When developing an Java EE Application, I often came across the 'problem' to do stuff when the application is started, stopped etc. Now for Weblogic for example, there is a mechanism for that (the application life-cycle listener). But if you want to keep your application free from stuff that is app. server specific, you have to find a different solution. Some recommend using a servlet that is loaded on start-up, and "abuse" the When developing an Java EE Application, I often