---
esco_uri: http://data.europa.eu/esco/skill/0fb753a1-2ef2-4429-84d2-ecb2b24daf7a
esco_label: "Apache Tomcat"
relation: optional
onet_soc: 15-1252.00
source: model-knowledge
confidence: high
qa_count: 0
generator: gemma3:27b (prompt-designed and spot-checked by Claude)
generated: 2026-07-10
---

# Apache Tomcat — Software Engineer

As a Software Engineer, 'Apache Tomcat' competence isn’t about *just* knowing it exists. It means being able to deploy, configure, and troubleshoot Java web applications within the Tomcat environment. Daily tasks often involve packaging your application as a WAR file, deploying it via Tomcat’s manager interface or scripting (e.g., using shell scripts or Ansible), and monitoring its performance through tools like JConsole or VisualVM. You'll frequently be configuring context files to manage resources, security roles, and data sources – understanding how these impact application behavior is key.

Beyond basic deployment, you’ll need to understand Tomcat’s architecture: servlets, JSP pages, the request lifecycle, and how it handles concurrency. Debugging often involves examining Tomcat logs (catalina.out being your friend!), identifying memory leaks or performance bottlenecks, and potentially adjusting JVM settings (heap size, garbage collection) within Tomcat's configuration files (server.xml).  Knowing when to use different connectors (HTTP/1.1, AJP) for internal vs external traffic is also important.

A common pitfall is misconfiguring context paths leading to broken links or unexpected behavior. Another is failing to properly manage session handling – understanding Tomcat’s default session management and how to customize it (e.g., using sticky sessions or distributed caching) is crucial for scalability. Good practice looks like automating deployments with CI/CD pipelines, implementing robust logging and monitoring, and proactively addressing potential security vulnerabilities by keeping Tomcat updated and configuring appropriate access controls.

Finally, while newer container technologies like Docker & Kubernetes are prevalent, Tomcat remains a solid foundation – especially in legacy systems or when simpler deployment is needed.  Being able to *migrate* applications from/to Tomcat (or other containers) is also valuable. You'll likely use build tools like Maven or Gradle which integrate with Tomcat for automated deployments and testing.

## Weitere Anreicherung

Stage-2 source for future practitioner grounding: arXiv cs.SE (software-engineering preprints).
