Java Web Start
Framework for running Java apps in a web browser
In computing, Java Web Start (also known as JavaWS, javaws or JAWS) is a deprecated framework developed by Sun Microsystems (now Oracle) that allows users to start application software for the Java Platform directly from the Internet using a web browser. The technology enables seamless version updating for globally distributed applications and greater control of memory allocation to the Java virtual machine.
Java Web Start was distributed as part of the Java Platform until being removed in Java SE 11, following its deprecation in Java SE 9. The code for Java Web Start was not released by Oracle as part of OpenJDK, and thus OpenJDK originally did not support it. IcedTea-Web provides an independent open source implementation of Java Web Start that is currently developed by the AdoptOpenJDK community, RedHat and Karakun AG, and which is bundled in some OpenJDK installers. Next to this OpenWebStart provides an open source based implementation that is based on IcedTea-Web but offers more features and commercial support options.
Functionality
Unlike Java applets, Web Start applications do not run inside the browser. By default they run in the same sandbox as applets, with several minor extensions like allowing to load and save the file that is explicitly selected by the user through the file selection dialog. Only signed applications can be configured to have additional permissions.
Web Start has an advantage over applets in that it overcomes many compatibility problems with browsers' Java plugins and different JVM versions.
The public source identifies “Java Web Start” as framework for running Java apps in a web browser. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Java, Start and Framework.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q33079. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Java Web Start” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.