Review request: JDK-6519127 Vista: user.home property not set correctly

[Alan Bateman]

On 22/01/2013 12:28, Alexey Utkin wrote:
> To be clear, there are three options for a shell call:
>     1. Force folder creation if not exists (KF_FLAG_CREATE)
>     2. Return existent folder if any (0)
>     3. Return folder name without verification (KF_FLAG_DONT_VERIFY)
>
> Current implementation is close to the last option (without 
> verification).
> That is our choice for the fix? (My choice was #1)
>
> Regards,
> -uta
The JDK doesn't strictly require the user's home directory to exist and 
it's possible in some environments for the home directory to become 
inaccessible during the lifetime of the VM. The main thing (I think) is 
that exceptions and messages are clear if there is an error accessing 
something in the home directory.

So I think #3 is the right answer. As you point out, this is essentially 
long standing behavior. My concern with #2 is that it might hurt startup 
significantly when the home directory is remote. My concern with #1 is 
that I don't think the JDK should be the one to create the home 
directory (although in practice it would be very rare).

-Alan.