UGS (ISV) encounters a problem with using Structured Exception Handling on Windows x 64 after the JVM has started. This is their code:

int ff() {
  __try {
      AA* b = 0;
      b->y = 16;
  }

  __except(1) {
      printf("Caught SEH exception\n");
  }

  return 0;
}

static void start_jvm();

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
      ff();
      if ( argc >= 2 )
          start_jvm();
      ff();
      return 0;
}

start_jvm() calls JNI_CreateJavaVM()to start the JVM. The line “b->y =16” causes a Microsoft “Win32” exception to be thrown. The exception is supposed to be caught in the __except block. Before starting the JVM, the code works as expected, but after starting the JVM, the program crashes at the line “b->y = 16” with a HotSpot virtual machine dump.

I’ve attached the complete code for the program that demonstrates the problem. Instructions for running the program:
set JAVA_HOME=<java 1.5 home>
set PATH=%JAVA_HOME%\bin;%JAVA_HOME%\jre\bin\server;%path%
nmake –f Makefile
test_seh_java.exe

# This verifies that the SEH exception is caught both times if the JVM is not started
test_seh_java.exe a
# The program crashes.

They are using Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition, Service Pack 1 on a machine with a Dual Core AMD Opteron Processor 875. The java version is

java version "1.5.0_04"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_04-b05)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 1.5.0_04-b05, mixed mode)

Note: this problem does not occur when running Windows with a 32-bit processor.