XP Compatibility Issues

[webpager]

Please excuse this post if it is a bit off topic but I am new to Java and seek a little info. A friend of mine has included some 3rd party Java Applets within his web site. On my own machine (WIN98 with Java enabled) the effects appear as they should.
I looked on my machine at work (standard installation of XP) and I was prompted to download a program to display the graphics.
The question is - Will all XP users encounter this problem with his site. If that is the case, there seems little point including the Java Applets in the first place.
Once again please accept my apologies if this is off topic.

Keith

 

[EBGreen]

Is it possible that your machine at work uses MS Java instead of Sun Java?

[blue]"Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences,...but the other head of science is BAD! Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur; it bites!!" - The Tick[/blue]

 

[sedj]

On IE, under "Tools" does it have "Sun Java Console" ? If not, you should download the java plugin from

http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_automatic.jsp

(MS does its own JRE which is **** - you need to override it with the Sun version)

 

[webpager]

Thanks for the replies. The issue is really one of who can view the applets as a default setting. Many people are wary of allowing additional programs to run on their machines so may be reluctant to download the plug in.
Was there an issue recently with Microsoft removing the Java program from their operating system?

Thanks
Keith

 

[sedj]

webpager : Is the Sun JRE installed (as per my previous post) ? If not, you should install it - this should rectify situations ...

 

[webpager]

Sun JRE is not installed on either my own machine or my works machine. I realise that I can download the plug in and everything will work but the main issue relates to whether or not, people running a standard installation of windows XP can view Java Applets without additional plug ins.
Thanks for taking the time to respond
Keith

 

[sedj]

Well, its a bit like asking how long is a piece of string ...

The problems for the "standard XP install" (if there is such a thing) are :

Have they allowed applets through on their IE settings ?

If they have, and if there is a MS JVM, will this JVM understand the applets - its possible that it won't - because the MS JRE class libraries are different to the Sun JRE ones ...

As I said before, you just cannot really know - the safe bet is to download the Sun JRE.

 

[webpager]

What is the default setting for Java Applets on installation?
Keith

 

[sedj]

No idea !

 

[EBGreen]

If you are talking about the default IE security settings when XP is installed, I don't know, but I do know that it may be different for home vs. pro. Also enterprise installs are often tweaked based on some enterprise wide IT security policy. Basically, there is no standard setting.

[blue]"Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences,...but the other head of science is BAD! Oh, beware the other head of science, Arthur; it bites!!" - The Tick[/blue]

 

[webpager]

I have never installed XP so I'm not sure either.
Thanks for your assistance.
Keith

 

[SimonMarkDawson]

What's the feeling on including such Java applets within web sites then? I'm not talking about the security issues (This has to be down to personal pref) but is it wise to include such applets in your sites if the vast majority of users don't have the ability to view them properly or the will to install / activate Java anyway?

I don't have access to many machines but can anyone out there give any ROUGH indication of the proportion of machines they've found with Java already enabled? ie is the proportion of Java enabled machines <5% (Best to forget Java apps) or > 90%? (Worth including them) This will help us to decide whether using these applets is worth it.

Thanks for all the help posted so far and for the initial posting Keith.

 

[sedj]

We have a policy of not using applets due to the problems with versions (MS vs Sun JRE), firewalls, user setup etc etc. There are lots of companies that actively ban applets.

If you must use a program within a web page, I'd rather use a MS language and write an ActiveX control - they run easier on IE ...

 

[stefanwagner]

sedj: ... which wouldn't run on most linuxmachines - don't know of mac.
Of course you could implement it in different ways for different browsers and OSs. But who would pay?

Since McNealy and Ballmer are shaking hands, there might be better java-integration in 4-8 years, but who can wait?

simonDawson: We would need a detailed statistic, to find out how many people in the target-group have java enabled.

That might differ extremly, from target-group to target-group.

seeking a job as java-programmer in Berlin:

http://home.arcor.de/hirnstrom/bewerbung

 

[sedj]

stefan :

>>>>> which wouldn't run on most linuxmachines

True, but the %age of machines running linux browsers has got to be tiny ...

 

[stefanwagner]

100% in this room

can activeX access be restricted the way, applets might be?

seeking a job as java-programmer in Berlin:

http://home.arcor.de/hirnstrom/bewerbung

 

[sedj]

Yes you can restrict activeX, but once you've got it through, at least you know that it'll run !

(PS, I also run linux [SuSE 9]- I'm just being realistic !!!)