[FIXED] javax.mail no longer working with java 11 and tomcat 8.5

Issue

I am using java 11.0.4 2019-07-16 LTS on Ubunutu 18 and Apache Tomcat 8.5.

I created a class for sending emails that imports

import javax.mail.*;
import javax.mail.internet.*;

Now, when I used java 8I did not have any problems with sending my emails. However, now it does not work instead I am getting a 500 error.

And having a look at my localhost.2019-08-20.log I can find the following stacktrace:

20-Aug-2019 17:13:14.961 SEVERE [http-nio-80-exec-96] org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke Servlet.service() for servlet [mlc.servlets.DispatcherServlet] in context with path [] threw exception [Servlet execution threw an exception] with root cause
    java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: javax.activation.DataHandler
        at org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoaderBase.loadClass(WebappClassLoaderBase.java:1360)
        at org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoaderBase.loadClass(WebappClassLoaderBase.java:1182)
        at mlc.Mailer.sendEMail(Mailer.java:35)
        ...and so on...

Doing some research I think the problem is that the module java.activation is not loaded.

However, I did not find any solution on the internet. I only found that java.activation has been removed from java 11. So, I guess I need something else.

So, my questions: What do I have to do that my webapp can - again - send emails using Tomcat 8.5?

Thanks

Solution

Include the latest version of javax.activation in your program.

Answered By - Bill Shannon
Answer Checked By - Robin (JavaFixing Admin)