about:config entries for Java present

[Reflective]

Even though the Java plugin is no longer supported, there are still a couple of Java related entries in about:config, namely: plugin.state.java = 1 and plugin.java.mime = application/x-java-vm

I checked through the database at http://kb.mozillazine.org/Firefox_:_FAQ ... ig_Entries a few minutes ago, but couldn't find either of them. Does anyone know what these settings which are both listed as default mean?

When I was running through the data yesterday on http://browserspy.dk/ some of the results indicated that Java had been detected as being installed even though it isn't.

[malliz]

Are they in bold letters? And how old is your profile?

[flaneurb]

Are they in bold letters? And how old is your profile?

I'm on Fx57 and have
plugin.java.mime ... default ... string ... application/x-java-vm
and
plugin.state.java ... default ... integer ... 1

These entries aren't bold which is how entries would appear if they've been modified.

[Brummelchen]

java is detected on runtime when the plugin is found - wether enabled or not. no plugin - no recognition.

[Grumpus]

May have something to do with this Java Virtual Machine
Could be for inclusion of packages which employ Java for listing in the applications listings which carry their own Java. (not JavaScript)
Both items in this system's a:c but plugin.state.java is bold and set to 0.
Anything Java has pretty much been removed from this system including support packages.

[Reflective]

Are they in bold letters? And how old is your profile?

No, default values. Profile is about 4 weeks old.

java is detected on runtime when the plugin is found - wether enabled or not. no plugin - no recognition.

In the profile folder there's a pluginreg.dat file, but I've no idea whether the contents are in readable format or not and since I don't have an app to open it with, I can't check what it contains. Other than that, there's no Java plugin installed. In fact I got rid of it quite some time ago due to all the vulnerabilities which kept cropping up at the time.

Do you not have the same settings in your own about:config settings Brum?

Both items in this system's a:c but plugin.state.java is bold and set to 0.

A zero may not necessaririly mean it's disabled though.

[morat]

The plugin.state.java pref is similar to the plugin.state.flash pref.

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic ... #p13099769

pluginreg.dat is a text file, not binary.

[Brummelchen]

flash is also detected weather its turned off or not - i tried myself because in opera (chromium based) when disabled its also not detected.

[Grumpus]

@Reflective - "0" is actually a null state (space) in this csystem and according to morat's link "0" is Never Activate.

[dickvl]

@Reflective:

You appear to be using Firefox 52.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:52.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/52.0

Keep in mind that Firefox 52 ESR still supports the Java plugin (see about:plugins), but support for Java applets has been removed in Firefox 53.
https://www.fxsitecompat.com/en-CA/docs ... e-removed/

plugin.state.java = 1:Ask to Activate;

They still haven't cleaned up the source code to remove all code that references unused prefs.
https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-release ... state.java

[Reflective]

@Reflective:

You appear to be using Firefox 52.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:52.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/52.0

Keep in mind that Firefox 52 ESR still supports the Java plugin (see about:plugins), but support for Java applets has been removed in Firefox 53.
https://www.fxsitecompat.com/en-CA/docs ... e-removed/

plugin.state.java = 1:Ask to Activate;

They still haven't cleaned up the source code to remove all code that references unused prefs.
https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-release ... state.java

OK, I think I found the answer (thanks for the clue Dickvl). According to this site it's possible to re-enable NPAPI plugins with a manual about:config setting called plugin.load_flash_only. Strangely enough though it appears to be already present with a false setting. So I simply toggled it to "true" and then tested it again on http://browserspy.dk/ which confirmed that Java is no longer detected.

[Reflective]

The plugin.state.java pref is similar to the plugin.state.flash pref.

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic ... #p13099769

pluginreg.dat is a text file, not binary.

OK, understand. I'm a bit reluctant to open pluginreg.dat though since Windows 8.1 has a nasty habit of replacing the icon with a notepad icon even if the option to always open it with that application is left blank.

@Reflective - "0" is actually a null state (space) in this csystem and according to morat's link "0" is Never Activate.

Hmmm... that would imply that a "1" would mean "Ask to activate". I wonder why Moz doesn't remove the setting altogether when the plugin is no longer supported.

flash is also detected weather its turned off or not - i tried myself because in opera (chromium based) when disabled its also not detected.

Yes, but there's a difference between having a setting enabled/disabled for a plugin which is actually installed and one which isn't don't you think?

[Brummelchen]

it is - but firefox dont care. in firefox when installed it means its also detectable weather enabled or not.
in opera disabled means no flash ads. in firefox i got a placeholder for flash, no html5

[dickvl]

plugin.load_flash_only is what makes 52 ESR work with plugins other than Flash.
In the regular Fx 52 release this pref is true and setting this pref to false makes other plugin visible on the about:plugins page in regular Fx 52 and 53, but since Java applet support is removed there is no way to make embedded Java work in releases that do not have Java applet support even if you see the Java plugin.
Current releases can only use Java via Java Web Start (jnlp).

[Reflective]

it is - but firefox dont care. in firefox when installed it means its also detectable weather enabled or not.
in opera disabled means no flash ads. in firefox i got a placeholder for flash, no html5

Well, I don't use Opera so that's hardly relevant here.

On the subject of Java again, you're arguing that FF detects a plugin if it's installed regardless of whether or not it's enabled. That's correct, but in my particular case Java isn't installed and therefore it shouldn't be detected as being so merely because of an about:config setting.

Maybe the value for setting media.decoder-doctor.notifications-allowed should be amended to include "NoJava" instead of just "NoSilverlight" as it does now. What d'you think?