271907 - Java applets are not reloaded when "reload" is clicked

Status: VERIFIED INVALID

(Core Graveyard :: Java: OJI, defect)

Description

[andrew]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8a6) Gecko/20041126
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8a6) Gecko/20041126

A simple HTML page has an image and a Java applet coded as
<APPLET CODE=SimpleApplet.class><img src=some.gif>
If Reload is clicked Mozilla issues a Get/If-Modified-Since request for the
HTML page and for the image, but not for the applet. If Shift-Reload is clicked
Mozilla issues a straight GET but again not for the applet.
(The class ffile does not appear to be in memory cache or in disk cache)
This makes it difficult to publish updated applets.

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1.Load web page
2.Edit and recompile applet
3.Reload Web page

Actual Results:  
Nothing. Webserver logs show requests for the HTML but not the applet

Expected Results:  
Reloaded the applet if it had been modified, as for an inline image

Comment 1

[Boris Zbarsky [:bzbarsky]]

Mozilla itself does not request the applet -- the java plugin does.  It also has
its own HTTP implementation and its own cache...

Comment 2

[Kyle Yuan]

Boris is right. Java has its own cache. You should use the "x: clear classloader
cache" command in JavaConsole to clear it.

Comment 4

[Angelo Borsotti]

The distinction between the browser code (plus browser cache) and the
java plugin (plus it cache) is something I can understand ONLY when I
put on my head the hat of a developer.
When I do not wear that hat (i.e. most of the times), I do not understand
it, and the behavior of reloading appears incorrect.
It is your responsibility to use a java plugin that behaves in a way that
is consistent with that of the browser, i.e. that uses the same rules
with respect to reloading.
Firefox 4 beta has been distributed to users asking them what they expected
from a browser as plain, normal users would do, and such a user would
certainly find such a behavior a BUG.
I would ask then you to look again to this and reconsider it on this new
light and reopen it.

Comment 5

[timeless]

angelo: imagine a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Mozilla is a bread maker, we make the best thing since sliced bread (Firefox).

You go out and get some peanut butter (Java), and some jelly (Flash). You spread them around, and then decide that the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is too crunchy. We're telling you that the problem is that your peanut butter is nutty. If you want to get anything done you either have to find a new vendor for peanut butter, stop using peanut butter, or complain to the peanut butter vendor. We don't make peanut butter, we make bread.

Comment 6

[Angelo Borsotti]

Going along with the butter and the sandwich, I go out and buy a sandwich
already made, or so it is Firefox to me since I do not get it separately
from the java runtime. You are putting the hat of the cook when thinking
how to make the sandwitch, but I was having the one of the customers.
I understand that it could require some extra work for the Firefox developers
to make the java runtime to reload applets, but consider that most of the
users are taking Firefox as a turnkey product, and not as bits and pieces
to assemble.

Comment 7

[timeless]

angelo: as it happens, we recently provided a place for new peanut butter vendors to open a stall in our shop, unfortunately they only turn up on rare occasions, the old stall (the one here) was closed ages ago.

That said, users do not come to our shop and complain, this shop is for cooks. We do not have the resources to do support beyond a certain level  (and are not paid at all <https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/page.cgi?id=etiquette.html>).

If you want turnkey support, perhaps we can open a business where you can buy Firefox with a support contract and complain about the peanut butter. It might work. In fact, we *used* to have a toll based system somewhere under http://support.mozilla.com where people could get turnkey support. But I can't find it, which probably means it didn't work well as a business model (you have to pay people to talk on the phone, otherwise they'd be starving and homeless).

---

As this bug is very old and wasn't filed by you, and is about code which is no longer delivered, it's invalid. If you'd like to try your luck by filing your own bug (instead of stealing someone else's ticket), you can file your new bug in Plugins:Java (Oracle), please be sure to properly fill in the version, os, etc. and include steps to reproduce along with the version of firefox you're using. But note that complaining to your Java vendor directly is likely to get you better service, as they actually have staff who do support whereas we only have occasional visitors from their engineering teams.

Here's a potential url to make your life easier:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=Plugins&component=Java%20(Oracle)&version=7.x