Java Tester - Sample Output

Version Test: Sample Expected Results

On the Java Version page, the output should look something like this:

If you see a gray box on the "Version" page with no text in it at all, then the page has failed to load the Java applet that it needs. The applet is called JavaVersionDisplayApplet.class and is expected to be in the same directory as the Java version web page. This might happen if the Java version web page is copied to another machine without the .class file. It could also be a problem with this web site.

Different Browsers: Enabled Test and Version Test

Below is the expected output for the Java version and the Java Enabled test in assorted web browsers.
Go to Netscape 7, Netscape 4, Mozilla, Apple Mac.

Internet Explorer 5 and 6 (Windows)

A fully updated copy of IE6 under Windows XP that did not have Java installed produced the display shown here at the right in response to the Enabled test.
April 9, 2004.

The Java Enabled test shows a gray box when Java is enabled (see picture at right) for both IE5 and IE6.

As for the Version test, in January 2003 on a Windows 2000 SP3 computer running IE6 with all the latest patches applied, the Java version display shows: Java Version: 1.1.4 from Microsoft Corp.

A Windows 98 SE machine running the initial version of IE 5 that shipped with the OS (version 5.00.2614.3500) uses the same Java version.

You may instead see a version of Java from Sun Microsystems. By default, IE uses a Microsoft version of Java, but you can install Sun's version on your computer. I have been told (but not verified) that when IE6 uses the Sun 1.4.0 JVM, the enabled test results in the message "APPLET tag missing CODE parameter" and a NullPointerException.

Netscape 7 (Windows)

Version 7.0:
The Java enabled test shows a gray box with two things inside: text indicating a java.lang.NullPointerException (it was actually truncated at the 'p' so this is a bit of extrapolation) and a black rectangle. I'm pretty sure this means that Java is enabled. My guess is that it is poor design, that the browser tries to run an applet that does not exist and thus fails. The fact that it tries to run an applet, must mean that Java is enabled.

I don't know what Netscape 7.0 displays when Java is disabled.

On one machine, the Java version display said:
Java Version 1.4.0_01 from Sun Microsystems Inc
On another machine, running Netscape 7.02, the Java version was 1.4.1, also from Sun.

Version 7.1 Under Windows XP:
The Version test showed it using Java version 1.4.1_02 from Sun Microsystems. The specific Netscape version was "Gecko/20030624" which I assume refers to June 24, 2003.
The Enabled test produced output similar to Mozilla, a gray box with a red X in the top left corner. It also caused a Java icon to be displayed in the system tray. When clicked, this icon opened the Java console which showed that Netscape had suffered a null pointer exception. The specific message in the Java console was "Applet tag missing CODE parameter". Indeed it is.

Netscape 6.2.2 (Windows)

I don't know.

Netscape Navigator 4.x (Windows)

When Java is enabled in Navigator 4.8, the enabled test results in a message that the browser can do Java applets as show here on the right. There is a gap between the words "can" and "do". Navigator 4.7x produces awkward, but correct output when Java is enabled. There is a big empty space and the words of the message wrap around it.

When Java is disabled, the output could not be clearer.

The Java version display says:
Java Version: 1.1.5 from Netscape Communications Corporation

Netscape Navigator 4.78 (Red Hat Linux 7.2)

It uses the same version of Java as the Windows version described above, 1.1.5 from Netscape. Likewise, it responded to the enabled test, exactly as the Windows version did. One interesting point about this browser/OS combination is that there was no Help -> About off the menu bar. In fact, there was no Help option on the menu bar at all. The page on this site about configuring your browser can be used to determine the browser you are using.

Mozilla

Mozilla 1.6 under Windows XP - Java Enabled Test Version 1.6 running under Windows XP

Identifies itself as Netscape Version: 5.0 (Windows; en-US)

It responded to the enabled test as shown here on the right. As with v1.4, both the enabled and version tests resulted in a prompt to get "the plugin". See the installing page for more.

Version 1.4 running under Windows 2000

Mozilla 1.4 under Windows 2000 - Java Enabled Test Identifies itself as: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.4) Gecko/20030624)

It responded to both the version test and the enabled test with similar output. As shown here, it realized there was no JVM and offered to install it as a plugin. See the installing page for more.

Version 1.3.1 running under Windows 2000

Identifies itself as Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.3.1) Gecko/20030425

It responded to the enabled test as shown here on the right, at first. However, since Java was not installed, it also opened another browser window, the Mozilla Plug-In Finder. The Java version test resulted in a message that said "Click here to get the plug-in" that took me to the same Plug-In Finder page. Java was enabled in the browser and the Microsoft JVM was installed. I don't know why it didn't find and use the Microsoft JVM.

With Java enabled and running under Windows, version 1.2.1 responded to the enabled test with a gray box with a red X in it as shown here on the right (I don't know which JVM was being used).

I have an unconfirmed report that version 1.3b when used with the Sun 1.4.1_01 JVM under Windows generates a "java.lang.NullPointerException" on the enabled test. It does not like the fact that the CODE parameter is missing from the HTML APPLET tag.

Mozilla version 0.9.2.1 (build 200109011) running under Red Hat Linux 7.2 lies in response to the enabled test! It says the web browser can NOT do Java applets when, in fact, it can. The enabled test caused Mozilla to open a new browser window with an error message: "Netscape can not find the Plugin Downloader Plugin. Without it you can not automatically download and install plugins." What this has to do with a Java applet, I don't know. Despite this, it responds to the version display by showing that it is running Java version 1.3.1_02 from Sun Microsystems Inc. It identifies itself (on the configuring page as Netscape version 5.0 (X11).

Mac OSX

I don't have a Macintosh, so I can't confirm this for myself. Thanks to Bob for much of this.

Cocoa applications get the latest updated version of Java while Carbon applications get only Java version 1.3.1. Java is updated using Apple Software Update. You can read more on Java on the Mac from Apple.

March 2005: Safari and OmniWeb are Cocoa applications and they use the current version of Java, 1.4.2_05 from Apple. Firefox (and every other Gecko-based browser), Internet Explorer and Opera are Carbon applications and they all use Java Version 1.3.1 from Apple.

As of April 2004 the latest version of OS X was referred to as Panther and the latest version of Panther was 10.3.3. It runs Safari version 1.2.1. In this environment, the Safari browser uses Java version 1.4.2_03 from Apple Computer, Inc.

In January 2003, the beta version of the Safari browser running under OS X Jaguar used Java version 1.3.1 from Apple Computer, Inc. With Java enabled, it passed the enabled test with the best looking output of any browser (shown here on the right).

Mac OS9

I don't have a Macintosh, but this information came from people I trust.

Internet Explorer 4.5 uses: Java Version: 1.1.8 from Apple Computer Inc
Internet Explorer 5.16 uses: Java Version: 1.1.8 from Apple Computer Inc
Netscape 4.7 uses: Java Version: 1.1.5 from Netscape Communications Corporation
Netscape 4.78 uses Java Version: 1.1.5 from Netscape Communications
Netscape 6.2.2 uses Java Version: 1.1.8 from Apple Computer, Inc.
Netscape 7.0 uses: Java Version: 1.1.8 from Apple Computer Inc

When Java is enabled, IE 5.16 and Netscape 7.0 produce similar output in the enabled test as shown here on the right.
However, Netscape 7.0 is not consistent. Sometimes (usually?), the enabled test produces the error shown here on the right. This is a Java error, so the fact that the browser gets this error most likely shows that it was trying to run a Java program and therefore is enabled for Java.