Java?

pibbuR

Feeling ... lonely?
Joined
November 11, 2019
Messages
2,097
Location
beRgen@noRway
I don't have Java installed on my PC. I may be wrong but I think it's being said to be a security risk. And I don't like the language (for perhaps mostly irrational reasons: I think it's ugly). OTOH, it's only the runtime I need.

But now, two programs I want to install require it.

1. Eclipse (the IDE) - I want to try it.

2. Minecraft, the Java edition. Because one guy have translated it in to the Sami language, and I'd like to try that. I only know a little Sami, but one of the things I'd like to do in my retirement is learning new languages. And now, that I've taught myself Python, I'd like to try another one, preferrably one very different from Norwegian. While Sami does belong to the indo-european languages, it's not one of the germanic ones. The Sami language is only available in the Java addition, according to the guy who did the translation.

So what do you think: Is the Java runtime a significant security risk?

a pibbur who knows how to ask for coffee in the Sami language. And to some degree where the toilets are.

PS. I don't like the look of Python either, but it has a lot of other things going for it, especially when it comes to scientific computing. DS.
 
Joined
Nov 11, 2019
Messages
2,097
Location
beRgen@noRway
Java is dead. Forgeddit and use only if really necessary.

JRE by itself is not a security risk, feel free to install it.

I have no idea what is Eclipse, and have even less idea why it didn't move away from java.
Minecraft has no appeal to me because I'm a either graphic or story whore and it has none.

Keep improving Python skills, it's popularity is still growing.
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
Even if you choose to install Java, to limit the security risk you can avoid installing/enabling the browser plugins.
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
139
Eclipse was a popular IDE that nearly replaced Java Beans as the goto IIRC. It became the early standard IDE for Android. I liked it but it had a hard time keeping up.

Today, Android uses a version of IntelliJ which they give away for free. IntelliJ is awesome but unfortunately they have a ton of versions with restrictive licenses.

Visual Studio now has a free version, community, but

VSCode is rapidly gaining popular as an editor, and appears to be taking over from Notepad++ as the goto text editor because it has the features of an IDE and in incredible plugin system.

Python? Plenty of work there.

The trend right now is cross platform systems, particularly JavaScript or node based systems. React Native is based on React I'm told but is more general purpose and meant to be for cross platform development.

I've updated to .Net Core as MS has embraced cross platform development.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
5,212
Location
The Uncanny Valley
Well, the JRE definitely provides opportunities for more kinds of malicious code. In the ideal world, I wouldn't have it around. Having said that, if you have a decent modern browser that doesn't allow java plugins, and generally have good security practices about where the code you run comes from, I think the risk is manageable.
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2014
Messages
12,085
If you keep Java properly patched the risk is no worse than using, say, Acrobat. It is generally more secure than most other coding languages. I get more concerned about JavaScript, personally.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
5,521
Location
Seattle
Even if you choose to install Java, to limit the security risk you can avoid installing/enabling the browser plugins.
The browser plugin hasn't been a thing in years. It hasn't been usable with Chrome for 5 years, and Firefox in 2-3 years. Edge never supported it. It hasn't been included with the Java runtime in years either.

Java security vulnerabilities generally revolved around the browser plugin and the applets it enabled, or occasionally issues with the installer/updater. Pretty much a non-issue today.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2007
Messages
3,444
I loved Java when I was programming in it. That's now ... uh ... 20 years ago ...
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,908
Location
Old Europe
Yep, Java's security issues related mostly to the browser plugins. And it received some undeserved ricochets from javascript. A more interesting question for Java are it's somewhat recent changes in the user license, especially regarding commercial use et al.

Besides, I don't think it's quite dead yet. It may be in a slow decline, but is still pretty popular. Specifics of course depend on the index you look at, so here is some:

Java #2 (after Python)
http://pypl.github.io/PYPL.html

Java #2 (after C)
https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/

Java #3 (After javascript and python)
https://octoverse.github.com/ (scroll to "top languages")

Of course, take those indices with a grain of salt. Extreme changes occur (such as recently with R in the tiobe index), and are not always in correlation with other indicators of popularity or usage.



One other thing: there is an alternative to the Oracle java distribution, OpenJDK:
https://openjdk.java.net/
It's open source, which in my view is an advantage in terms of security (but I'll admit that's debatable).
 
Joined
May 18, 2012
Messages
2,315
Java is dead.

FYI, not really. It is still a very viable tech choice when developing distributed systems.
As with all practical programming languages, Java has found its place where its strengths really shine.
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Messages
820
Yup, I for one still actively develop in it. Like most people mentioned, not really a security risk anymore these days.

If you're looking for an IDE to develop Java with, look at the IntelliJ community edition, it's free and indeed lacks some features, but you probably won't miss those if you're just starting out. Eclipse is completely free but takes some tweaking to set up properly I hear. I never used it myself, I am perfectly happy with IntelliJ.

Not sure if you're looking at learning Java or Python since your post was a bit confusing, but note that if you're going to be developing Java you'll need a JDK, not a JRE.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
2,377
Location
Leuven, BE
Java is dead.

If Java is dead then Android is not the world's most popular operating system.

@a_pibbur there's your reason to learn Java right there - but only if you are developing Android apps that specifically need Java as it's backend.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2006
Messages
5,212
Location
The Uncanny Valley
Back
Top Bottom