A Java applet is an applet written in the Java programming language. Java applets can run in a web browser using a Java virtual machine (JVM), or in Sun's AppletViewer, a stand alone tool to test applets.

Java applets were introduced by Sun in 1995.

Applets are used to provide interactive features to web applications that cannot be provided by HTML. They are executed in a sandbox by most web browsers, preventing them from accessing local data. The code of the applet is downloaded from a web server and the browser either embeds the applet into a web page or opens a new window showing the applet's user interface. The applet is displayed on the web page by making use of the HTML element applet. This specifies the applet's source and the applet's location statistics. The applet's location cannot be controlled by Cascading Style Sheets.

Since Java's bytecode is platform independent, Java applets can be executed by browsers for many platforms, including Windows, Unix, Mac OS and Linux.

For applets to be compliant with MS Windows operating systems, applet code has to be developed using Java compatible with Microsoft JVM or else the object tag can be used to ensure that a more modern JVM has been downloaded and installed from Sun.

See also

• Java Servlet
• ActiveX controls
• Macromedia Flash

External links

• Information about writing applets from Sun Microsystems
• Demonstration applets from Sun Microsystems (JDK 1.0)