Learning Java, 3rd Edition

Chapter 23. Applets

One of the original promises of Java was that applications could be delivered over the network to your computer as needed. Instead of buying a shrink-wrapped box containing a word processor, installing it, and upgrading it every few years, it should be possible to use the software directly from the Internet, safely and on any platform. This new model of software distribution would be a boon for both free software and for commercial products that could offer a new pay-per-use sales model. Unfortunately, this revolutionary idea has been hampered by the realities of a slow Internet and the uneven progress of Java on the client side (for reasons both technical and political). Even so, Java has maintained a toehold in this arena through small downloadable applications called applets.

An applet is a Java program that runs in the context of a web page. Like an image or hyperlink it “owns” some rectangular area of the user’s screen. It can draw whatever it wants and respond to keyboard and mouse events in that area. When the web browser loads a page that contains a Java applet, it knows how to load the classes of the applet and run them.

This chapter describes how applets work and how to incorporate them into web pages. We’ll also describe how to use Sun’s Java Plug-in to take advantage of the latest Java features. Finally, we’ll cover the details of creating signed applets, which can step outside the typical applet security restrictions to do client-side things, such ...