Oracle has announced that it will no longer be releasing any updates to the Java browser plugin in the future. The final Java update would be the JDK (Java Development Kit) 9 and future updates to Oracle JDK and JRE (Java Runtime Environment) will also exclude the Java plugin as well.
To be fair, Oracle has already expected this to happen for quite a while now. The plan to shut down Java for good seems inevitable since modern browsers like Chrome and Firefox announced some time last year that they will no longer support browser plugins in the future. The same can be said about Microsoft’s new browser, Edge, which has no support for browser plugins at all. In fact, the only browser currently still getting security updates from Java is – unsurprisingly – Internet Explorer 11.
Prior to the announcement, the Java browser plugin has been plagued with several major security issues that were causing a lot of problems for its consumers. In addition to that, Oracle’s decision to terminate the Java browser plugin would not be good news to companies and corporations that are still operating using the plugin. Fortunately, Oracle has provided users with a handy guide on how to migrate away from the plugin.
Interestingly, Oracle mentioned that the replacement for the Java browser plugin, Java Web Start, has already been made available. Essentially, the new Java Web Start technology works the same way as its predecessor, albeit not in the form of a plugin. Instead, the new technology will be included in future JRE releases, and it will enable users to be able to access new and existing Java applications on any browser without having the need to install a browser extension first.
More information regarding the termination of the Java browser plugin can be found here.
(Source: Oracle via Ars Technica)
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