FULL PRODUCT VERSION :
1.6.0_18-b07

ADDITIONAL OS VERSION INFORMATION :
Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 using IE and Firefox browsers

A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
When an updated JWS app is launched from the desktop jnlp shortcut, the shortcut is not updated to the new jnlp cache location.

If the JNLP includes the security/all-permissions element, the outdated jnlp entry will be deleted (upon close of the application / exit of the VM). The next launch of the application from the desktop link returns the following exception since the cache entry for the outdated jnlp has been deleted and the shortcut was not updated.

CouldNotLoadArgumentException[ Could not load file/URL specified: C:\Documents and Settings\troy\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\6.0\33\2efbeba1-5823be8f]
at com.sun.javaws.Main.launchApp(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Main.continueInSecureThread(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Main$1.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

If the JNLP does not contain the security/all-permissions element, the subsequent launches of the app from the desktop link following an update will not fail but will incorrectly use the outdated version of the JNLP.


STEPS TO FOLLOW TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM :
I've posted the Sun Notepad app to our production servers to provide a simple illustration.

Here are the steps we've found to replicate the issue on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 using both IE and Firefox:

1) Download the sample JWS application and allow the desktop link to be created - http://www.planwithvoyant.com/voyant/launch/notepadAllPerm

2) Inspect the desktop shortcut and notice the path to the JNLP cache entry

3) Modify the JNLP at the server. The following url updates the Last-Modified header for the sample Notepad app JNLP - http://www.planwithvoyant.com/voyant/launch/setLastModified

4) Run the application via the desktop link again- at this point the application will download updates and execute without issues.

5) Close the application - upon close, JWS will remove the old JNLP cache entry if the JNLP contained the security/all-permissions directive.

6) Inspect the desktop shortcut again - notice that the path to the JNLP cache entry will remain unchanged

7) Launch the application again using the desktop link - JWS will fail with a cache exception

I've also included a version the Notepad app JNLP which does not request the security/all-permissions - http://www.planwithvoyant.com/voyant/launch/notepad.

Following the same steps, you'll notice that the desktop link doesn't fail in this case. However, the app does launch with the outdated JNLP.... a potentially worse scenario depending up the application.


EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -

Expected the desktop shortcut link to be updated to the new jnlp cache entry
ACTUAL -

Desktop shortcut is not updated and thus subsequent invocations of the shortcut either fail with a "Could not load file/URL specified" exception or successfully launch the application using the outdated JNLP.

ERROR MESSAGES/STACK TRACES THAT OCCUR :
CouldNotLoadArgumentException[ Could not load file/URL specified: C:\Documents and Settings\troy\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\6.0\33\2efbeba1-5823be8f]
at com.sun.javaws.Main.launchApp(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Main.continueInSecureThread(Unknown Source)
at com.sun.javaws.Main$1.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

REPRODUCIBILITY :
This bug can be reproduced always.

---------- BEGIN SOURCE ----------

Sample Notepad app hosted at http://www.planwithvoyant.com/voyant/launch/notepadAllPerm

See steps to reproduce above.
---------- END SOURCE ----------

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :

The desktop shortcut is corrected if the application is launched from the browser using the original jnlp url/link.


This is not a viable workaround as there's no mechanism in JWS to provide a message to the user upon failure of the desktop shortcut.

Release Regression From : 6u16
The above release value was the last known release where this
bug was not reproducible. Since then there has been a regression.