Java Applets

Java applets are pieces of Java bytecode that are loaded from the server into the web page on the user's computer. So the code is executed on the machine of the user and not on the server.

Usually applets are used for not-too-large programs, as the loading time may be a bottleneck. They are used where JavaScript cannot provide the necessary functionality, (e.g. complicated dynamic graphical interfaces) or when calculations have to be performed which cannot be handled easily with JavaScript.

Java applets are less used when connection to a SQL-database has to be established (although this is perfectly possible).

Computer Chemistry Consultancy, June 2001