Java SE (Java Platform, Standard Edition)

Hi,

I'm in the process of moving an application from Trifork to WebSphere 5.1.1. It is a client/server system that uses RMI/IIOP for communication (and uses just one Enterprise bean for command processing).
I would like to be able to
1) stay on Sun's JRE
2) Use Java Web Start for updating the client

Regarding 1), I have tried using IBM's "pluggable client", which patches the JRE with IBM-specifics (notably CORBA). This is achieved by altering the bootclasspath and setting some properties before executing the client, using standard java ("java <options> MyClient").

This works fine. The problems start when I try using Web Start for starting the application.

As my client is launched using standard java, I figured it would be relatively easy to grab the IBM-specific classes and let Java Web Start download these along with my application, and set the relevant properties (harvested in part from the pluggable client's "setupclient.bat" file) in my jnlp file. However, this approach does not work, and I get this message:
(App-specific exception)
.
.
.
Caused by: javax.naming.NamingException: Failed to initialize the ORB [Root exception is org.omg.CORBA.INITIALIZE: can't instantiate default ORB implementation com.ibm.CORBA.iiop.ORB vmcid: 0x0 minor code: 0 completed: No]
.
.
.
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/ibm/jvm/ExtendedSystem

at com.ibm.rmi.util.JDKBridge.setCodebaseProperties(JDKBridge.java:226)

I have tried including the missing class (which resides in a zip file), but this has no effect.

I suspect that even though I set the system property "sun.boot.class.path" and prepend classes to mimic the behavior of the pluggable client environment setup, this property is ignored when starting the app in Java Web Start.

Can anyone confirm this? Is it possible to set the bootclasspath for applications started from Java Web Start? If so, how?

My other question is more general: Has anyone had luck with patching a Sun JVM with IBM-specific classes for communicating with RMI/IIOP outside the pluggable client?

Something like this has been brought up before:
http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jsp?forum=38&thread=351229

Best regards,
S?ren Jacobsen