Somewhere in this now-sprawling blog is an article about using JInitiator on Vista. Sadly, I can't find it. I've been seeing a few troubling things popping up on the web about various JInitiator hacks, so it's time to reprise that content.
It's not possible to run Oracle JInitiator 1.3 on Microsoft Vista. Here's why:
- Oracle JInitiator 1.3 is based on Sun's JDK 1.3
- Sun's JDK 1.3 is incompatible with Vista.
- Sun has desupported JDK 1.3, so they have no plans to make it Vista compatible
- Therefore, JInitiator is fundamentally incompatible with Vista due to its JDK 1.3 dependencies
On Hacking Up JInitiator
Various creative individuals have discovered that it's possible to replace a certain DLL in Oracle JInitiator 1.3 with a JVM from, say, JDK 1.6. I can't personally testify that these hacks work. I can say that this kind of surgery makes me intensely uncomfortable.
While it's nice to see creative initiative, I have to remind you that Oracle would regard this as a customization. We don't recommend customizing Oracle JInitiator for production environments.
What Happens When Something Goes Wrong?
If you do choose to customize Oracle JInitiator 1.3, you should consider the support implications for your users. Oracle Support and Forms Development can provide patches only for issues that can be reproduced with an unmodified version of Oracle JInitiator.
If you encounter any issues specific to your customized version of JInitiator, Oracle's default recommendation will be to roll back to an unmodified version.
What Does Oracle Recommend for Vista?
We recommend using the native Sun Java plug-in (Java Runtime Engine) for Vista client desktops connecting to either Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i or 12. The native JRE client is the only certified and supported Java client for E-Business Suite desktops end-users running on Microsoft Windows.
If you haven't already started migrating your end-users to the native Sun JRE plug-in, I'd strongly recommend that you begin this process immediately.
Why Choose the Native Sun JRE over JInitiator 1.3?
Two reasons:
- JInitiator 1.3 doesn't run on Vista (and hacks aren't supported)
- JInitiator will be desupported on July 31, 2009
The elimination of Oracle JInitiator simplifies your desktop administration environment. Apps DBAs who have migrated their users to the native Sun JRE no longer have to struggle with compatibility and coexistence problems between JInitiator and other Java runtime clients on the same desktop.
Which JRE Versions Are Certified With Which Browsers?
Apps 11i is certified with the native Sun Java (JRE) plug-in. You can use any JRE release from 1.5.0_13 and higher, or 1.6.0_03 and higher. Your end-users can upgrade their JRE clients whenever Sun releases a new JRE release on either codeline -- without waiting for Oracle to certify these new JRE plug-ins with EBS 11i.
Apps 12 is certified with the native Sun Java (JRE) plug-in. You can use any JRE relese from 1.6.0_03 and higher. Your end-users can upgrade their JRE clients whenever Sun releases a new JRE release on either codeline -- without waiting for Oracle to certify these new JRE plug-ins with EBS 12.
The upgrade process is documented here:
- Upgrading Sun J2SE (Native Plug-in) with Oracle Applications 12.0 for Windows Clients (Metalink Note 393931.1)
- Upgrading Sun J2SE (Native Plug-in) with Oracle Applications 11i for Windows Clients (Metalink Note 290807.1)
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Comments (12)
Hi Steven,
The article you could not find is here:
http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2007/11/windows_vista_ie7_certified_wi.html
You have stated very clearly that Jinitiator will not be supported on Vista as it is based on JDK1.3.
I found it by searching for Vista as a keyword instead of jinitiator
- Vikram
Posted by Vikram Das | March 24, 2009 6:21 PM
Posted on March 24, 2009 18:21
Chan,
How are you, hope you are doing good, the trick to make jinitiator work in Vista is given in the metalink note # 553348.1 (unable To Connect To E-Business Suite On Vista) with reference to the bug # 6074498.
Jay
Posted by Jayakumar | March 24, 2009 8:38 PM
Posted on March 24, 2009 20:38
Hello Jay,
Thanks for the heads up on the note. I have edited the note and bug to make the situation clearer and give correct advice
regards
Mike
Posted by Mike Shaw | March 25, 2009 1:22 AM
Posted on March 25, 2009 01:22
Mike,
I am not seeing the changes yet that were made from metalink.
Jay
Posted by Jayakumar | March 25, 2009 4:48 AM
Posted on March 25, 2009 04:48
Hi, Vikram,
Thanks for chasing that article down. I *knew* I'd mentioned this at some point.
Regards,
Steven
Posted by Steven Chan | March 25, 2009 1:30 PM
Posted on March 25, 2009 13:30
Hello Jay,
It can take a few hours to propogate changes to Metalink from the internal repository, but looks like that has gone through OK now
regards
Mike
Posted by Mike Shaw | March 25, 2009 11:54 PM
Posted on March 25, 2009 23:54
Hi Steven,
As per Metalink note 789049.1, "Oracle Corporation announces the end of Error Correction Support for Oracle JInitiator version(s) 1.1.8.x on the following platform(s): Microsoft Windows version(s) All, effective 29-MAR-2010."
Usually E-Business customers have an edge over Stand Alone Oracle products as far as desupport of any Oracle Product is concerned. If it is still being supported for Stand Alone Forms, why not support it for E-Business Suite as well?
Posted by Talib Qadir | March 30, 2009 7:26 AM
Posted on March 30, 2009 07:26
Hi, Talib,
The Forms team has already desupported JInitiator 1.1.8 for EBS users as of December 31, 2008. This was announced in Metalink Note 472154.1 and this article:
JInitiator 1.1.8 To Be Desupported for Apps 11i - http://blogs.oracle.com/stevenChan/2007/12/jinitiator_118_to_be_desupport.html
Regards,
Steven
Posted by Steven Chan | March 30, 2009 9:16 AM
Posted on March 30, 2009 09:16
Steven,
Thanks for the reply. If I understand correctly, Jinitiator 1.1.8 will still be supported till 29-Mar-2010 as a stand alone product or the date 29-Mar-2010 a typo (per Metalink note 789049.1)?
Posted by Talib Qadir | March 30, 2009 10:13 AM
Posted on March 30, 2009 10:13
Hi, Talib,
Yes, that's what Note 789049.1 says. I don't think it's a typo, but then, I'm not in Forms Development and can't say for certain.
If you want to verify that officially, I'd recommend logging a formal Service Request via Metalink against the Forms product.
Regards,
Steven
Posted by Steven Chan | March 30, 2009 10:22 AM
Posted on March 30, 2009 10:22
Install JInitiator 1.3.1.18 and jre1.6.0.
copy file jvm.dll from: C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0\bin\client -> to: C:\Program Files\Oracle\JInitiator 1.3.1.13\bin\hotspot
It should resolve your problem with Vista and Oracle Forms
Posted by Chapeleiro | April 20, 2009 2:12 AM
Posted on April 20, 2009 02:12
Hi, Chapeleiro,
As I've mentioned quite explicitly in the article above, Oracle strongly recommends *AGAINST* any modifications to JInitiator. We'd consider this kind of DLL substitution to be a customization, with all of the Support implications I've noted above.
Regards,
Steven
Posted by Steven Chan | April 21, 2009 9:09 AM
Posted on April 21, 2009 09:09