ClassNotFoundException: org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet. Having the required jars

Question

I know this question has been asked already, but none of the solutions actually helped me. I'm still getting this exception. I've tried everything, checked Maven Dependencies in "Deployment Assembly", did Maven clean and install, moved my project from user directory to another directory, re-installed the tomcat server, re-created the project. The class "DispatcherServlet" is inside Spring-webmvc, which I've included in my Pom.xml.

Here are my files:

web.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
 xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee" 
 xmlns:web="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee" 
 xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee 
http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd" id="WebApp_ID" 
version="2.5">
  <context-param>
    <param-name>contextConfigLocation</param-name>
    <param-value>/WEB-INF/spring-servlet.xml</param-value>
  </context-param>
  <welcome-file-list>
    <welcome-file>index.jsp</welcome-file>
  </welcome-file-list>
   <display-name>Spring-Hibernate</display-name>
  <servlet>
    <servlet-name>spring</servlet-name>
    <servlet- 
class>org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet</servlet-class>
    <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
  </servlet>
  <servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>spring</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/</url-pattern>
  </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" 
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 
http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
  <groupId>SpringHibernate201</groupId>
  <artifactId>SpringHibernate201</artifactId>
  <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
  <packaging>war</packaging>
  <build>
    <sourceDirectory>src</sourceDirectory>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>2.6</version>
        <configuration>
          <warSourceDirectory>WebContent</warSourceDirectory>
          <failOnMissingWebXml>false</failOnMissingWebXml>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
      <plugin>
        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.7.0</version>
        <configuration>
          <source>1.8</source>
          <target>1.8</target>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins> 
  </build>

<dependencies>
    <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/org.springframework/spring-webmvc -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-webmvc</artifactId>
        <version>4.3.8.RELEASE</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-web</artifactId>
        <version>4.3.8.RELEASE</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
         <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
          <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
           <version>4.3.8.RELEASE</version>
            <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.data</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-data-jpa</artifactId>
        <version>1.2.0.RELEASE</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/javax.servlet/servlet-api -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>servlet-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.5</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>

    <dependency>
        <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
        <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
        <version>1.2</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
     </dependency>

     <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/org.hibernate/hibernate-core -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
        <artifactId>hibernate-core</artifactId>
        <version>4.1.4.Final</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/javax.servlet/jstl -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
        <version>1.2</version>
          <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>       
</dependencies>

Stack Trace

Apr 10, 2018 3:18:36 PM org.apache.catalina.core.AprLifecycleListener init
INFO: The APR based Apache Tomcat Native library which allows optimal performance in production environments was not found on the java.library.path: C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_73\bin;C:\windows\Sun\Java\bin;C:\windows\system32;C:\windows;C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath;C:\windows\system32;C:\windows;C:\windows\System32\Wbem;C:\windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_73\bin;D:\App\Maven\apache-maven-3.5.0\bin;C:\Users\M1035878\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps;;.
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:36 PM org.apache.tomcat.util.digester.SetPropertiesRule begin
WARNING: [SetPropertiesRule]{Server/Service/Engine/Host/Context} Setting property 'source' to 'org.eclipse.jst.jee.server:SpringHibernate201_Maven' did not find a matching property.
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:37 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol init
INFO: Initializing ProtocolHandler ["http-bio-8080"]
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:37 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol init
INFO: Initializing ProtocolHandler ["ajp-bio-8009"]
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:37 PM org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina load
INFO: Initialization processed in 1557 ms
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:37 PM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardService startInternal
INFO: Starting service Catalina
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:37 PM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngine startInternal
INFO: Starting Servlet Engine: Apache Tomcat/7.0.47
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:38 PM org.apache.catalina.util.SessionIdGenerator createSecureRandom
INFO: Creation of SecureRandom instance for session ID generation using [SHA1PRNG] took [327] milliseconds.
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:39 PM org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationContext log
INFO: Marking servlet spring as unavailable
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:39 PM org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext loadOnStartup
SEVERE: Servlet /SpringHibernate201 threw load() exception
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.springframework.web.servlet.DispatcherServlet
    at org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoader.loadClass(WebappClassLoader.java:1702)
    at org.apache.catalina.loader.WebappClassLoader.loadClass(WebappClassLoader.java:1547)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.DefaultInstanceManager.loadClass(DefaultInstanceManager.java:532)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.DefaultInstanceManager.loadClassMaybePrivileged(DefaultInstanceManager.java:514)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.DefaultInstanceManager.newInstance(DefaultInstanceManager.java:142)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapper.loadServlet(StandardWrapper.java:1144)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapper.load(StandardWrapper.java:1088)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.loadOnStartup(StandardContext.java:5176)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.startInternal(StandardContext.java:5460)
    at org.apache.catalina.util.LifecycleBase.start(LifecycleBase.java:150)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase$StartChild.call(ContainerBase.java:1559)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase$StartChild.call(ContainerBase.java:1549)
    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(Unknown Source)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(Unknown Source)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(Unknown Source)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

Apr 10, 2018 3:18:39 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol start
INFO: Starting ProtocolHandler ["http-bio-8080"]
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:39 PM org.apache.coyote.AbstractProtocol start
INFO: Starting ProtocolHandler ["ajp-bio-8009"]
Apr 10, 2018 3:18:39 PM org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina start
INFO: Server startup in 2077 ms

Answer 1

For Spring mvc and hibernate only spring-mvc ,hibernate-core and hibernate-entity dependencies are enough. I Believe, you are using Hibernate ORM framework in this project. Spring framework provides support to integrate with third-party ORM frameworks like hibernate ORM.

<!-- Spring ORM support -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-orm</artifactId>
        <version>${spring-framework.version}</version>
    </dependency>

If you are performing transaction then spring provide below dependecies to achieve same.

<!-- Spring and Transactions -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
        <version>${spring-framework.version}</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-tx</artifactId>
        <version>${spring-framework.version}</version>
    </dependency>

Please try adding these dependencies in your pom.xml

<properties>
    <java-version>1.6</java-version>
    <org.springframework-version>4.0.3.RELEASE</org.springframework-version>
    <org.aspectj-version>1.7.4</org.aspectj-version>
    <org.slf4j-version>1.7.5</org.slf4j-version>
    <hibernate.version>4.3.5.Final</hibernate.version>
</properties>
<dependencies>
    <!-- Spring -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-context</artifactId>
        <version>${org.springframework-version}</version>
        <exclusions>
            <!-- Exclude Commons Logging in favor of SLF4j -->
            <exclusion>
                <groupId>commons-logging</groupId>
                <artifactId>commons-logging</artifactId>
             </exclusion>
        </exclusions>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-webmvc</artifactId>
        <version>${org.springframework-version}</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-tx</artifactId>
        <version>${org.springframework-version}</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Hibernate -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
        <artifactId>hibernate-core</artifactId>
        <version>${hibernate.version}</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.hibernate</groupId>
        <artifactId>hibernate-entitymanager</artifactId>
        <version>${hibernate.version}</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Apache Commons DBCP -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>commons-dbcp</groupId>
        <artifactId>commons-dbcp</artifactId>
        <version>1.4</version>
    </dependency>
    <!-- Spring ORM -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-orm</artifactId>
        <version>${org.springframework-version}</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- AspectJ -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.aspectj</groupId>
        <artifactId>aspectjrt</artifactId>
        <version>${org.aspectj-version}</version>
    </dependency>   

    <!-- Logging -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>${org.slf4j-version}</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>jcl-over-slf4j</artifactId>
        <version>${org.slf4j-version}</version>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-log4j12</artifactId>
        <version>${org.slf4j-version}</version>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>log4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>log4j</artifactId>
        <version>1.2.15</version>
        <exclusions>
            <exclusion>
                <groupId>javax.mail</groupId>
                <artifactId>mail</artifactId>
            </exclusion>
            <exclusion>
                <groupId>javax.jms</groupId>
                <artifactId>jms</artifactId>
            </exclusion>
            <exclusion>
                <groupId>com.sun.jdmk</groupId>
                <artifactId>jmxtools</artifactId>
            </exclusion>
            <exclusion>
                <groupId>com.sun.jmx</groupId>
                <artifactId>jmxri</artifactId>
            </exclusion>
        </exclusions>
        <scope>runtime</scope>
    </dependency>

    <!-- @Inject -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.inject</groupId>
        <artifactId>javax.inject</artifactId>
        <version>1</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Servlet -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>servlet-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.5</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet.jsp</groupId>
        <artifactId>jsp-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.1</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
        <version>1.2</version>
    </dependency>

    <!-- Test -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>junit</groupId>
        <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
        <version>4.7</version>
        <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>

</dependencies>

Answer 2

Adding spring-webmvc should be enough!

spring-beans content is also in the spring.jar. spring-webflow you only need if you also use/intend to use Spring Web Flow, if you didn't need it before then you shouldn't need it now....

spring-beans - 2.5.2
spring-webmvc - 2.5.2
spring-webflow - 1.0.5
spring - 2.5.2

Answer 3

Dependency scope is mentioned as provided . Check this question to understand the difference between compile and provided. You might have to use compile scope, if your tomcat installation doesn't have the required spring jars.