Java Web Start parses proxy autoconfiguration scripts very naively.  It basically just greps for a "PROXY:" string and grabs the first proxy server it finds, without actually running the javascript logic.  We should consider a better solution.
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After extensive proxy detection modifications in tiger, we need to determine if we have lost any functionality in the other cases not adderssed.
1.) does proxy auto-detect now ALWAYS work on windows using IE.
2.) does it now ALWAYS work using other browsers (NS7) on windows.
3.) What is the current status on unix using NS or Mozzila ? we used to do as described above, and then show a dialog ( the first time ) asking user if these settings are ok.  


  xxxxx@xxxxx   2003-06-19

N/A

On Windows, we should grab the COM JScript parsing engine and use it to parse
the Javascript autoconfig script.  Unfortunately there is not much we can do
on Solaris/Linux, unless we bundle a Javascript parser with jaws.

  xxxxx@xxxxx   2002-07-23

An attempt at implementing the above was mostly successful, however we were
unable to pass the dynamic proxy setting back to Java:  The proxy autoconfig
script must be evaluated on a per-connection basis, which we could do, however
we cannot easily set the proxy back to Java on a per-connection basis.  We
evaluated 2 solutions:

1. Hack the protocol handler like the plugin does.  Rejected because of time
to implement and complexity to implement across multiple versions of Java.
2. Create a cascading proxy in the same VM to do proxy selection.  Rejected
because of time to implement and complexity.

We decided to put off true autoconfig script support until Tiger when the
networking libraries will natively support it.

  xxxxx@xxxxx   2002-10-15

this is fixed by 4802557: Consolidation of Network/Proxy/Cookie

  xxxxx@xxxxx   2003-08-01

Whats happening with this bug? it seems to have been closed 
as a duplicate of a bug that dosn't exist (4802557). At least 
the public can't view it, vote for it nor follow it's staus.

Still a problem !!!
No solution available ?!?
Why is such a serious problem not fixed by SUN ???

I am still getting this problem with Java Web Start  1.5.0-b64.
How did you do to use the COM object?? Do you have a link anywhere for the code?