Originally posted by Soma RaviKumar:
Thanks a lot Ilja for your reply. Still I have some questions related to this.
During java 1.1 days, I used to run applets in a browser and I didn't see any Java Plug-In at that time.
Why do I need it now?
In the days of Java 1.1, the Java Run-time Environment was built in to web browsers such as Internet Explorer and Netscape. This is why you didn't need to install an additional plug-in. All the software needed to run an applet was there as soon as you installed a web browser. However, with the release of Java 1.2, Sun decided to release a separate plug-in. This was probably a good idea since updates to Java don't general coincide with browser updates. This way you can run newer Java code with an older browser.
What are the example situations where I can do that only in the presence of Java Plug-In?
What are the example situations where I don't need Plug-In.
Any applets that are compiled with JDK 1.2 or later require a plug-in. The JRE was no longer built into web browsers after this.
You don't need the plug-in to run desktop applets or enterprise applications such as
servlets. However, I would consider servlets at least an intermediate topic, so don't worry about them too much at this point. In either case, you still need the JRE installed. It's just that the browser plug-in is not used in either case.
Is this Plug-in a part of JRE? If so, is it an OPTIONAL part or MANDATORY part?
Yes, the plug-in is part of the JRE and it is "mandatory". In fact, I don't think there are really any "optional" parts of the JRE. But then, I use the default installation procedures. I have never tried to use any advanced customization options that I can remember.
I will appreciate if you could throw some light on this.
Layne