OpenForis Calc / embedded Tomcat won't start

Question

Trying to run OpenForis Calc, embedded Tomcat instance fails.

Error seems to appear here:

Apr 17, 2015 2:13:47 AM org.apache.catalina.startup.HostConfig deployDescriptor 
INFO: Deploying configuration descriptor /opt/OpenForisCalc/calc-server/tomcat/conf/Catalina/localhost/calc.xml

Apr 17, 2015 2:13:58 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext startInternal  
SEVERE: Error listenerStart

Then if messes up with the rest (this repeats a lot):

Apr 17, 2015 2:13:58 AM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext startInternal 
SEVERE: Context [/calc] startup failed due to previous errors 

Answer 1

I assume this is because Calc isn't able to access the PostgreSQL database. Double-check if PostgreSQL is running:

sudo service postgresql status

should return something like

9.3/main (port 5432): online

If PostgreSQL is running, check the credentials. By default, there's no admin password set for PostgreSQL. Calc assumes postgres as admin password, by default. So, if you didn't set a password yet, follow the instructions to do so:

1. Start the postgresql command line client as user postgres:

   sudo -u postgres psql postgres
   

2. Inside the client:

   \password postgres
   

3. Now, you can enter the admin password - you should choose a secure one!

If you want to change the password Calc is using (maybe because you've choosen a more secure one): open the following file with your favorite text editor:

/opt/OpenForisCalc/calc-server/tomcat/conf/Catalina/localhost/calc.xml

and look for a line looking like:

<Parameter name="calc.jdbc.adminpassword" value="postgres" />

EDIT:

If you still encounter problems, you should check the logs directly. You'll find them in

/opt/OpenForisCalc/calc-server/tomcat/logs

There should be a log file calc.log - check its contents for errors.