Is it worth studying applet?

Question

I am a fresher in web developing , is I ve to study applets?

Answer 1

Most folks say no, but I still see a lot of great uses for Applets and in fact have seen really complex commercial UIs coded within the context of an applet.

Answer 2

If you are a Java person, maybe look at JavaFX instead (even though it is not clear yet if that technology will take off any more than applets did).

If you are a web design person, do not even think about it before you got acquainted with Flash and HTML5. Applets are quite marginal at this point.

Answer 3

in a short word, no, applets are a dead technology for the general purpose web. on intranets with lots of bandwith and controlled client environments they maybe of some valid use. look at Google Web Toolkit (GWT) as an alternative to creating applets. Adobe Flex is also a good alternative now.

Answer 4

if you want/might get a job where you maintain old applications then probably you will deal with Applets. For new projects, dont get close to it.

Answer 5

Apart from JavaFX, Flash, you can learn about Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight. They are kind of extending the limits of what was earlier possible with just Flash

Answer 6

If you want an embedded client application, the Java Web Start (the better Google keyword is JNLP) is less or more the successor of the legacy Java Applet. Alternatives to this are Adobe Flash and MS ClickOnce.

If you want an RIA (Rich Internet Application), then JavaFX is the better Java based choice. Alternatives to this are the MS SilverLight, Adobe Air and Adobe Flex.

Answer 7

There is still one thing that I know of that a Java applet can do and Silverlight, Flex (non-AIR), etc can't do:

Drag and drop from the filesystem.

Flex offers a o/s based browse and select filesystem access. Silverlight has a similar functionality. But to the best of my knowledge if you want the user to drag a file from Windows Explorer etc. into a web-site based control, Java applets are pretty much your only choice. You could create a Flex based app using Adobe AIR that can ask the filesystem outside the o/s browse and select dialog but I'm not convinced the AIR install base is adequate yet. Probably depends on your target customer (early adopter, install whatever you say to vs. stable corporate user with IT lockdown on their workstation).

If someone knows otherwise for certain, please comment!

But to answer the original question, unless you need the drag and drop filesystem to web functionality, I would spend your time on Flex. Silverlight and Java FX can't compete with Flash for market penetration. Since Flex compiles to flash, it has a very high install base (>95% of internet enabled computers) and its base updates to the newest version frequently. Inserting a flash file into a browser is a easier than the arcane art of applets.