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Chapter 8, Desktop Programs
#62 Get Browser Plug-ins Working
HACK
This page tells you the plug-ins Firefox has installed. Once you’ve installed
the Flash plug-in, you should see two entries that look like this:
These two lines indicate that the player is correctly installed. Now you can
test the player by visiting a Flash-based web site, such as the “fantastic” http://
www.badgerbadgerbadger.com.
Use Java in Firefox
Java is a popular cross-platform programming environment in which you
can theoretically write a single program, and have it run on a number of dif-
ferent operating systems and web browsers. Although the Java language was
developed by Sun Microsystems, it has been licensed openly enough to
allow a number of Java software interpreters to be developed by various
companies and organizations.
To run Java programs, you need a Java Runtime Environment (JRE). This
software lets you run Java programs either in a web browser or as a normal
application. By far one of the most popular JREs available is from Sun at
http://java.sun.com/j2se/. Other Java environments are available that work
well with Firefox and normal Java desktop environments, but this hack cov-
ers just the official Sun incarnation.
One issue to bear in mind in terms of getting the right JRE is finding one
that is compatible with Firefox. The first place you should check for this
information is http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/. Traditionally, ...