Currently, you can use URLTransportUtility like

new URLTransportUtility().getCachedFileForURL(url, "Download stuff", lifespan, monitor);

with lifespan possible values being :

• URLTransportUtility.CACHE_UNTIL_EXIT : will cache the file during the workspace session
• URLTransportUtility.CACHE_FOREVER : will cache the file forever once downloaded

In certain cases, we want to be able to use CACHE_UNTIL_EXIT, but also be able to recover from network outages. So adding something like

• URLTransportUtility.SAFE_CACHE_UNTIL_EXIT (feel free to find a better name) : if the remote file is available, it will be downloaded on new Eclipse session, if it's not, the last valid cache will be returned.