Thursday, October 05, 2006
Java Tester - What Version of Java Are You Running?
Java Tester is a handy tool I have been using for at least several years to find out what version of Java my browser is running.
It would be nice if every computer I used was using the newest JVM installed on it for running applets in all its browsers, and every computer had the latest JVM installed.
Sadly, that is pretty often not the case. The reason varies from OS to OS, and browser to browser.
The key questions are: do I have any JVM to run applets in this browser I am using, and is it a new enough version for this applet I want to access from a web page?
Browsers are pretty complicated, kind of unstable, oddly configured, and ever changing environments. Lots of things can make you not have the default JVM for running applets be the one you think it should be.
Things that can play with your expectations include:
* JVMs installed out of order. Example: you install latest JDK 1.5 or a beta of the next JVM this week, and then next week you install a new update of JDK 1.4.2 to do some compatibility testing.
* changed setting in Java control panel
* changes to the registry
* OS patch breaks stuff, including Java
* browser patch from its maker breaks Java
* Java OS is behind on your platform
* you installed Java on your other computer
* you installed a plugin in your browser to let you run a newer version of Java in it than your maker provides, then the maker upgrades the browser and your plugin gets deleted or moved aside - or the prerelease plugin does not work with the new version of the browser
Most of these are problems with any browser plugin.
The idea behind the web is: point, click, cool.
The reality is that sometimes the web is more like: point, click, huh?
It would be nice if every computer I used was using the newest JVM installed on it for running applets in all its browsers, and every computer had the latest JVM installed.
Sadly, that is pretty often not the case. The reason varies from OS to OS, and browser to browser.
The key questions are: do I have any JVM to run applets in this browser I am using, and is it a new enough version for this applet I want to access from a web page?
Browsers are pretty complicated, kind of unstable, oddly configured, and ever changing environments. Lots of things can make you not have the default JVM for running applets be the one you think it should be.
Things that can play with your expectations include:
* JVMs installed out of order. Example: you install latest JDK 1.5 or a beta of the next JVM this week, and then next week you install a new update of JDK 1.4.2 to do some compatibility testing.
* changed setting in Java control panel
* changes to the registry
* OS patch breaks stuff, including Java
* browser patch from its maker breaks Java
* Java OS is behind on your platform
* you installed Java on your other computer
* you installed a plugin in your browser to let you run a newer version of Java in it than your maker provides, then the maker upgrades the browser and your plugin gets deleted or moved aside - or the prerelease plugin does not work with the new version of the browser
Most of these are problems with any browser plugin.
The idea behind the web is: point, click, cool.
The reality is that sometimes the web is more like: point, click, huh?
