Closed Bug 28461 Opened 25 years ago Closed 24 years ago

Java doesn't work on Linux

Categories

(Core Graveyard :: Java: OJI, defect, P3)

x86
Linux
defect

Tracking

(Not tracked)

VERIFIED DUPLICATE of bug 49451

People

(Reporter: roberts, Assigned: drapeau)

References

()

Details

(Whiteboard: [nsbeta2-] [no linux/unix JRE include support for OJI])

From Bug Helper: User-Agent: Mozilla/4.7 [en] (X11; I; Linux 2.2.14-15mdk i686) BuildID: 2000021715 The applet on this page does not start Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1.Just go to the page. A java applet should start 2. 3. Actual Results: Nothing happens
Mozilla does not currently support Java in nightly builds. Or so I think, and am assured by #mozilla :-) Gerv
Status: UNCONFIRMED → RESOLVED
Closed: 25 years ago
Resolution: --- → INVALID
My mistake. OJI is now on in all builds, so Java should work if you have an OJI-compliant JVM. So, the question for roberts@tsasa.lanl.gov is: Do you have an OJI-compliant JVM installed? Do other Java applets work? Gerv
Status: RESOLVED → UNCONFIRMED
Resolution: INVALID → ---
Misfiled, belongs in OJI.
Assignee: akhil.arora → drapeau
Component: Java-Implemented Plugins → OJI
QA Contact: rajendra.pallath → paw
Gerv, your original comment is correct, but I'll explain a little bit more explicitly here. The OJI module is fine, but current Java Plug-Ins don't work because they were built to previous Mozilla API's. Mozilla API's have been changing over the past months, and another recent change broke compatibility with the JDK 1.3 Java Plug-In (that plug-in was working with Mozilla's M12 milestone build). We are working with the Sun JDK folks to patch the Java Plug-In one more time to get it to work with current Mozilla builds, so that we can have a working Java VM for Mozilla Beta 1. We're hoping that Mozilla API's upon which Java Plug-In relies will freeze after Beta 1, but we're not sure yet whether that will happen. So, technically speaking, OJI works, but there is currently no working Java Plug-In due to recent API changes in other Mozilla modules. I'll update this bug when we have a working JVM. Meanwhile, the Linux 1.2.2-based Java Plug-In will not work, either, since it was obviously based on an even earlier Mozilla API. We are awaiting an OJI-compliant Java Plug-In for Linux from somebody; Sun is the likely candidate to port the Plug-In to current Mozilla API's. This will not likely be ready for M14, so I'm pushing this bug off to M16, in the hope that Sun (or somebody else...hey, all you great Linux developers there, listen up!) will produce a Java Plug-In for any Linux JVM.
Status: UNCONFIRMED → ASSIGNED
Ever confirmed: true
Target Milestone: M16
drapeau@eng.sun.com - thanks for that clarification :-) Gerv
BTW, Do you know when the new JVM is due? Gerv
Nope, I don't have definite info. The last I heard, and this was a little while ago, was that we could expect the Java Plug-In working in the second quarter of this calendar year. As you know, the JDK 1.2.2 for Linux is out now. But the Java Plug-In needs to be ported to work with current Mozilla builds and JDK 1.2.2; that's why it's not out now, when the 1.2.2 JDK.
drapeau@eng.sun.com - does this bug need to remain open, given that all it really says is "Java doesn't work"? Gerv
Okay, I just went to the site and the applet worked just fine for me. I'm going to mark this bug FIXED, will leave QA to verify, and will put the onus on the original bug reporter to re-open the bug.
Status: ASSIGNED → RESOLVED
Closed: 25 years ago25 years ago
Resolution: --- → FIXED
George, java has never worked on Linux, so I am going to reopen this. Then we can deal with this once we have a working jvm.
Status: RESOLVED → REOPENED
Resolution: FIXED → ---
Whoa, my mistake. Silly me. I wish the Summary said "Java doesn't work on Linux." My fault.
Status: REOPENED → ASSIGNED
Target Milestone: M16 → M20
Your wish is my command :-) Gerv
Summary: Java app doesn't start → Java doesn't work on Linux
There are now two working JVMs for Linux: one from sun (java.sun.com/jdc) and one from alphaworks (don't remember the link). I had no luck with IBM's implementation, and now i'm downloading sun's JDK to test it with mozilla. Is there anyone working on this on mozilla side?
Yep, my group is trying to help the Sun JDK group get the Linux port of the Java Plug-In working. The problem is that the JDK for Unix platforms doesn't have built-in support for an OJI-compliant Java Plug-In, and Sun has been resource-constrained to date. We're hoping to get some sort of Solaris and Linux Java Plug-In working and integrated into the Netscape 6 Preview Release 2 and near-future Mozilla builds, but it's not there yet. I'll update this bug when there's more progress. In the mean time, I know that Sun's JDK 1.3 for Linux does *not* yet support OJI, but it will. I have not heard anything from IBM on this, but would love to hear some status from them. Adding Mike Kaply on this in case he can add any useful comments. Mike, if you don't want to be cc'd on this, go ahead and remove yourself and accept my apologies. If you know of somebody who can speak to OJI support in IBM's JDK 1.3 for Linux, I'd love to speak with him/her.
I have downloaded j2re-1_3_0-beta-linux.tar.gz from JDC, but alas, no liboji.so Any ideas on what to try, or may be that's what drapeau meant by his previous comment, that it is still not there?
Yep, that's what I meant by my earlier comment. :-) No OJI support in this release just yet. It's coming.
qa: shrir
QA Contact: paw → shrir
pardon da spam, adding self to cc list. :-)
Ok, guys: When? The rest of the browser is starting to work well enough that one could almost begin to imagine tossing NS4.73 into the scrap pile, if only there was a working Java for Mozilla. Rpt: When? --Doug
Updating this milestone optimistically: the guy at Sun is still working on changes to the Java Plugin code for Solaris. It's decrepit and hasn't had anybody on it until recently. He's trying to make it work for both Solaris and Linux. I should have a better ETA by the end of this week.
Target Milestone: M20 → M17
When I enable Java on NS 4.7, and access certain sites, NS just disappears. If I disable Java and access the same site there is no problem. I use Slackware Linux. John Culleton john@carr.org
John Culleton: This is bug reporting for the mozilla project.
Keywords: nsbeta2
Whiteboard: [no linux/unix JRE include support for OJI]
Putting on [nsbeta2-] radar. Not critical to beta2. If you have a fix, please renominate.
Whiteboard: [no linux/unix JRE include support for OJI] → [nsbeta2-] [no linux/unix JRE include support for OJI]
sorry, add to cc list
Adding to cc list.
Not critical to beta2? It's the only damn major feature now needed to allow most of us Linux people to switch from Netscape. Linux Netscape crashes with Java. Period. It's unusable for Java apps, always has been. I guess I don't understand the priorities here. --Doug
Doug Roberts: I'm the engineering manager for Java integration into Mozilla and Netscape 6. The reason that this bug is minus'd as "not critical for Beta 2" is because the lack of Java support in the Linux port isn't a strong enough reason to hold back the Beta 2 release. Also, Netscape isn't doing its own development of Java Plug-In for Linux --- Sun is working on one --- so Netscape is in a position of either receiving a working Java Plug-In or not. I agree with Netscape: it's not feasible to hold up the release date of Beta 2 on all platforms just for Java on one platform with no firm ETA. If you want to complain about the lack of Java support on Linux, complain to Larry Abrahams, the Director of JDK Engineering at Sun.
Thanks for the clarification, and the suggestion. A politely-phrased request to up the Linux Java support sent to Larry Abrahams at Sun might not be a bad idea, so I'll do it. --Doug
Any news on the IBM JDK front ? Maybe they will be more responsive than Sun since: a) Linux is in some ways a competitor to Solaris, so Sun _may_ be stalling deliberately. (I say may, I am not accusing them of anything). b) IBM are starting to support Java and Linux in a big way (having recently released Visual Age for Linux).
No news on the IBM JDK front. IBM hasn't contacted me about their OJI support. I wish they would. :-( Meanwhile, I'd like to address your point about them possibly being more responsive than Sun. I apologize on behalf of Sun for Sun not being more responsive about Java support on Linux. However, Sun is not deliberately stalling. The reason there is no Linux support for an OJI-compliant Java Plug-In is because the group at Sun (in the Java Software division) responsible has been grossly under-staffed since before December. My group at Sun (in another division but working with Java Software) has taken on porting the Java Plug-In to Solaris, but my group has suffered attrition as well, leaving the Unix port of Java Plug-In (JPI) unstaffed. Only recently has Java Software gotten staffing for JPI work on Unix (Solaris and Linux both), but the new staff doesn't start until Monday, and it will be at least two weeks more until that person starts actual work on the code. The staffing situation for JPI has been horrible, but it has been addressed by the director of JDK Engineering. Meanwhile, I have had one of my engineers work on the JPI code to get it working on Linux. Our hope was to get *something* working for Netscape 6 Preview Release 2, which is coming very soon now. We did not make the deadline, but I have a working prototype of Java on Linux in Mozilla today on my Linux box. We will try to turn those bits into an XPInstall file that can be downloaded when you try to visit a page that has an applet in it. At least that way, you can get Preview Release 2 and later get the Linux Java bits when they're ready for playing with. I just wanted to point out that the lack of Java support on Linux from Sun is because of the specific staffing problems in the Java Plug-In area. The JDK for Linux is available for early access; it's the glue code (OJI Plug-In) that's not in good shape. That will change in a serious way in the next four weeks.
With the new "4.x plugin support on linux" do the Java Plugins for 4x work correctly? -Brian
My name is Doug Rothert, and I am the team lead for the Java Plugin work being done within IBM. In a similar way as our counterparts in Sun, the staffing and turnover during the last year and a half has been problematic. At one point the team essentially shrank to myself, and only part time at that. Given the resources constraints in the past, we focused on supporting the Java Plugin on I.E. and Netscape 4.x, and making sure that those plugins were a standard component of the IBM JDK 1.22 and 1.3. In December we finished JDK 1.22 for AIX and Win32 with Netscape 4.x plugin support. In June we finished JDK 1.3 for Intel Linux, AIX, and Win32 with Netscape 4.x plugin support. The upcoming JDK 1.3 for OS/2 will also have Netscape 4.x plugin support, and will be released relatively soon. Its important to understand that each of these products involved considerable time and effort and was considered a prereq to begining serious work on the Mozilla Java Plugin. You can download all of the JVMs and report problems with the Netscape 4.x plugins at http://www.ibm.com/java/jdk/ At this point in time, we have some additional resource to work on the Mozilla plugin. For the last few weeks a single developer has been focused exclusively on the Linux Mozilla Java Plugin, and attempting to make it functional. He will continue to work on this until this task is completed, and I am assisting him when possible. We are also attempting to bring a developer up to speed on the Win32 Mozilla Plugin, as the source base is almost completely different. AIX and OS/2 are also being looked at, although they will likely be based on the Linux port. As you can see from this rough plan, the Linux plugin is the gating factor in getting the other ports started and has the highest priority of the Mozilla ports. I have e-mailed drapeau@eng.sun.com on Monday (8/7/00) with more details on our staffing, our priorities, and our technical questions in attempting to get this code to work. I eagerly await his response so that we can make the Mozilla Plugin on Linux a success. -Doug Rothert
Nothing like a little friendly competition, er, collaboration between Sun & IBM to speed the process up. ;-} --Doug (Roberts)
We already have Linux OJI plug-in for IBM and another for Kaffe; IBM works ok with few bugs, Kaffe barely works... needs help. The right engineers to talk to about these are james.ketrenos@intel.com and rusty.lynch@intel.com
dup of bug 49451 *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 49451 ***
Status: ASSIGNED → RESOLVED
Closed: 25 years ago24 years ago
Resolution: --- → DUPLICATE
Status: RESOLVED → VERIFIED
verifying duplicate.
Product: Core → Core Graveyard
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