Java Glossary : Internet Explorer

Java definitions: 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

You are here : home : Java Glossary : I words : Internet Explorer.

Microsoft's Browser that comes with an ancient old version of Java or no Java at all. Sun and Microsoft has settled their lawsuits, so hopefully IE will soon start shipping with an up-to-date Java virtual machine.

IE comes bundled with Microsoft's various operating systems. The latest version is 6.0. Click on the icon to download.

To clear the in-RAM ClassLoader Applet cache, click Tools | Java Console | x .

IE does printing better than any other browser, but it still can't break pages properly. Many commercial websites test only with IE, so IE is the best browser to use for online shopping.

It supports only up to Java 1.1.4. It does not include RMI and a few other parts of Java. It does not support Java 1.2+ which means it lacks support for Swing and Collections. The JVM is no longer even available on their site, so it is for all practical purposes dead. Microsoft explained they pulled it to simplify their legal battles with Sun over Java. You must replace the Java that comes with it with the most recent JRE from Sun.

JRE

You can install the Java Plug-in 1.4 into IE as a side effect of installing the JDK or JRE. If you install the Plug-in into older versions of IE, you need weird OBJECT HTML to invoke Applets. You can install the plug-in as the native Java into older versions of IE with some kludges at: Nifty.com. Then it will work with ordinary APPLET tags. Why bother. Just upgrade IE to 6,0 and be done with it, and install the JDK 1.4 plug-in.

Make sure you turn off ActiveX and autodownload or you will pick up trojans or viruses especially CometCursor in your website travels.

If you have any control of your customers, get them to install the Java plug-in 1.4. If not, limit yourself to the ancient Java 1.1.4 features and exhaustively test the code with an old compiler and runtime to make sure you did not accidentally use a new feature.

Testing

Test your newly installed JRE by typing in DOS box:
```
java.exe -version
```
You should see the expected version you just installed, probably 1.4.2_04. It can be problematic to have more than one version installed at a time.
Test your JRE browser's ability to run Applets by running wassup. It should tell you that your browser is using the JVM version you just installed, probably 1.4.2_04. Look for the line marked java.version. If wassup does not run, or you have the wrong version, go into Settings | Control Panel | Java Plug-In | Browser and turn off the IE browser, then click apply, then turn it on again, then hit apply again. Then retest with wassup. If that still does not work, turn on the Java console, try wassup again and look for clues.
Test Java Web Start by typing javaws.exe and running any sample application.
Check that the associations for the *.jnlp extension is set to point to the appropriate javaws.exe and *.jar is set to point to javaw.exe. Confirm this in any My Computer directory display with tools | folder options | file types.

Avoiding MS Java ¤ JRE ¤ MS dropping MS Java ¤ Netscape ¤ Opera ¤ Switching between Sun and Microsoft Java ¤ Testing Java in your browser

home	Canadian Mind Products
	mindprod.com IP:[24.87.56.253]
	Your IP:[80.134.30.163]
	You are visitor number 3894.
	Please send errors, omissions and suggestions
	to improve this page to Roedy Green.
	You can get a fresh copy of this page from:	or possibly from your local J: drive mirror:
	http://mindprod.com/jgloss/ie.html	J:\mindprod\jgloss\ie.html