Pros and cons of javawebstart

[vinodkumar kolakampadam]

hi all

I am about to deploy an SWT application through java webstart.
I have been doing quite a lot of reading on java webstart and i decided
to go for it , for the reason that it allows me to update the client
application from the webserver and all client machines will automatically updated.

Thats some feature. But before i get into getting the whole stuff done,
want to know the disadvantages of using webstart and what am i losing by using webstart.

Now why does the jar needs to be signed for usage thru javawebstart,
whats the significance

[John Fisher]

Thats some feature. But before i get into getting the whole stuff done, want to know the disadvantages of using webstart and what am i losing by using webstart.

The standard does not allow passing command line arguments to your java app directly from the URI (URL) used to launch the webstart app.

The command line arguments passed to the application comes from the JNLP descriptor file (XML) located on the server.

The only way I found to pass command line arguments parsed from the URI (URL) is to write a servlet that intercepts JNLP requests for your app and edits the JNLP descriptor file adding command line args from the URI.

This may not be important to you and your application, but it seems to be a glaring omission in the JNLP specification.

[Cym Tron]

see http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/guide/javaws/developersguide/javaws.html
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