Java Applets

Java Applets

Java applets are small Java applications that are downloaded and executed by a web browser. One common use of Java applets is to perform client-side forms processing. Consider the form parsing performed by the Perl script in the above CGI example. If the script finds an error in the form, it must then return the error message to the user. By writing the form input processing in Java and executing it directly in the web browser, user input errors can be identified as they are made, leading to much simpler user interaction and interface design. The use of Java applications is, of course, not at all limited to client-side programming. Today, over fifty percent of the commercial Java programming being done is for server-side applications. Much like a Java applet executes in the web browser, modern web servers include the functionality to execute Java servlets, another type of small Java application. Many other server side applications are also being developed using the Enterprise JavaBeans component technology.