public void contextInitialized(ServletContextEvent evt) { //get context ServletContext context = evt.getServletContext(); String fileName = (context.getRealPath("/data/Order.xml")); XmlHelper xmlHelper = new XmlHelper(); //set filename //OrderDAO.setFilename(context.getRealPath("/data/Order.xml")); //create dao //OrderDAO orderDAO = new OrderDAO(); //get list from dao //List ordersList = (List) orderDAO.retrieveOrders(); //store in context evt.getServletContext().setAttribute("ordersList", xmlHelper.loadFile(fileName)); }