Classpath problem: configLocation in Spring

Question

I am having some kind of classpath problem:

I've put my context.xml files in META-INF/spring/conf/

They can be perfectly found by Spring using classpath:WEB-META/spring/conf/root-context.xml (root-context.xml references other xml's).

My Hibernate.cfg.xml is on src/main/resources, so it 'should' be on the classpath, however Spring doesn't seem to find it when it tries to Autowire a Hibernate template in one of my DAO classes.

I tried using a simple query with Spring in a main class, here it perfectly finds the hibernate.cfg.xml and returns me a sessionfactory when I invoke getBean();

INFO : org.springframework.context.annotation.ClassPathBeanDefinitionScanner - JSR-330 'javax.inject.Named' annotation found and supported for component scanning
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader - Loading XML bean definitions from class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor - JSR-330 'javax.inject.Inject' annotation found and supported for autowiring
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory - Pre-instantiating singletons in org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory@d1e89e: defining beans [org.springframework.context.annotation.internalConfigurationAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalAutowiredAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalRequiredAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalCommonAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalPersistenceAnnotationProcessor,leerlingDAOimpl,leerlingServiceImpl,helloWorldController,viewResolver,sessionFactory,hibernateTemplate,transactionManager]; root of factory hierarchy

---

ApplicationContext ctx = new ClassPathXmlApplicationContext("META-INF/spring/conf/root-context.xml");
SessionFactory factory = (SessionFactory) ctx.getBean("sessionFactory");            
Session session = factory.getCurrentSession();

How can I make it find on my classpath? Is my root-context.xml in the wrong place? I tried wildcards, classpath:,without classpath, giving the full path... nothing seems to work and still it DOES work in a regular main class.

<bean class="org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.LocalSessionFactoryBean"
    id="sessionFactory">
    <property name="configLocation">
        <value>classpath:hibernate.cfg.xml</value>
    </property>
</bean>

full trace:

20-okt-2010 0:41:19 org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener init
INFO: The APR based Apache Tomcat Native library which allows optimal performance in production environments was not found on the java.library.path: C:\jdk\bin;.;C:\Windows\Sun\Java\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:/jdk/jre/bin/client;C:/jdk/jre/bin;C:\Ruby19\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\CollabNet Subversion Client;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;%JAVA_HOME\bin;C:\Program Files\TortoiseSVN\bin;c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Acronis\SnapAPI\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk\Backburner\;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\;C:\Program Files (x86)\FastSum;C:\Program Files (x86)\apache-maven-2.2.1\bin;C:\Program Files (x86)\QuickTime\QTSystem\;
20-okt-2010 0:41:19 org.apache.tomcat.util.digester.SetPropertiesRule begin
WARNING: [SetPropertiesRule]{Server/Service/Engine/Host/Context} Setting property 'source' to 'org.eclipse.jst.jee.server:Kidscalcula_web' did not find a matching property.
20-okt-2010 0:41:19 org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol init
INFO: Initializing Coyote HTTP/1.1 on http-8080
20-okt-2010 0:41:19 org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina load
INFO: Initialization processed in 429 ms
20-okt-2010 0:41:19 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService start
INFO: Starting service Catalina
20-okt-2010 0:41:19 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine start
INFO: Starting Servlet Engine: Apache Tomcat/6.0.29
20-okt-2010 0:41:20 org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationContext log
INFO: Initializing Spring root WebApplicationContext
INFO : org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader - Root WebApplicationContext: initialization started
INFO : org.springframework.web.context.support.XmlWebApplicationContext - Refreshing Root WebApplicationContext: startup date [Wed Oct 20 00:41:20 CEST 2010]; root of context hierarchy
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader - Loading XML bean definitions from class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/root-context.xml]
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader - Loading XML bean definitions from class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/mvc-dispatcher-servlet.xml]
INFO : org.springframework.context.annotation.ClassPathBeanDefinitionScanner - JSR-330 'javax.inject.Named' annotation found and supported for component scanning
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.xml.XmlBeanDefinitionReader - Loading XML bean definitions from class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.AutowiredAnnotationBeanPostProcessor - JSR-330 'javax.inject.Inject' annotation found and supported for autowiring
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory - Pre-instantiating singletons in org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory@e41bc3: defining beans [org.springframework.context.annotation.internalConfigurationAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalAutowiredAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalRequiredAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalCommonAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalPersistenceAnnotationProcessor,leerlingDAOimpl,leerlingServiceImpl,helloWorldController,viewResolver,sessionFactory,hibernateTemplate,transactionManager]; root of factory hierarchy
INFO : org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory - Destroying singletons in org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory@e41bc3: defining beans [org.springframework.context.annotation.internalConfigurationAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalAutowiredAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalRequiredAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalCommonAnnotationProcessor,org.springframework.context.annotation.internalPersistenceAnnotationProcessor,leerlingDAOimpl,leerlingServiceImpl,helloWorldController,viewResolver,sessionFactory,hibernateTemplate,transactionManager]; root of factory hierarchy
ERROR: org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader - Context initialization failed
org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'leerlingDAOimpl' defined in file [C:\java\workspace\.metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp1\wtpwebapps\Kidscalcula_web\WEB-INF\classes\be\howest\kidscalcula\dao\impl\LeerlingDAOimpl.class]: Unsatisfied dependency expressed through constructor argument with index 0 of type [org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.HibernateTemplate]: : Error creating bean with name 'hibernateTemplate' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'sessionFactory' while setting bean property 'sessionFactory'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'hibernateTemplate' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'sessionFactory' while setting bean property 'sessionFactory'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.createArgumentArray(ConstructorResolver.java:728)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.autowireConstructor(ConstructorResolver.java:197)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.autowireConstructor(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1003)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBeanInstance(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:907)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:485)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:456)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:291)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:288)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:190)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:580)
    at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:895)
    at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:425)
    at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.createWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:276)
    at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.initWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:197)
    at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContextLoaderListener.java:47)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart(StandardContext.java:4135)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:4630)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1045)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.start(StandardHost.java:785)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1045)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.start(StandardEngine.java:445)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.start(StandardService.java:519)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.start(StandardServer.java:710)
    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:581)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:289)
    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:414)
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'hibernateTemplate' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'sessionFactory' while setting bean property 'sessionFactory'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:328)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveValueIfNecessary(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:106)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.applyPropertyValues(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1325)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1086)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:517)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:456)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:291)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:288)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:190)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.findAutowireCandidates(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:844)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:786)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:703)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.resolveAutowiredArgument(ConstructorResolver.java:793)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.createArgumentArray(ConstructorResolver.java:721)
    ... 30 more
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1420)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:519)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:456)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:291)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:288)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:190)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:322)
    ... 44 more
Caused by: java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.core.io.ClassPathResource.getURL(ClassPathResource.java:179)
    at org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.LocalSessionFactoryBean.buildSessionFactory(LocalSessionFactoryBean.java:642)
    at org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.AbstractSessionFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet(AbstractSessionFactoryBean.java:211)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeInitMethods(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1477)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1417)
    ... 51 more
20-okt-2010 0:41:21 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext listenerStart
SEVERE: Exception sending context initialized event to listener instance of class org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener
org.springframework.beans.factory.UnsatisfiedDependencyException: Error creating bean with name 'leerlingDAOimpl' defined in file [C:\java\workspace\.metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.wst.server.core\tmp1\wtpwebapps\Kidscalcula_web\WEB-INF\classes\be\howest\kidscalcula\dao\impl\LeerlingDAOimpl.class]: Unsatisfied dependency expressed through constructor argument with index 0 of type [org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.HibernateTemplate]: : Error creating bean with name 'hibernateTemplate' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'sessionFactory' while setting bean property 'sessionFactory'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'hibernateTemplate' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'sessionFactory' while setting bean property 'sessionFactory'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.createArgumentArray(ConstructorResolver.java:728)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.autowireConstructor(ConstructorResolver.java:197)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.autowireConstructor(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1003)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBeanInstance(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:907)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:485)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:456)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:291)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:288)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:190)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.preInstantiateSingletons(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:580)
    at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.finishBeanFactoryInitialization(AbstractApplicationContext.java:895)
    at org.springframework.context.support.AbstractApplicationContext.refresh(AbstractApplicationContext.java:425)
    at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.createWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:276)
    at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoader.initWebApplicationContext(ContextLoader.java:197)
    at org.springframework.web.context.ContextLoaderListener.contextInitialized(ContextLoaderListener.java:47)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.listenerStart(StandardContext.java:4135)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.start(StandardContext.java:4630)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1045)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHost.start(StandardHost.java:785)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.start(ContainerBase.java:1045)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine.start(StandardEngine.java:445)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService.start(StandardService.java:519)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.start(StandardServer.java:710)
    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:581)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:289)
    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:414)
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'hibernateTemplate' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Cannot resolve reference to bean 'sessionFactory' while setting bean property 'sessionFactory'; nested exception is org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:328)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveValueIfNecessary(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:106)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.applyPropertyValues(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1325)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.populateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1086)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:517)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:456)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:291)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:288)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:190)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.findAutowireCandidates(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:844)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.doResolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:786)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultListableBeanFactory.resolveDependency(DefaultListableBeanFactory.java:703)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.resolveAutowiredArgument(ConstructorResolver.java:793)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.ConstructorResolver.createArgumentArray(ConstructorResolver.java:721)
    ... 30 more
Caused by: org.springframework.beans.factory.BeanCreationException: Error creating bean with name 'sessionFactory' defined in class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate-config.xml]: Invocation of init method failed; nested exception is java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1420)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.doCreateBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:519)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.createBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:456)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory$1.getObject(AbstractBeanFactory.java:291)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.getSingleton(DefaultSingletonBeanRegistry.java:222)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.doGetBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:288)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractBeanFactory.getBean(AbstractBeanFactory.java:190)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.BeanDefinitionValueResolver.resolveReference(BeanDefinitionValueResolver.java:322)
    ... 44 more
Caused by: java.io.FileNotFoundException: class path resource [META-INF/spring/conf/hibernate.cfg.xml] cannot be resolved to URL because it does not exist
    at org.springframework.core.io.ClassPathResource.getURL(ClassPathResource.java:179)
    at org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.LocalSessionFactoryBean.buildSessionFactory(LocalSessionFactoryBean.java:642)
    at org.springframework.orm.hibernate3.AbstractSessionFactoryBean.afterPropertiesSet(AbstractSessionFactoryBean.java:211)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.invokeInitMethods(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1477)
    at org.springframework.beans.factory.support.AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.initializeBean(AbstractAutowireCapableBeanFactory.java:1417)
    ... 51 more
20-okt-2010 0:41:21 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext start
SEVERE: Error listenerStart
20-okt-2010 0:41:21 org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext start
SEVERE: Context [/Kidscalcula_web] startup failed due to previous errors
20-okt-2010 0:41:21 org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationContext log
INFO: Closing Spring root WebApplicationContext
20-okt-2010 0:41:21 org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoader clearReferencesJdbc
SEVERE: The web application [/Kidscalcula_web] registered the JBDC driver [com.mysql.jdbc.Driver] but failed to unregister it when the web application was stopped. To prevent a memory leak, the JDBC Driver has been forcibly unregistered.

Answer 1

From the stacktrace as well as the snippet posted above, you have specified

hibernate.cfg.xml instead of hibernate-cfg.xml.

Answer 2

I've fixed it. Placed Spring-context.xml in WEB-INF and now it finds my hibernate.cfg.xml on the classpath.

However; could anyone tell me if WEB-INF is a good place to place these xml's?