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What is CheerpJ? Modernising Oracle Forms and E-Business Suite for the Browser

21 October 2025

What is CheerpJ? Modernising Oracle Forms and E-Business Suite for the Browser

CheerpJ is a WebAssembly-based Java Virtual Machine for modern browsers. It runs unmodified Java on the client in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari without plugins or a local JRE. For Oracle estates, that means you can modernise access to Oracle Forms and Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) by moving the client experience into the browser while keeping your server-side stack intact.

This article explains how CheerpJ helps organisations that still rely on Oracle Forms and EBS, where the CheerpJ Applet Runner and CheerpJ JNLP Runner fit, and how to plan a low-risk rollout.

Why Oracle Forms and EBS are still in scope

  • Many Oracle deployments continue to use Forms-based UIs for stable business processes. 
  • Browser plugins are gone, and Java Web Start was deprecated years ago with the advent of Java 9, so traditional launch paths no longer work, or are to be considered deprecated. 

Interim fixes such as alternative Java Web Start stacks (e.g. OpenWebStart), VDI or other virtualisation-based solutions, or partial rewrites add tremendous maintenance and IT cost and support overhead.CheerpJ provides a popular, practical, widely tested alternative way to keep using Forms and EBS while removing desktop Java and plugins.

What CheerpJ is

CheerpJ is a browser-based Java Runtime Environment that can execute Java bytecode within the browser using WebAssembly and JavaScript. UI libraries, including Swing and AWT, render to an HTML5 canvas. The runtime is delivered from your web tier and initialises a secure Java environment inside the page. All the execution is confined within the browser sandbox.

  • Works on Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Windows, macOS and Linux 
  • No desktop installer and no local JVM
  • Increases the security of Java applications to the Web Security model
  • Compatible with the vast majority of Java, including file upload/download, networking, and several system interoperability features
  • Enterprise support and SLAs are available 

CheerpJ for Oracle Forms and EBS

There are two common delivery patterns in Oracle Java-based products. CheerpJ supports both.

If your client used Java Applets

Use the CheerpJ Applet Runner to replace the historical applet plugin.

  • Host your Forms or EBS as normal, without any changes to the delivery infrastructure, hosting or database 
  • To test CheerpJ, install the CheerpJ Applet Runner on a clean Chrome or Edge, and enable it on the Forms/EBS application domain 
  • Once you have completed your tests, you can deploy a production build of the CheerpJ Applet Runner using Microsoft GPOs or browser policies, or alternatively, you can explore pre-integrating CheerpJ Core on the server side.s 

If your client used JNLP / Java Web Start

Use the CheerpJ JNLP Runner to interpret JNLP and launch directly in the browser.

  • Host your Forms or EBS as normal, without any changes to the delivery infrastructure, hosting or database, the Forms-related JARs on your web server or CDN. Keep your existing JNLP-based approach. 
  • To test CheerpJ, install the CheerpJ JNLP Runner on a clean Chrome or Edge, and enable it on the Forms/EBS application domain. 
  • Provide a minimal HTML page to trigger the launch 

When you need Firefox or Safari

Use CheerpJ Core with a small HTML bootstrap page. The packaged runners are browser extensions for Chromium browsers. Core covers Firefox and Safari without extensions.

Deployment approach

  1. Inventory Identify the Forms or EBS workflows to move first. Confirm entry points and any required properties. 
  2. Package Prepare a deployment folder with JARs, resources and configuration. Keep paths consistent with how the client loads resources. 
  3. Host Serve the runtime and your assets over HTTP 2 or HTTP 3 with compression. Use a CDN close to users. 
  4. Bootstrap Add a minimal HTML page that loads CheerpJ and launches the client (Applet Runner, JNLP Runner or Core). 
  5. Validate Test login, navigation, printing, attachments and any file operations. Check performance for first load and warm starts. 
  6. Roll out Pilot with a user group, gather feedback, then scale. Keep the previous method as a short fallback if needed. 

Security and compliance

  • Use your existing SSO and network controls. Protect routes at the web tier. 
  • Keep application data on the server. The browser session executes client-side code and calls your endpoints. 
  • Add client-side error reporting and performance metrics to speed up triage. 
  • Removing local JREs reduces patching effort and audit findings. 

Performance checklist

  • Minimise JAR size and remove unused resources 
  • Serve over HTTP 2 or HTTP 3 with compression 
  • Use a CDN and preload the largest JARs 
  • Lazy load optional modules and monitor real user metrics 

FAQs

Do we have to change server-side Oracle components? No. CheerpJ targets the client side. Server-side components continue as deployed today.

Can we keep our existing authentication? Yes. Protect the application URL behind your identity provider. In-page calls reuse the authenticated session.

What about printing and file downloads Use standard browser printing and controlled download flows. Keep sensitive data on the server.

How fast can we prove value? Select one Forms or EBS workflow, package the assets, add the bootstrap page and run a limited pilot. Compare user time-to-launch and support tickets to your current approach.

Next steps

If Oracle Forms or EBS access is held back by desktop Java, move the client to the browser with CheerpJ. Start with one workflow, measure user experience, then scale across the portfolio.

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