Java and the World Wide Web
The application-level safety features of Java make it possible to develop new kinds of applications that were infeasible before now. A web browser that implements the Java runtime system can incorporate Java applets as executable content inside of documents. This means that web pages can contain not only static hypertext information but also full-fledged interactive applications. The added potential for use of the Web is enormous. A user can retrieve and use software simply by navigating with a web browser. Formerly static information can be paired with portable software for interpreting and using the information. Instead of just providing some data for a spreadsheet, for example, a web document might contain a fully functional spreadsheet application embedded within it that allows users to view and manipulate the information.
Applets
The term “applet” is used to mean a small, subordinate, or embeddable application. By “embeddable,” we mean it’s designed to be run and used within the context of a larger system. In that sense, most programs are embedded within a computer’s operating system. An operating system manages its native applications in a variety of ways: it starts, stops, suspends, and synchronizes applications; it provides them with certain standard resources; and it protects them from one another by partitioning their environments.
As far as the web browser model is concerned, an applet is just another type of object to display; it’s embedded ...
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