Why Applets are Important to Web Browsers?
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Applets are software components used to provide interactive features to web applications. They run in the background of another program, for example, a web browser. Applets do not have the ability to run independently unlike other programs. An applet runs through a container, (browser), a plug in, or variety of other applications developed by a custom software company .
An applet is written in a compiled language, which is different from an HTML or scripting language. Take the example of Java applets. The applets written in Java language ensure greater functionality and performance of the applet. The applet executes only on the “client” platform of a system, that’s why it provides performance beyond the capabilities of the browser.
Features of Java Applets
Java applets provide interactive features to a web browser. Browsers of most operating systems like Windows, Mac OS and Linux execute Java applets for users to see interactive content. The Java applet code is downloaded first. The browser either shows the applet’s user interface through a new window or embeds the applet into a web page.
Advantages of Java applets:
- It is supported by most web browsers;
- It gets cached in most browsers for ensuring quick load time when a user returns to a web page;
- An applet works on all installed versions of Java.
In a software product development scenario, Java applets can be developed easily. But, the developer has to simulate or re-test the applet in the web browser or applet viewer program to ensure it agrees with security restrictions.
Other Applets
Other examples of applets are Windows media player applets and flash movies. The windows media player applet is used as a plug in for displaying embedded video files in the IE or other browsers that support it. Most browser games built by online software development companies are applet-based. Some plug-ins also display 3D model formats in web browser through an applet. The applet allows users to view the model, and also rotate and zoom it.
About the Author:I am the webmaster at www.synapsewebsolutions.co.uk – a software product development offering quality and cost-efficient offshore website design and development solutions.
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