It seems that applets are a lot easier to develop in many cases. In my first Java classes we were told to avoid using applets, but now that I am in more advanced classes the instructors do not seem to care. How do most developers feel about making Java applications applets even if those applications are never going to be embedded? Is there any other major stuff (other than embedded vs. non-embedded) I should consider before making my applications either applets or stand alone?
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A:
Why do you believe that "applets are a lot easier to develop"? I don't see any advantages apart from the ability to embed them in webpages.
Most importantly, applets run in a sandbox per default, and thus are very restricted in what they can do.
And what do you mean with an applet "never going to be embedded"? How are you going to run it then? There's a standalone appletviewer, but AFAIK that only comes with the JDK - not good for end users. And if you run it in a browser without a surrounding webpage, you still have a useless and (to the user) confusing browser window around it.
Michael Borgwardt
2010-08-28 08:56:15
Applets can be launched free floating using JWS. Having said that, I agree with the general thrust of your post. Avoid applets unless they have to be embedded.
Andrew Thompson
2010-08-28 09:48:27
@Michael Borgwardt, I don't know, it just seems like there is a lot less stuff to import and figure out when setting up the framework of an application when you use an applet. Also, when I said "never embedded" I meant never embedded into a web page, which to my understanding is what applets are typically used for.
typoknig
2010-08-28 18:45:18
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An applet just has a different execution environment than a stand alone application with a main(...). Which one to use, depends on what you need it to do. There is nothing wrong with supporting both the applet and application environment.
Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
2010-08-28 09:43:24