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Java used to work in the browser a quarter-century ago, albeit not very well. Even .NET sort of worked in the browser for both the people who enabled Silverligh

by mrec 7y ago

Java used to work in the browser a quarter-century ago, albeit not very well. Even .NET sort of worked in the browser for both the people who enabled Silverlight. I do believe WASM is different, in a good way, but not just because it works in a browser.

nerdponx 7y ago
This probably a good subject for a separate thread, but I do wonder why JVM-in-browser failed so hard. I know there were "security issues" but surely those weren't any worse than the JS security issues we have today?
- mrec 7y ago
  Steve Klabnik wrote a blog post around this last year. More challenging the "isn't WASM just another Java?" take, but I think still relevant to your question. https://words.steveklabnik.com/is-webassembly-the-return-of-java-applets-flash https://words.steveklabnik.com/is-webassembly-the-return-of-...
  - nerdponx 7y ago
    That immediately clarifies the difference. Thank you.
- repolfx 7y ago
  It didn't fail that hard. It was pretty widely used, but the JRE was a large and not very fast runtime back then. It got better over time but the browser makers got pretty determined to kill off any competing platforms to HTML under the guise of security.
adev_ 7y ago
> Java used to work in the browser a quarter-century ago, albeit not very well. Even .NET sort of worked in the browser for both the people who enabled Silverlight. Not Really. They worked With a plugin side to the browser and not really IN the browser. And that makes a big difference. Nor Java Applet, nor Sliverlight not even Flash were offering a smooth, integrated experience with in web page or application. I have seen flash applet crashing more than I can count. JVM applet launch was cumbersome at best and bringing the beauty (irony) of Java-style GUI in my browser. Sliverlight remained a joke unusable outside of Windows. WebAssembly made something unthinkable before: Make all Web Browsers Manufacturers agreed on a Standard for a Virtual Machine and implementing it.
- jcelerier 7y ago
  > I have seen flash applet crashing more than I can count. If you think that WASM apps are not going to crash... :)

by mrec 7y ago

nerdponx 7y ago

This probably a good subject for a separate thread, but I do wonder why JVM-in-browser failed so hard. I know there were "security issues" but surely those weren't any worse than the JS security issues we have today?

mrec 7y ago
Steve Klabnik wrote a blog post around this last year. More challenging the "isn't WASM just another Java?" take, but I think still relevant to your question. https://words.steveklabnik.com/is-webassembly-the-return-of-java-applets-flash https://words.steveklabnik.com/is-webassembly-the-return-of-...
- nerdponx 7y ago
  That immediately clarifies the difference. Thank you.
repolfx 7y ago
It didn't fail that hard. It was pretty widely used, but the JRE was a large and not very fast runtime back then. It got better over time but the browser makers got pretty determined to kill off any competing platforms to HTML under the guise of security.

adev_ 7y ago

> Java used to work in the browser a quarter-century ago, albeit not very well. Even .NET sort of worked in the browser for both the people who enabled Silverlight. Not Really. They worked With a plugin side to the browser and not really IN the browser. And that makes a big difference. Nor Java Applet, nor Sliverlight not even Flash were offering a smooth, integrated experience with in web page or application. I have seen flash applet crashing more than I can count. JVM applet launch was cumbersome at best and bringing the beauty (irony) of Java-style GUI in my browser. Sliverlight remained a joke unusable outside of Windows. WebAssembly made something unthinkable before: Make all Web Browsers Manufacturers agreed on a Standard for a Virtual Machine and implementing it.

jcelerier 7y ago
> I have seen flash applet crashing more than I can count. If you think that WASM apps are not going to crash... :)