HotJava
| Company type | Software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Web browser development |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Sun Microsystems |
| Defunct | 2011-07-31 |
| Fate | Discontinued |
| Parent | Sun Microsystems |
HotJava—later renamed HotJava Browser to distinguish it from HotJava Views—was a flexible and extensible web browser created by Sun Microsystems utilizing the Java platform. It holds the distinction of being the inaugural browser to support Java applets, acting as Sun's primary demonstration for this technology. The browser has since been discontinued and is no longer maintained. Following the closure of the Sun Download Center on July 31, 2011, its official website now leads to a placeholder page signaling its termination.
Origins
Development began in 1994 when the Oak/Java team started working on WebRunner, a Java-based imitation of the Mosaic. The name ‘WebRunner’ was inspired by the film Blade Runner. In 1995, Sun Microsystems rebranded this project as HotJava to coincide with Java's public launch and its integration with web technologies.
HotJava was unveiled at the Technology Entertainment Design Conference in Monterey, California, with presentations by John Gage and James Gosling. The parsing engine created for HotJava was subsequently incorporated into standard Java libraries.
Usage
Compared to other browsers available at the time, HotJava provided a more limited feature set. Its performance was hindered by the Java Virtual Machine implementations then available, leading to slower speeds and greater memory consumption, which affected overall user experience.