Feb 09, 2017 08:36 AM EST By Dan Archer, UniversityHerald Reporter

Oracle this week issued a dire warning to developers, who still expect browsers to run code developed for Java plugins, to find an alternative. The software company is urging developers to find replacement solutions if they still use Java applets because Firefox is going to stop supporting them.

Java Browser Plugin Will Be Deprecated Soon

In a recent Oracle blog post, the Redwood City-based company announced that starting with Mozilla Firefox 52, which is set for release next month, the 32-bit version of the browser will no longer provide the requisite APIs for standards-based plugin support.

The software company announced in a recently published Oracle whitepaper last year, that supporting Java plugins in web browsers is only possible for as long as the vendors are committed to supporting standards-based plugins. Unfortunately, things are getting hard now for the plugins.

According to The Register, the developers behind all major browsers have just decided that the NPAPI framework may now come to rest, that is because there are now better and alternative ways to do multimedia stuff inside a web browser.

Google Chrome ditched plugins in 2015, followed by Microsoft IE and then, the Opera and Apple Safari. This means only one thing: the clock is ticking now for the plugins and there's no effective way to stop it.

Oracle Urges Developers To Look For Alternatives

In a recent Oracle blog post, the software company advises developers to quickly find a different solution if they are still using the aging Java applets. Mozilla Firefox 52 will be on ESR (Extended Support Release) and will include NPAPI plugin support on board and will get a new release every six weeks or so.

But once Firefox support has reached its expiration date, which will be on 2018, it will be the end of the world for the Java browser plugins.

Fortunately, there are still some good alternatives left in the wild. Oracle recommends a developer to use the following solutions: Java Web Start, java package or JavaFX/WebView.

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