how valid is javascript using windows xp?

[worldwidemac]

Hi,
when I upgraded to XP i had trouble viewing many web pages and found I had to download the java virtual engine (?) which proved difficult to get as microsoft have withdrawn support for it.

As you can probably tell from my clumsy wording I am quite new to this.....

but here's the rub; if I include javascript is it going to be unviewable by an increasing number of web users and are there any tips on how to get around this?

thanks in advance. ps what a fantastic web resource.:)

[WA]

Just a note that what you're referring to most likely is Java, not JavaScript. The later is a scripting language supported by default by all major browsers, while Java comes in the form of a virtual machine and often as an optional download...

[worldwidemac]

thanks for that reply - I did wonder if there was a difference; however I noticed that some java applets that i put on a web site did not work on a friends machine using XP until we downloaded the java virtual engine thingy. (I must find out what it is actually called....).

[oracleguy]

It is Java, it should be put back in if you install SP1 for Windows XP.

It wasn't included initially with Windows XP because of some legal problems between M$ and Sun.

You can just download it too from Sun and install it.