I'm trying to make a Java RMI client/server app. I'm running into problems starting up the server side of my app, as it keeps running into a ClassNotFoundException during the call to the Registry.bind() method when I attempt to start up the server side of the app.
I started with the simple tutorial here: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/rmi/hello/hello-world.html. After following those instructions, it was initially throwing a ClassNotFoundException complaining that it couldn't find "example.hello.Hello". I was able to resolve that by starting the rmiregistry FROM the destDir directory in the tutorial, since rmiregistry, apparently, uses its initial starting directory as part of its classpath.
I started on my other test app after that, and I was fine until I started to use third-party jar files in my server class. Now Registry.bind() throws a ClassNotFoundException if my server class references anything in any jar file since the rmiregistry app doesn't know about those jar files.
As far as I can tell, rmiregistry does not accept any sort of classpath startup arg, so I'm wondering how I can tell it what classpath I want it to acknowledge. According to the tutorial here: http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/rmi/running.html, "you must make sure that the shell or window in which you will run rmiregistry either has no CLASSPATH environment variable set or has a CLASSPATH environment variable that does not include the path to any classes that you want downloaded to clients of your remote objects." That sounds like the opposite of what I need... or am I reading it incorrectly? Has anyone had any success starting up a RMI client/server that uses third-party jars (commons-io, commons-logging, and rmiio, in my case)?
This is on Windows, by they way.
Update
I found a way around it. See my answer below.
(I had originally posted this answer as an update to my question. Per Zecas's suggestion in one of the comments, I'm moving it to the answer section.)
I was able to get the server part to start up by disobeying the suggestion in the second tutorial referenced in my question above:
"you must make sure that the shell or window in which you will run rmiregistry either has no CLASSPATH environment variable set or has a CLASSPATH environment variable that does not include the path to any classes that you want downloaded to clients of your remote objects."
I created a CLASSPATH environment variable and added my .class output directory and each of the third-party jar files to that. I thought I had tried that before, but I guess not... Just thought I'd leave my solution in case someone else has the same problem.