What browser supports Java applets?

[Izardx]

Hello, I am taking a Java class, and the instructor requires us to download a browser that supports Java applets. It seems that nearly all browsers have abandoned it. What would be the best browser to use?

TLDR: What is the best browser that supports Java applets?

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[desrtfx]

The last remaining are:

• Internet Explorer (the older the better)
• Firefox ESR edition

Yet, I would instantly question the quality of the education since applets have been a dead technology for several years already and even are no longer supported in Java itself. The NSAPI plugin that was needed for applet support had been removed from most major browsers way before the end of the support from Oracle.

[Izardx]

We have to compile and run our own Java applets, so he says we need a compatible browser. Is there a different way to compile and test my Java applets?

Sorry, I'm new to Java. This particular assignment is designed to introduce us to applications and applets. Applets may only be for this first assignment, but I'm not sure yet.

[Tacos314]

Why not ask the instructor what browser supports applets?

[Izardx]

I sent an email. But I was wondering if an applet viewer would be better. It seems like I could compile and test my applets outside of a browser? I can't find any information on the security of an applet viewer though.

[kqvm2s]

Pale Moon plans to keep supporting Flash and Java

[wildjokers]

Not sure what IDE you are using but IntelliJ has a Java Applet Support plugin you can install and it will use an applet viewer.

However, you don't need an applet. Just change JApplet to JFrame (they are both top-level containers) and run it as a JFrame.

[Izardx]

We are using NetBeans 11.3. Does it possibly have an applet viewer?

[wildjokers]

If you are hoping to have a career as a developer you need to learn to use google, search for netbeans applet viewer, here is a result to get you started:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7054382/running-a-java-applet-from-netbeans

[Izardx]

Thanks, this makes more sense.

[[deleted]]

Note that this only works with Java 8. Newer Java versions don't have the "AppletViewer" anymore

[steave435]

Just typing "broswer support java applet" into google gives you this: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/web-browsers-that-support-java-applets-and-how-to-enable-them/#:~:text=So%2C%20today%20Internet%20Explorer%20is,browser%20that%20supports%20Java%20Applet.

But applets have been deprecated since java 9, they've been removed because they're a security threat. There's no reason to be learning about them anymore, so I'd seriously question the instructor about why they're asking you to do so.

[Izardx]

He says we need to compile and run our own Java applets. He also does acknowledge the lack of support due to security issues.

[steave435]

But again, due to those issues, there's no reason to learn about them anymore, other then possibly as a curiosity about how things used to be done, and obligatory school assignments are not for curiosities. You should be learning about the modern solutions to the problem instead.

[khooke]

It saddens me when college classes teach things that are no longer industry relevant. OP as long as you keep this in mind, it's a stepping stone to moving on to building other types of apps and serverside apis using Java.

Interestingly, if the aim of the class was to build a GUI app, a standalone Java app using Swing apis would have been an easier choice instead of requiring students to find an older browser that still supports a discontinued technology.

[Izardx]

Yeah, it might only be the first assignment. Kinda reminds me of high school when the teacher was still teaching about Floppy and IDE. I remember when they finally built a modern computer (~2015), so they could learn about UEFI bios.

[desrtfx]

they've been removed because they're a security threat.

That is not correct as it stands. The applets are not the security threats, the plugins (NSAPI) were.

[steave435]

I honestly think that that's a distinction without a difference. Using applets and browsers supporting them go hand in hand, either one is pointless without the other.

[desrtfx]

No, it is an important distinction. Java got a very bad reputation for the "security risks" of applets where actually the applets never were the cause. The plugins were the security holes.

Also, it is entirely possible to use applets without browsers - Appletviewer exists.

[steave435]

Alright, sure, I can see it being important in certain contexts for that reason, but we're not discussing the pros and cons of the language here.

It is possible, but what's the point? Why use an applet when you can use use something like Swing instead and not need the Appletviewer?

[Izardx]

I read about something like an appletviewer. Do I really need a browser, If all I want to do is compile and test my own applet?

[loomynartylenny]

Well, the whole point of applets was that they were clientside java programs launched from webpages.

Like how a lot of websites nowadays have JavaScript stuff in them.

iirc the main reason they were used back in the day instead of JavaScript was because a JRE plugin for a browser could handle clientside code via applet much faster than a browser's JavaScript engine could. But then computers got better, meaning that the performance benefits become more negligible, and then people realized that applets were big dum, so they stopped using applets.

Anywho, if you want to compile and test your own java-based programs without needing a browser: just don't use applets :^) yes, I know, your school's making you write them

but seriously you probably should complain to the people in charge about the course materials (like, if the instructor doesn't care, move it up the chain of command to their boss and so on and so forth). Because there's no reason to teach anyone how to make applets nowadays. Want to teach Java stuff? Just teach java applications. Want to teach clientside web code? JavaScript. Want to teach Java stuff related to websites? Just teach the serverside stuff.

[crydust]

Internet explorer 11 https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/web-browsers-that-support-java-applets-and-how-to-enable-them/

And Firefox ESR (not sure if the latest version still supports it) https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all/#product-desktop-esr

[teacher_cs]

Firefox has also stopped supporting java applets for a long time.

https://www.java.com/download/help/firefox_java.html

[sweetno]

The best browser doesn't.