Thread: error in Naming.bind of basis server application

What is going wrong here concerning the "bindings"
Learning server stuff and testing some basic applications from the Corejava II book.
Here is the error code when "Naming.bind" two strings called toaster and microwave:
ProductImpl p1 = new ProductImpl("Blackwell Toaster");
Naming.bind("toaster", p1);
(see the productserver class of the liste code):

Constructing server implementations...
Binding server implementations to registry...
java.rmi.ServerException: RemoteException occurred in server thread; nested exception is:
Error: java.rmi.ServerException: RemoteException occurred in server thread; nested exception is:
java.rmi.UnmarshalException: error unmarshalling arguments; nested exception is:
java.rmi.UnmarshalException: error unmarshalling arguments; nested exception is:
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product
at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.oldDispatch(Unicas tServerRef.java:400)
at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.dispatch(UnicastSe rverRef.java:248)
at sun.rmi.transport.Transport$1.run(Transport.java:1 59)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at sun.rmi.transport.Transport.serviceCall(Transport. java:155)
at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport.handleMessages( TCPTransport.java:535)
at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandl er.run0(TCPTransport.java:790)
at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandl er.run(TCPTransport.java:649)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run Task(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:895)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run (ThreadPoolExecutor.java:918)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:680)
at sun.rmi.transport.StreamRemoteCall.exceptionReceiv edFromServer(StreamRemoteCall.java:255)
at sun.rmi.transport.StreamRemoteCall.executeCall(Str eamRemoteCall.java:233)
at sun.rmi.server.UnicastRef.invoke(UnicastRef.java:3 59)
at sun.rmi.registry.RegistryImpl_Stub.rebind(Unknown Source)
at java.rmi.Naming.rebind(Naming.java:160)
at serverstuff.ProductServer.main(ProductServer.java: 40)
Caused by: java.rmi.UnmarshalException: error unmarshalling arguments; nested exception is:
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product
at sun.rmi.registry.RegistryImpl_Skel.dispatch(Unknow n Source)
at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.oldDispatch(Unicas tServerRef.java:390)
at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.dispatch(UnicastSe rverRef.java:248)
at sun.rmi.transport.Transport$1.run(Transport.java:1 59)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at sun.rmi.transport.Transport.serviceCall(Transport. java:155)
at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport.handleMessages( TCPTransport.java:535)
at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandl er.run0(TCPTransport.java:790)
at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandl er.run(TCPTransport.java:649)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run Task(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:895)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run (ThreadPoolExecutor.java:918)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:680)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product
at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java: 202)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.j ava:190)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:3 06)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:2 47)
at java.lang.Class.forName0(Native Method)
at java.lang.Class.forName(Class.java:249)
at sun.rmi.server.LoaderHandler.loadProxyInterfaces(L oaderHandler.java:709)
at sun.rmi.server.LoaderHandler.loadProxyClass(Loader Handler.java:653)
at sun.rmi.server.LoaderHandler.loadProxyClass(Loader Handler.java:590)
at java.rmi.server.RMIClassLoader$2.loadProxyClass(RM IClassLoader.java:628)
at java.rmi.server.RMIClassLoader.loadProxyClass(RMIC lassLoader.java:294)
at sun.rmi.server.MarshalInputStream.resolveProxyClas s(MarshalInputStream.java:242)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readProxyDesc(ObjectInpu tStream.java:1535)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readClassDesc(ObjectInpu tStream.java:1491)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readOrdinaryObject(Objec tInputStream.java:1748)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject0(ObjectInputS tream.java:1327)
at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject(ObjectInputSt ream.java:349)
... 12 more

package serverstuff;
 
/**
 * The interface for remote product objects.
 * Gets the description of this product.
 * @return the product description
 * 
 */
import java.rmi.*;
 
public interface Product extends Remote {
    String getDescription() throws RemoteException;
}

package serverstuff;
 
/**
 * This server program instantiates two remote
 * objects, registers them with the naming service,
 * and waits for clients to invoke methods on the
 * remote objects.
 * 
 */
 
 
/**
 * @version 1.10 1999-08-21
 * @author Cay Horstmann
 */
 
import java.rmi.*;
import java.rmi.server.*;
 
 
public class ProductServer
{  public static void main(String args[])
   {  try
      {  System.out.println
            ("Constructing server implementations...");
 
         ProductImpl p1
            = new ProductImpl("Blackwell Toaster");
         ProductImpl p2
            = new ProductImpl("ZapXpress Microwave Oven");
 
         System.out.println
            ("Binding server implementations to registry...");
 
         Naming.rebind("toaster", p1);
         Naming.rebind("microwave", p2);
 
         System.out.println
            ("Waiting for invocations from clients...");
      }
      catch(Exception e)
      {  System.out.println("Error: " + e);
         e.printStackTrace();
      }
   }
}

package serverstuff;
 
 
/**
 * @version 1.00 1996-09-07
 * @author Cay Horstmann
 * This is the implementation class
 * for the remote product
 * Constructs a product implementation
 * @param n the product name
 *
 */
 
import java.rmi.*;
import java.rmi.server.*;
 
public class ProductImpl extends UnicastRemoteObject
                           implements Product {
    public ProductImpl(String n)
       throws RemoteException {
       name = n;
    }
 
   public String getDescription() throws RemoteException {
      return "I am a " + name + ". Buy me!";
   }
 
   private String name;
}

The problem might be the classpath, because the RMI registry has its own classpath.
So how to set the correct class path for the RMI registry?



registry - Java RMI InitialContext: Equivalent of LocateRegistry.createRegistry(int)? - Stack Overflow
After much tinkering, I've solved the problem. FYI, here's what it was:

The ClassNotFoundException is getting thrown because of RMI registry has its own classpath. It doesn't matter that the class containing the InitialContext has the custom objects on its classpath - The RMI registry must be initialised such that the custom objects are on its classpath as well.

To do this set the classpath environment value on the comman line prior to starting rmiregistry. If this classpath contains the custom object's class, the ClassNotFoundException is not thrown, and subsequently ServerException and `CommunicationException' are avoided.

--- Update ---

Keep getting this error which says: ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product
While that file is present at the serverstuff!
The file is actually a interface..... might that be the problem... I don't think so?

package serverstuff;
 
/**
 * The interface for remote product objects.
 * Gets the description of this product.
 * @return the product description
 * 
 */
import java.rmi.*;
 
public interface Product extends Remote {
    String getDescription() throws RemoteException;
}

Binding server implementations to registry...
Error: java.rmi.ServerException: RemoteException occurred in server thread; nested exception is:
java.rmi.UnmarshalException: error unmarshalling arguments; nested exception is:
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product
java.rmi.ServerException: RemoteException occurred in server thread; nested exception is:
java.rmi.UnmarshalException: error unmarshalling arguments; nested exception is:
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: serverstuff.Product

You see gimbal until now I have been working, without exception, in the Netbeans environment (very cozy).
I had no command line experience at all! Working with netbeans you run very little into flags
classpath etc because Netbeans does it all for you. Until now that was perfect since I concentrated fully onto the java programming language which was already hard enough to learn.
But from learning DB I was forced to look into doing java from the command line which turned out to be
a real disaster because I had no idea how to do things. So I looked into Unix.
You see most programming books do not go a lot into flags classpath etc. they tend to focus on the java grammar only!
Since I do not have a computer science education I am picking up things in a unconventional way, but I am gone make it (eventually).

I hop other blog members recognize what I am talking about?