I have heard I should never remove the gcc package. Is this still true?

“No, since we split the gcc package, the standard C++ library is a separate package, you have to install gcc only in case you really need a C compiler.”

gcjwebplugin is a Firefox plugin for running Java applets. It is now included in the libgcj sub-package, though it is not enabled by default.

GNU Classpath and libgcj's security implementation is under active development, but it is not ready to be declared secure. Specifically, it cannot run untrusted applets safely.

When gcjwebplugin is enabled, it prompts you with a dialog before loading an applet. The dialog tells you that a certain URL would like to load an applet, and asks if you trust the applet. Be aware though that this dialog is mostly informative and doesn't provide much protection:

CURRENTLY GCJWEBPLUGIN RUNS WITH NO SECURITY MANAGER. THIS MEANS THAT APPLETS CAN DO ANYTHING A JAVA APPLICATION THAT YOU DOWNLOAD AND RUN COULD DO. BE VERY CAREFUL WHICH APPLETS YOU RUN. DO NOT USE GCJWEBPLUGIN ON YOUR SYSTEM IF YOUR SYSTEM STORES IMPORTANT DATA. THIS DATA CAN BE DESTROYED OR STOLEN.

The same warning applies to gappletviewer, which also runs with no security manager (in fact, gcjwebplugin spawns gappletviewer to do the applet loading). When run on the command line, gappletviewer issues a warning on startup and asks you if you want to continue.

Even considering the risks involved, you may still want to try gcjwebplugin. GNU Classpath's AWT and Swing implementations are now sufficiently mature that they're able to run many applets deployed on the web. If you're interested in trying gcjwebplugin, you can do so by creating a symbolic link in ~/.mozilla/plugins like so:

Type about:plugins in Firefox's URL bar to confirm that the plugin has been loaded. To see gcjwebplugin debugging output, run:

then at the GDB prompt, type