[ale] Java for 64bit Firefox

[Michael B. Trausch]

On Tue, 2008-01-01 at 15:39 -0500, Dow Hurst wrote:
> My question then:  Is it possible to have a 64bit Firefox somehow
> start
> up Java by another method such as a helper application?  I don't
> understand how the Java plugin actually plugs into Firefox, but isn't
> there another way to deal with this issue?  Am I reduced to using
> multiple browsers?  Can Konqueror as 64bit run the 32bit Java to do
> Java
> and Javascript stuff?  How do people deal with this that use a 64bit
> environment?

First things first, Java and JavaScript are two /entirely/ different
technologies; the only thing that they have in common with each other
really is the name, and that is because they (Netscape, if memory
serves) wanted to make it sound cool so that it would be adopted.

In any event, JavaScript runs in all browsers that support it in all
architectures.  In today's world, browsing the Internet is very hard to
do if you do not enable JavaScript, anyway.

First, you can try the GCJ Java plugin.  It works for many (but not all)
sites.  If you must have Sun Java, here is what you can try to do, if
you can live without sound:  Use IcedTea on a 64-bit system.  Otherwise,
your only real options are to use a chrooted 32-bit Firefox with enough
stuff installed for it to be useful to you with the Java, and use the
native (64-bit) Firefox for everything else, OR just have an entirely
32-bit system.

Maintaining a chroot was too much for me, and IcedTea is not yet 100%.
GCJ works for everything but one site for me, and I desperately need
that site, so I just rolled back to 32-bit.  What I really wish was that
they made it such that a system was _both_, i.e., auto-selected the
kernel at boot time, installed binaries for both systems, and ran the
ones that made sense based on how the system was booted.  It would take
up more space, but it would finally solve all of the issues of what and
why and blah.

> 
> If possible, please don't complain about Sun not getting the port of
> the
> Java plugin to 64bit done as that is an obvious given.  I'm hoping
> there
> is a practical usable solution to the problem with what I have
> available
> to me.  I did look at nspluginwrapper but that does not support the
> Java
> plugin.

They are working on it.  The source is open now (and that is what the
IcedTea project is) save for the parts that they could not open, which
they are working on re-building.  That is good, and when IcedTea's goal
is complete, we will have a (finally) truly cross-platform Java run
time.  That does not mean that it will instantly become great, but it
will be nice to not have to go "Is there a Java VM for platform _X_" for
any value of X.  Now, if only Adobe would open Flash...

	--- Mike

-- 
Michael B. Trausch                                   mike at trausch.us
home: 404-592-5746, 1                                 www.trausch.us
cell: 678-522-7934                       im: mike at trausch.us, jabber
Ubuntu Unofficial Backports Project:    http://backports.trausch.us/
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: This is a digitally signed message part