Do I need Java?

Dave_C_2

Bit of a gap in my computer knowledge and googling muddies the water for me.
I run Firefox and have disabled the following plugins for some time without any obvious ill effect.

• Java deployment toolkit 7.0.170.2 10.17.2.2
• Java platform SE 7 U17 10.17.2.2

Do I need them?

Can I uninstall them?

... if so how? Java 7 update 17 is shown in revo uninstaller will that zap the toolkit as well?

I understand that Java script is different - can someone shed some light on this please.


Dave

agrinnall

I deleted Java completely from my PC a few weeks ago when the fuss about vulnerabilities was at its height, so far I have noticed no adverse effects. Don't worry about Javascript.

andrewjf

Dave_C wrote: »

Bit of a gap in my computer knowledge and googling muddies the water for me.
I run Firefox and have disabled the following plugins for some time without any obvious ill effect.

• Java deployment toolkit 7.0.170.2 10.17.2.2
• Java platform SE 7 U17 10.17.2.2

Do I need them?

Can I uninstall them?

... if so how? Java 7 update 17 is shown in revo uninstaller will that zap the toolkit as well?

I understand that Java script is different - can someone shed some light on this please.


Dave

Despite the names, Java doesn't have much in common with Javascript. Java is a computer language, commonly used to implement web applications. Javascript is another language which to put simply, is used to improve the capabilities of web browsers. Most browsers have built-in support for Javascript, although you can disable it.

By disabling Java plugins in the browser, you may find that some websites don't work properly. This is because their pages may make use of Java applets, which are downloaded with the web page, and execute within the browser. If you disable Java, the applets stop working. As you've found though, use of applets is very much on the decline in the world of web applications.

Javascript however is much more ubiquitous, and used widely to implement fancy effects going on in your web browser. It's also used on many web pages to allow much more efficient data transfer, with something called AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript And XML).
Bottom line is, if you disable Javascript, then you're much more likely to run into problems, so I'd leave it enabled.
Just make sure your browser is always kept up to date with security patches, as there have been vulnerabilities in the past.

Dave_C_2

Thanks for the replies

Uninstalling Java runtime next.

Dave