How to write init script

Question

Hi I am using 64bit Fedora 10 linux. I have created a sample java application. Now I want to write init script for that application. so that my application should start on bootup.

How to write init script to start on bootup.

Thanks Sunil Kumar Sahoo

Answer 1

There's quite a good guide here:

http://developer.novell.com/wiki/index.php/Writing_Init_Scripts

I'd suggest taking a look at the tomcat startup.sh and shutdown.sh scripts, and then modifying the following init.d script:

#!/bin/bash
#
# tomcat
#
# chkconfig:
# description:  Start up the Tomcat servlet engine.

# Source function library.
. /etc/init.d/functions


RETVAL=$?
CATALINA_HOME="/usr/apps/apache/tomcat/jakarta-tomcat-4.0.4"

case "$1" in
 start)
        if [ -f $CATALINA_HOME/bin/startup.sh ];
          then
      echo $"Starting Tomcat"
            /bin/su tomcat $CATALINA_HOME/bin/startup.sh
        fi
  ;;
 stop)
        if [ -f $CATALINA_HOME/bin/shutdown.sh ];
          then
      echo $"Stopping Tomcat"
            /bin/su tomcat $CATALINA_HOME/bin/shutdown.sh
        fi
  ;;
 *)
  echo $"Usage: $0 {start|stop}"
  exit 1
  ;;
esac

Answer 2

I usually just take one of the smaller init scripts from /etc/init.d and modify it.

Edit

The easiest thing to do is just add your program to the /etc/rc.local file. It will be the last start script executed. You won't have to mess around with the "start" and "stop" stuff.

However, if you're interested in being able to start and stop your program at will, you'll need to write a script.

Some of the other answers here will get you started.

Answer 3

Many distributions come with a skeleton script you can use as a template for your own init script, in /etc/init.d/skeleton or /etc/init.d/skel.

Answer 4

Some of the best java applications that I have seen tend to use the tanuki wrapper for this.

It standardises startup scripts across different OS's, i.e. can be used to configure a *nix daemon or a windows service.

It provides a standard command line interface for stopping, starting, restarting and checking the status - running or not.

I appreciate seeing it used more and more, as I don't have to learn it again, learn it once and reuse it again and again.

By using this service library, your application can benefit from future enhancements.