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1258

answers:

6

As far as I know there's some kind of Linux in the Chrome OS foundations and Java is already supported there, so I don't see a technical problem. The question is whether or not they want people to run applets at all.

I would certainly appreciate it...

+1  A: 

I think Java applets would be popular with Chrome OS actually; the OS's philosophy is centered on a web browser being the main function or medium for everything. AFAIK Java is open source (or almost there) and supported on Linux & the Chrome browser. So yes.

Kavon Farvardin
But is that a fact or a wish? I know Java is open source and all - there are no technical reasons it couldn't happen, I'm asking if Google decided to actually do it or not.
TomA
It's definitely a fact that applets (such as Flash or Java) will be a driving force in Chrome OS:"First, it's all about the web. All apps are web apps. The entire experience takes place within the browser and there are no conventional desktop applications."http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/releasing-chromium-os-open-source.html
Kavon Farvardin
I don't think that's a 100% accurate interpretation of the quoted text. Web apps do not necessarily equal Flash or Java applets.
TomA
Which is why I said "such as" with Flash and Java as examples in parentheses... I'm sure you can do plenty of things with AJAX/RoR/whatever with Google Gears and whatnot.
Kavon Farvardin
Flash and Java are the most prevalent browser PLUGINS. I'm sorry I have to argue with you but my question is specifically about support for the Java plugin in the Chrome OS's browser. Ajax is a combination of Javascript, XML and server side scripting. Ruby on Rails is a server side web programming framework. Java applets are Java programs that download and run completely on the client side.
TomA
Tom it sounds like you have a decent understanding of the different web technologies. How can you not see clearly that not supporting Java applets is not really an option for any browser trying to compete in the market. Seriously, just think about the consequences of not supporting java at all. That would just be silly. Silly. Silly. I'll keep saying it. Silly.
Dustin Fineout
@Dustin: +1; fully agree; though maybe not per default from the beginning on
henchman
A: 

Yes See here. There's also screenshots showing Java working in Chrome.

It has to do with a release of Java that supports WebKit browsers, and therefore supports Chrome as well.

Milan Ramaiya
There is a difference between "Chrome" and "Chrome OS". The question was specifically about the later.
sfussenegger
+3  A: 

No, there will be no stock support for Java within ChromeOS.

No, you should assume that there will be no JRE in stock Chromium OS builds, or in Google Chrome OS.

http://groups.google.com/group/chromium-os-discuss/browse_thread/thread/e11e5a6002f9f553/6219243e55fff96c?lnk=gst&q=java#6219243e55fff96c

Phrase is by Chris Masone. Having an @chromium.org-Mail-Adress, he should know what he says.

He also states, that

the community is more than welcome to adapt the chromium os code as they desire. If folks want to get java working on Chromium OS, please go ahead.

imho: Yes, somewhere in the future, there will be someone porting an (maybe open source) JDK/JRE to comply with Chrome OS, as there are already Java DK/RE for Linux nowadays. There are even screenshots available today which show java code being executed within Chrome.

edit: according to blog post with images as proof: Yes, mostly sure! Well - still not out of the box, but after probably modifying the repositoriy list, a

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre 

should do it, as it's ubuntu based. If we don't trust this news, the chance is still very high that google forks another distribution and customizes that one only on the surface, so that we can apt-get/urpmi/...

edit2: according to http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/how-tos-and-troubleshooting/add-a-new-package/package-management, you can build your own packages and install them. There is a sample for emacs, so java should be no problem.

henchman
Thanks for the research. I should have been more specific in my question and add "out of the box". This is a good answer for the question as it is though.
TomA
A: 

Yes.

It won't be shipped out of the box, but since there is a Linux version, and GCOS is basically Linux, then it will run as any other plugin.

It is hard to speculate about it, but basically the answer is it will because it does on Linux already.

Now; Will it be transparent and run the just by installing the Sun's version ( or any other version ) with out changes? I bet it won't. The Java community will have to work on that version but I'm pretty sure that eventually you'll be able to run Applets on ChromeOS.

OscarRyz
A: 

Flow (a Haxxeh build of Chromium OS) currently supports Java. It's now simply an update.

Clasic
A: 

Doing so would be the smart thing to do, Flash should probably be supported (especially since flash support is now built into chrome) Who says that developers have to only use html5 stuff? Object and embed tags are still a big part of the web experience, I could easily see some of the difficult stuff being done in java or flash. Flash games could have a big marketplace in chrome os. so could java apps, especially if they are just applets embeded into webpages. I'm all for a move to html5, but to limit every other part of the user experience just hurts the developers and the user. Plugins should be sandboxed for security, but not limited outright. 3d games could be supported in more then one way, harder to do apps like telnet or irc could be done in java Yeah, I know about mibbet but I say keep plugins until they are no longer vital as an option. You can do a lot with the web, but plugins are still a part of that web.

atomic1fire