Aha, I have attached the offending Java file.
Here is the offending snippet:

/**
 * Bean class to handle our extensions to the Struts <action> tag.
 * @exclude
 */

If I escape the open-angle-bracket as so...

/**
 * Bean class to handle our extensions to the Struts &lt;action> tag.
 * @exclude
 */

...then the java.util.MissingResourceException no longer occurs.

Note that snippets like this

...<exceptions>...
...<forward>...

don't cause an exception in the first place.

So it seems to be related to the link-resembling sequence

...<a...

Here is the error I was getting:

  [javadoc] Constructing Javadoc information...
  [javadoc] Standard Doclet version 1.5.0-beta2
  [javadoc] Building tree for all the packages and classes...
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Internal error: package sets don't match: [] with: null
  [javadoc] Building index for all the packages and classes...
  [javadoc] java.util.MissingResourceException: Can't find resource for bundle com.sun.tools.doclets
.formats.html.resources.standard, key doclet.malformed_html_link_tag
  [javadoc]     at java.util.ResourceBundle.getObject(ResourceBundle.java:326)
  [javadoc]     at java.util.ResourceBundle.getString(ResourceBundle.java:286)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.util.MessageRetriever.getText(MessageRetriever.java:114)
...





A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM :
Getting  exception from javadoc on  malformed link in javadoc when building javadoc for  customer  Derby project.


(Review ID: 300991)
======================================================================

If you get the error:

java.util.MissingResourceException: Can't find resource for bundle com.sun.tools.doclets
.formats.html.resources.standard, key doclet.malformed_html_link_tag

then run javadoc over small sets of packages or classes to isolate
which file this error is in.  Then look for a malformed HTML tag
and fix it.

This key is not being found:

doclet.malformed_html_link_tag

in com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.resources.standard

It's actually at a different location: (using grep to find)

com/sun/tools/doclets/internal/toolkit/resources/doclets.properties: doclet.malformed_html_link_tag=<a> tag is malformed:\n"{0}"

It looks like a bug we need to fix in the tool.  See suggested fix
for solution

  xxxxx@xxxxx   2004-08-04
I am currently testing a fix for this bug.  The standard doclet scans the code for relative links and tries to redirect them so that they are not are broken when they appear places outside the class documentation.  The scan pattern is "<a" so tags like "<action> fool the doclet into thinking this is a bad link.  The scan pattern should at least be "<a ".  It would be better to have a regular expression, but not absolutely necessary.
Posted Date : 2005-09-18 02:17:25.0

How come this bug is not fixed yet? It is obviously an annoying tool bug that must be very easy to fix?!

I agree with rydenius. Kind of a pain with a organization with many developers and a large number of classes to use trial and error to find the offending file. Please raise the priority. Thanks!

I've hit what seems to be a variant of this bug:

(...)
  [javadoc] Loading source files for package com.visionnaire.chart.renderer...
  [javadoc] Constructing Javadoc information...
  [javadoc] java.util.MissingResourceException: Can't find resource for bundle com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.resources.doclets, key doclet.Same_package_name_used
  [javadoc] at java.util.ResourceBundle.getObject(ResourceBundle.java:326)
  [javadoc] at java.util.ResourceBundle.getString(ResourceBundle.java:286)
  [javadoc] at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.util.MessageRetriever.getText(MessageRetriever.java:114)
(...)

Different cause, resourcebundle and resource key, but probably the same bug.

Here is my snipet:
package jawiro;
public interface ConstraintStrategy {
	public boolean approveSuspend(  );
}
Another snipet:
package jawiro;
public interface RoleInterface {
	public boolean isDominant( );
}
These two snippets give me the java.util.MissingResourceException as well. I have shortened these classes to these minimal forms for testing but I still get this annoying exception.

I get this too.  Also when fixing please put the offending source file name in the exception.  Thanks.  chris

The easiest way for me to determine which file has the offending comment is:

grep -R -e "<[aA][^[:space:]]" *

This should produce a list of files that could potentially have the problem. Good luck.

It is very annoying; will this get fixed with 1.5 07 release?

This bug is rediculous.  There's no excuse for not fixing it in JDK 5.

I found a way to work around this bug so you can find the error in your javadoc and fix it: create a standard_en.properties file containing the missing message key:
doclet.malformed_html_link_tag=Malformed link: {0}

Put the file in a jar with the correct package structure (com/sun/tools/doclets/formats/html/resources) and place that jar in your JDK's jre/lib/ext directory.

In my case the erroneous text printed out, but not any file/line information. I had to text search my source files to find the problem line. But it's easier than guessing.

If you're building a huge project it's easier to just debug javadoc to find the item in question.  First get the doclet source from sun.com.
Then, run javadoc.exe in a debug context by passing in JVM arguments on the command line using the -J switch: (E.g.:  -J-Xdebug -J-Xnoagent -J-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=5000)

If you're building using Ant, you'll need to use the "additional param" attribute of tje <javadoc> element to include those JVM args; e.g.:      additionalparam="-J-Xdebug -J-Xnoagent -J-Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=y,address=5000"

Then set a breakpoint (assuming jdk 1.5.0_06) at HtmlDocletWriter.redirectRelativeLinks, line 1526 which is where the warning is being raised.  This will give you the text of the comment being parsed and will allow easier grepping to find the file in question.

Grepping with this reg exp:

.*[*].*<[aA][^[:space:]]

Will look for those that have an asterisk "*" character on the same line before an "<a" sequence which should limit the output quite a bit in some cases

I migrate from 1.4 to 1.5.0_09 and got this error too. 

I tried to create the resource bundle but I did not get the message. 

I used the regular expression:

.*[*].*<[aA][^[:space:]]

within eclipse text search and it found the file with bad html code.  

I was getting the following Exception( using java 1.5_14):

java.util.MissingResourceException: Can't find resource for bundle com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.resources.standard, key doclet.malformed_html_link_tag
	at java.util.ResourceBundle.getObject(ResourceBundle.java:325)
	at java.util.ResourceBundle.getString(ResourceBundle.java:285)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.util.MessageRetriever.getText(MessageRetriever.java:114)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.util.MessageRetriever.getText(MessageRetriever.java:92)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.util.MessageRetriever.getText(MessageRetriever.java:81)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.util.MessageRetriever.warning(MessageRetriever.java:290)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.redirectRelativeLinks(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1526)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.commentTagsToString(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1438)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.printCommentTags(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1397)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.printSummaryComment(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1370)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.printSummaryComment(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1366)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.AbstractIndexWriter.printComment(AbstractIndexWriter.java:192)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.AbstractIndexWriter.printDescription(AbstractIndexWriter.java:126)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.AbstractIndexWriter.generateContents(AbstractIndexWriter.java:91)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.SplitIndexWriter.generateIndexFile(SplitIndexWriter.java:101)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.SplitIndexWriter.generate(SplitIndexWriter.java:74)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDoclet.generateOtherFiles(HtmlDoclet.java:101)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.AbstractDoclet.startGeneration(AbstractDoclet.java:122)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.internal.toolkit.AbstractDoclet.start(AbstractDoclet.java:64)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDoclet.start(HtmlDoclet.java:42)
	at com.sun.tools.doclets.standard.Standard.start(Standard.java:23)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:585)
	at com.sun.tools.javadoc.DocletInvoker.invoke(DocletInvoker.java:269)
	at com.sun.tools.javadoc.DocletInvoker.start(DocletInvoker.java:143)
	at com.sun.tools.javadoc.Start.parseAndExecute(Start.java:340)
	at com.sun.tools.javadoc.Start.begin(Start.java:128)
	at com.sun.tools.javadoc.Main.execute(Main.java:41)
592 warnings
	at com.sun.tools.javadoc.Main.main(Main.java:31)

It's not necessarily HTML code that would cause this problem.  It's anywhere in the comments read by javadoc that have XML/HMTL like text that is not properly formed (missing closing tags etc.)  It helps to look for any classes that have opening and closing brackets anywhere in the comments.  The regexs listed in this posting will only look for HTML anchor tags but that might not be your problem, as it could be anything that might be interpreted as malformed HTML.  This regex (eclipse syntax) will help find any opening '<' chars in the javadoc comments:

.*[*].*<[a-zA-Z][^[:space:]]

It may give quite a few results but the problem will most likely be in one of the search results.

This bug is annoying and really a shame for java and sun! It's around for YEAAARS! It even exists in a similar way in jdk1.6! 

[javadoc] Building index for all the packages and classes...
  [javadoc] java.lang.ClassCastException: com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.SingleIndexWriter
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.seeTagToString(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1338)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.commentTagsToString(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1428)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.printCommentTags(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1397)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.printSummaryComment(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1370)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.HtmlDocletWriter.printSummaryComment(HtmlDocletWriter.java:1366)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.AbstractIndexWriter.printComment(AbstractIndexWriter.java:192)
  [javadoc]     at com.sun.tools.doclets.formats.html.AbstractIndexWriter.printDescription(AbstractIndexWriter.java:164)

This affects a lot more than just html links, though that's what it's intended to be (the better expression would definitely be "<a " with the space as noted in the initial report. 

In my case it affects stuff like this:
/**
    * Return Set<AttrSet> using flexible input criteria consisting of set name, start date, 
    * end date, ResultFilter, and ResultType.
    * Null values are allowed, and are treated as wildcards (no name means search for all names, etc).
    * 
    * @param set name
    * @param startDate
    * @param endDate
    * @param ResultFilter indicating ACTIVE (latest by effectiveDate and availableTimestamp per set name) or ALL
    * @param ResultType indicating FULL (with Attr data) or HEADER (without Attr data)
    * @return Set<AttrSet>
    */
   public Set<AttrSet> getAttrSets(String name, Date startDate, Date endDate, ResultFilter filter, ResultType type);

The @return tag there with generics that happen to start with "A" trigger it.  

To find out exactly what files are triggering it make a JAR like proudchief notes and put it in jre/lib/ext and then it shows exactly where this occurs. 

One correction to my last note, it's actually the JavaDoc body that is affecting it, not the @return tag. 

Its this one:
/**
    * Return Set<AttrSet> using flexible input criteria consisting of set name,  . . .

Parameterized types that start with A with Java 1.5 (seems to work with 1.6) that are in JavaDoc comments trigger it. Bad news for me (I have a crapload of these, so I have to make the JavaDoc a lot dumber, because requiring everyone that builds the project to have the workaround JAR isn't feasible).