Core Web Programming, Second Edition

24.9. Accessing Java from JavaScript

Netscape 3.0 introduced a package called LiveConnect that allows JavaScript to talk to Java, and vice versa. This capability is very important because prior to the introduction of LiveConnect, applets were self-contained programs that had little knowledge of or interaction with the rest of the Web page that contained them. Now, applets can manipulate frames and windows, control images loaded from HTML, read and set values of form elements, read and store cookies, and all the other things that were previously restricted to JavaScript. This section discusses ways to use Java routines and control applets from within JavaScript. Section 24.10 explains the other side of the process: using JavaScript capabilities ...