491600 - Apple's "Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 4 Developer Preview (9M3058)" breaks the JEP

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Plugins Graveyard :: Java (Java Embedding Plugin), defect)

Description

[Steven Michaud [:smichaud] (Retired)]

Apple has made available its first developer preview of "Java for Mac
OS X 10.5 Update 4" at its ADC site (http://developer.apple.com/mac/).
It breaks the Java Embedding Plugin when used with its default
settings (which run Java applets in a J2SE 5.0 virtual machine).
Simply put, the JEP (and the browser) hangs every time you try to load
a Java applet, and you need to force quit the browser.

The problem doesn't happen when you choose to run Java applets in a
Java 1.4.2 virtual machine.  And there's another very hackish
workaround that I'll discuss below (in another comment).

This is Apple's bug, and I hope they will fix it.  But in the meantime
your only recourse (if you don't want to use either of the
workarounds), as far as I know, is to reinstall OS X 10.5, possibly on
a clean partition.  None of Apple's Java updates can be uninstalled,
and Update 3 (Apple's latest actual release) won't install on top of
Update 4.

A "developer preview" isn't by any reasonable definition a "release".
Furthermore Apple warns you that the developer preview "has received
only limited testing and should not be installed on a system with
critical data".  But at least a two bugs have already been filed by
people who appear to be using this developer preview -- bug 491213 and
bug 491266.  And I imagine there will be more.

Comment 3

[Steven Michaud [:smichaud] (Retired)]

The bug in Apple's 9M3058 Update 4 Developer Preview is that it loads
the "wrong" copies of two jar files when used with the JEP and J2SE
5.0 -- deploy.jar and plugin.jar.

There's a simple hack to make it load the "right" copies of deploy.jar
and plugin.jar.  This has no effect on Safari (for which Update 4
already loads the "right" copies).  But it may break other Java
functionality (such as for Java applications).  So be forwarned.  And
make sure you can reverse the following steps (i.e. make sure you
rename the "wrong" deploy.jar and plugin.jar, instead of deleting
them).

1) Open a Terminal session and change to the following directory: 

   cd /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/Home/lib

2) Rename the "wrong" deploy.jar and plugin.jar:

   sudo mv deploy.jar deploy.jar.bad

   sudo mv plugin.jar plugin.jar.bad

3) Create soft links to the "right" deploy.jar and plugin.jar.  Note
   that each of the following two commands must be entered on a single
   line.  I've broken each line	to make	it easier to read.

   sudo ln -s /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/
     Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/deploy.jar

   sudo ln -s /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/
     Resources/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Java/plugin.jar

Comment 4

[Hylton Spencer]

Downloaded Safari 4. Same thing still happens - Safari freezes.

The above hack:

I am not familiar with Terminal, so ned further instructions. When I open Terminal, a window pops up.

1. How do I change to another directory?

2. Once I have changed directory, how do rename deploy.jar and plugin.jar?

3. How do I create soft links to the right?

Comment 5

[philippe (part-time)]

comment 3 gives the exact commands you need to type

1. 'cd' = change directory

2. 'sudo' --> you'll need to input your admin password
   'mv' = move

3. 'ln -s' the command to create soft links.

Comment 6

[Steven Michaud [:smichaud] (Retired)]

(In reply to comment #4)

Hilton:  I don't see any problems with Safari using Update 4.  So your
problem may be different from what I describe in this bug, and I may
have been wrong to dup your bug (bug 491213) to this one.

Nonetheless, Apple hasn't actually *released* any Java updates since
Update 3 (released in February 2009).  And the 9M3058 Update 4
Developer Preview was made available on April 23, 2009.  So let's
start by trying to figure out what version of Java you actually have
installed.

Do this before you try the hack in comment #3.

1) Open Terminal (in Applications : Utilities).

2) At the '$' prompt enter the following command:

   java -version

   The results of this command on a 10.5.6 system with Update 3
   installed are as follows:

   java version "1.5.0_16"
   Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_16-b06-284)
   Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_16-133, mixed mode, sharing)

   The results of this command on a 10.5.6 with the Update 4 Developer
   Preview (9M3058) installed are:

   java version "1.5.0_16"
   Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_16-b06-290)
   Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_16-134, mixed mode, sharing)

Please paste into a comment the results you get from 'java -version'.

Comment 7

[Hylton Spencer]

java version "1.5.0_13"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_13-b05-237)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_13-119, mixed mode, sharing)
vc-41-10-209-45:~ hyltonspencer$ 


Mac OSX 10.5.6

Comment 8

[Steven Michaud [:smichaud] (Retired)]

(In reply to comment #7)

You haven't installed either Update 4 or Update 3.  You have an older version of Java.

So bug 491213 isn't a dup of this bug.  And bug 491266 probably isn't, either.

Comment 9

[Steven Michaud [:smichaud] (Retired)]

I've just released JEP 0.9.7.1, which fixes (actually works around) this bug.

For more information see bug 493629.

Comment 10

[Pratik]

Can you try the latest Developer Preview from Apple? Applets should work with it.

Comment 11

[Pratik]

The latest Developer Preview is 9M3063, which we released yesterday (5/21)