Name: gm110360 Date: 01/27/2004


FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
java version "1.4.1_01"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.1_01-b01)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.1_01-b01, mixed mode)

Also happens with 1.4.2

FULL OS VERSION :
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
The "Remote Applications" panel caches its content and the JNLP main files and does not refresh, or not refresh often enough. This is problematic for developers that need to change their JNLP files often and immediately want to check for changes.

1) They need to close and reopen the application manager since the manager does neither have a "Refresh" button, nor an automatic refresh timeout (or the timeout is so long that it is useless). Switching between downloaded and remote applications does not refresh the remote applications panel! Since opening the applications manager needs several seconds even on fast machines, this is not acceptable.

2) Once downloaded a defect JNLP file, that defect file is cached and cannot be cleared. Pressing the button for "clear cache" does not remove that defect file. Even closing and reopening the application manager does not remove that defect file. After fixing the bug there is no change to see the file working on that machine anymore! Trying the download from another machine (that did not download the defect file before) works file. After removing the complete cache folder on the file system solves the problem, but this is not acceptable!

It seems as if the problem is that the "clear cache" button does not clear the cache, or not completely. You can check this by installing several applications and libraries, then pressing "clear cache", and have a look on the file system: There still is stuff cached.

STEPS TO FOLLOW TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM :
Write a "Hello World" class plus JNLP file that is ok and works. The JNLP may not be run without online connection to the server. Also the JNLP should include at least one <property> line that has correct name plus value attributes. Download that file with the application manager. The file gets cached and runs fine.

Close the app manager.
Reopen the app manager.

Change the JNLP file on the server: Make the value="" attribute beeing an empty string. From the "downloaded apps page", start/download the file again, the file gets cached again but the app manager does not start it because a property lines always has to have a value= attribute.

Do not close the app manager!

  Fix that bug by adding the missing value="xyz" into the property line, also change the title of the application by adding some characters.

Look at the application manager. It still shows the old title and cannot start the app. Try to click around to make app manager start that file. It ain't work.

Close the app manager.
Reopen the app manager.

Change to the "remote app" page. You see the new title, but when you start it, you see the OLD splash screen (splash containing old title)! The file still does not start: Still the missing value= gets asked for (which is fixed already)!

Clear the cache.
Close the app manager.
Reopen the app manager.

Try to start the file. Still app manager asks for the missing value= line.

Close the app manager.

Kill the cache folder on the file system.

Now it works.

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
1) Should refresh content of remote apps panel by an adjustable timeout value, default should be one hour. Also switching from any page back to the remote apps page should refresh immediately. Also there should be a menu item for "immediate refresh", e. g. "View - Refresh All" plus "View - Refresh" (first refreshes all, last refreshes selected application), also there should be a pop-up on the right mouse button that has a menu item "Refresh", which immediately refreshes the complete panel if clicked into free space, or refreshes the app on that the mouse points.

2) Do not cache the splash screens OR update the splash screens as soon as the title changes. It's not amazing to see the old title.

3) Start the application correctly with the JNLP from the server if there was a value= missing and this bug was fixed meanwhile.
ACTUAL -
1) Cannot refresh. Need to kill cache.

2) Splash shows old title.

3) Cannot start fixed JNLP file.

ERROR MESSAGES/STACK TRACES THAT OCCUR :
Das folgende erforderliche Feld fehlt in der Startdatei: <property>value

(German locale; reads "The following necessary Field is missing in the Startfile: <property>value" in English)

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.

---------- BEGIN SOURCE ----------
public class HelloWorld {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    System.out.println("Hello World.");
  }
}

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<jnlp spec="1.0+" codebase="http://server/folder/" href="subfolder/index.jnlp">
  <information>
    <title>Hello World 25</title>
    <vendor>Test</vendor>
    <homepage href="http://www.test.de"/>
    <description>Test</description>
    <description kind="short">This is a test.</description>
    <icon href="subfolder/someIcon.gif"/>
  </information>
  <security>
    <all-permissions/>
  </security>
  <resources>
    <j2se version="1.4+" initial-heap-size="16M"/>
    <jar href="subfolder/HelloWorld.jar"/>
    <extension href="subfolder/anotherApp/index.jnlp" name="Some shared library"/>
    <property name="yo.one" value="1"/>
    <property name="yo.two" value="2"/>
  </resources>
  <application-desc main-class="HelloWorld"/>
</jnlp>


---------- END SOURCE ----------

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
Kill the cache on the disc or do not make errors in the JNLP file.
(Incident Review ID: 207855)
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