you verified that the FrameworkHandler has the necessary permissions to execute and access required resources when called from the web service context? Sometimes, permission issues can cause unexpected behavior.

3

hmm, interesting issue! have u checked if environment variables or PATH differences in the web service context cause trouble? maybe try redirecting stderr to a file for clues. what other steps have u taken? could xml formatting be a factor?

4

yo, sounds like a tricky one! Have u considered buffering issues? Sometimes output buffering can cause weird hangups. Try flushing STDERR after each print in ur perl script. Also, double-check ur java code is reading the process output properly. Good luck!