NullPointerException in invokeLater while running through Java Webstart

Question

After upgraded from JRE 1.7.0_21 to 1.7.0_25-b15 my application started to throw NullPointerException in SwingUtilities.invokeLater(...) when it is run from Java WebStart. S

Answer 1

Here is a workaround for JDK-8019274, packaged in a utility class. For us, invokeAndWait() was still an issue. This example has the existing fix for invokeLater() and a new fix for invokeAndWait().

Notes:

• You'll need to include the jnlp.jar in your project.
• Call init() early in your main() method, before calling invokeLater()
• Replace all your calls to SwingUtilities invokeLater() and invokeAndWait() with these calls

(Disclaimer: This is from our product. Some aspects of this solution may not apply to you.)

public class JreFix {
    private static String badVersionInfo = null;
    private static AppContext awtEventDispatchContext = null;
    private static AppContext mainThreadContext = null;
    private static Boolean isWebStart = null;
    private static BasicService basicService = null;
    private static IntegrationService integrationService = null;

    /**
     * Call this early in main().  
     */
    public static void init() {
        if (isWebstart() && isApplicableJvmType()) {
            String javaVersion = System.getProperty("java.version");

            if ("1.7.0_25".equals(javaVersion)) {
                badVersionInfo = "7u25";
            }
            else if ("1.7.0_40".equals(javaVersion)) {
                badVersionInfo = "7u40";
            }
            else if (javaVersion != null && "1.6.0_51".equals(javaVersion.substring(0,8))) {
                badVersionInfo = "6u51";
            }
            else if ("javaws-10.25.2.16".equals(System.getProperty("javawebstart.version"))) {
                badVersionInfo = "Web Start 10.25.2.16";
            }
        }

        if (badVersionInfo != null) {
            mainThreadContext = AppContext.getAppContext();
            try {
                SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(new Runnable() {
                    public void run() {
                        awtEventDispatchContext = AppContext.getAppContext();
                    }
                });
            }
            catch (Exception e) {
                displayErrorAndExit(null);
            }

            if (mainThreadContext == null || awtEventDispatchContext == null) {
                 displayErrorAndExit(null);
            }
        }
    }

    public static void invokeNowOrLater(Runnable runnable) {
        if (hasAppContextBug()) {
            invokeLaterOnAwtEventDispatchThreadContext(runnable);
        }
        else {
            SwingUtilities.invokeLater(runnable);
        }
    }

    public static void invokeNowOrWait(Runnable runnable) {
        if (hasAppContextBug()) {
            fixThreadAppContext(null);
        }

        try {
            SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(runnable);
        } 
        catch (Exception e) {
            // handle it
        }
    }

    public static boolean hasAppContextBug() {
        return isJreWithAppContextBug() && AppContext.getAppContext() == null;
    }

    public static void invokeLaterOnAwtEventDispatchThreadContext(Runnable runnable) {
        sun.awt.SunToolkit.invokeLaterOnAppContext(awtEventDispatchContext, runnable);
    }

    public static void fixThreadAppContext(Component parent) {
        try {
            final Field field = AppContext.class.getDeclaredField("threadGroup2appContext");
            field.setAccessible(true);
            Map threadGroup2appContext = (Map)field.get(null);
            final ThreadGroup currentThreadGroup = Thread.currentThread().getThreadGroup();
            threadGroup2appContext.put(currentThreadGroup, mainThreadContext);
        } 
        catch (Exception e) {
            displayErrorAndExit(parent);
        }

        if (AppContext.getAppContext() == null) {
             displayErrorAndExit(parent);
        }
    }

    private static boolean isJreWithAppContextBug() {
        return badVersionInfo != null;
    }

    private static void displayErrorAndExit(Component parent) {
        JLabel msgLabel = new JLabel("" + 
                "Our application cannot run using Web Start with this version of Java.
" +
                "Java " + badVersionInfo + " contains a bug acknowledged by Oracle (JDK-8019274).");
        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(parent, msgLabel, "Java Version Error", JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
        System.exit(1);
    }

    private static boolean isApplicableJvmType() {
        String vendor = System.getProperty("java.vendor");
        String vmName = System.getProperty("java.vm.name");
        if (vendor != null && vmName != null) {
            return vmName.contains("Java HotSpot") &&
                    (vendor.equals("Oracle Corporation") || 
                     vendor.equals("Sun Microsystems Inc."));
        }

        return false;
    }

    private static boolean isWebstart() {
        if (isWebStart == null) {
            try { 
                basicService = (BasicService) ServiceManager.lookup("javax.jnlp.BasicService");             
                isWebStart = true;
            } 
            catch (UnavailableServiceException e) { 
                isWebStart = false;
            }           

            try {
                integrationService = (IntegrationService) ServiceManager.lookup("javax.jnlp.IntegrationService");
            } 
            catch (UnavailableServiceException e) {
            }
        }
        return isWebStart;
    }
}