Java Plugin in Firefox on Debian PPC

Note: This is for PPC users only, x86 users can just grab the files straight from Java.com

I needed to get the Java plugin working with Firefox on my Mac Mini Debian install. Since I ended up using IBM’s Java, it was not automatically setup so after reading the docs (file:///usr/lib/j2sdk1.5-ibm/docs/navigation/index.en.htm?eng) that came with it I found a solution.

cd /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/ 
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/j2sdk1.5-ibm/jre/bin/libjavaplugin_oji.so .

This will create the symlink to the plugin and allow Firefox to use Java applets (although the JRE is not the most current one so some may not work properly).

To test this:

  1. First exit and restart Firefox
  2. Type in “about:plugins” in the addressbar. You should see a list of plugins installed, and the Java one should also be there. My version is “IBM Java(TM) Plug-in: J2RE 1.5.0 IBM build jclxp32dev-20060511a”.
  3. Next try to find a Java applet you can use to test, if you are having a hard time try the DSL Speed Test

Eric Davis

4 comments

  1. andy says:

    hi!
    i have installed a debian on my ibook 12″ ( last generation before macbook) but my debian has iceweasel instead firefox…
    there is a way-like to run applets?
    then: i don’t know the best java package to install because there are a lots! what is the best package for my hardware?

    • edavis10 says:

      Yes. Iceweasel is the same as Firefox, just with a different name and logo due to Firefox’s license agreement.

      Debian has a few new packages now that might work, try running “aptitude search jre” and see if there is a “sun-java5-jre” listed.

  2. andy says:

    oh thanks for the answer!
    i resolved yesterday! first of all i have installed “openjdk6-jre”.. it seems working fine but i haven’t tested yet!
    then, for the browser plugin, i found a package named “java-compat-gcj-plugin”.
    applets now work!
    bye bye

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