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WHAT IS HOTJAVA ?
HotJava is a WWW browser developed by Sun Microsystems Inc., which has a built-in Java interpreter
and is therefore capable of executing Java applets. An applet is a Java program that can be included
in an HTML page using a special tag, just like an image is included using the IMG tag.
At the time of writing, HotJava is available for the following platforms:
- Unix: Sun Solaris 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 SPARC-based machines
- Windows: Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 95 only
Note that HotJava is not yet available for the Macintosh even though the Java interpreter is already
available for Macintosh System 7.5
It is also worth noting that at the time of writing, the available version of HotJava is Version
1.0 alpha 3. The main goal of Sun Microsystems at the inception of the HotJava project was to
come up with a product that could be used to demonstrate the concept of executable content on a
WWW page.
As the Java Developers Kit (comprising Java Compiler, Java Interpreter, Java Applet Viewer, Java
Debugger API) was subsequently developed through the alpha and beta releases to the final release
of JDK Version 1.0 on 23 January 1996, HotJava was not developed in parallel.
Consequently, HotJava 1.0 alpha 3 can only execute applets developed using the earliest version
(alpha) of the Java Developers Kit (JDK). It will not execute applets developed using the beta or
recently released full version (1.0) of the JDK. HotJava 1.0 alpha 3 is therefore rather of limited use.
Other WWW browser developers have either already incorporated the Java technology into their
product or will be doing so in due course.
Netscape's Navigator and Spyglass' Mosaic account for almost 95% of web browsers used
on the Internet today. Both companies have already licensed the Java technology. Netscape Navigator
2.0 already fully incorporates the capability of executing Java applets developed using the beta
as well as the version 1.0 full releases of the JDK. Netscape Navigator 2.0 therefore complements
HotJava 1.0 alpha 3.
Spyglass intends to fully integrate the Java technology into its next release of Mosaic.
Download HotJava now
Download Netscape Navigator 2.0 or higher now
Please send us email with your comments and details of any key Java sites.
