Name: ddT132432 Date: 10/23/2001


java version "1.3.1"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.3.1-b24)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.3.1-b24, mixed mode)

Problem;
jar-files are checked for updates only when the JVM initializes (i.e. a browser
restart)
I have an applet, using 4-5 signed .jar files located on the web-server. The
JVM downloads updated jar files on the server when the user initializes the
JVM, skipping the ones not changed and already downloaded.

What I want to do is a way to tell the JVM that it should check for new jar
files whenever a user browses a html page containing an applet, not requiring
the user to restart his browser to be able to catch up on updated code.
(Or shift-clicking reload or something, the user shouldn't be asked to
do anything!)

I'm willing to sacrifice overhead reloading the JVM into the browser, if this is
possible somehow with java-code, without restarting the browser. To bad
System.exit() also kills the browser... a System.reload() would be nice...

There exists some possibilities already, but those are not good enough;

* Using ClassLoader to manually check and download updated .jar's
  This is pretty muchy to implement in a big project, if you cannot provide
  an easy way for me to auto-reload every class contained in the jar, and
  possibly new ones.

* Restart browser, or shift-clicking.
  The user shouldn't be responcible to reload new .jars, the user should be
  able to have a long lived browser session and still have the benefits of
  new code.

* PARAM=cache_version.
  Haven't tried this yet, but this requires the developer to modify all
  dependent html/applet pages using the jar whenever new code is introduced,
  which is not a good sollution for a big and complicated site.
  And by the way, the JVM already knows at initialization which .jars are
  updated and which are not, why can't the developer utilize this runtime?

Having a good solution for this will also ease the development/testing process
significantly, just having Forte/Ant publish only the changed jars to the web-
server, instant testing in the browser (without requiring a restart of the
browser, which is error prone in the case the developer forgets to restart the
browser/JVM to get the changed code)

I hope you can provide a good sollution to this in the near future.

By the way, Forte for Java rules!
(Review ID: 134275)
======================================================================