Oracle kills off Java to give you one less browser-related headache

JavaScript

Oracle has made the decision to kill off the Java plug-in, a move that will be welcomed by most.

The company has acknowledged that browser makers are moving away from standards-based plug-in support – or indeed have already moved away – and is waving the white flag for Java.

The plug-in is to be deprecated (sent to Death Row, in computing terms) in JDK 9 which is to be released later this year (it's currently in beta), and in the future, it will be completely stripped out.

Java is an oft-criticised source of vulnerabilities and a security nightmare in general, so you've probably already disabled it in your browser(s).

Modular and manageable

In a blog post, Oracle noted: "With modern browser vendors working to restrict and reduce plug-in support in their products, developers of applications that rely on the Java browser plug-in need to consider alternative options such as migrating from Java Applets (which rely on a browser plug-in) to the plug-in-free Java Web Start technology."

Java 9 was originally expected to be released last year, but obviously that didn't happen. It's making some big changes across the board, adopting a modular approach to help make it more lightweight, manageable, scalable and secure.

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).