This lesson discusses the basics of Java applets, how to develop applets that interact richly with their environment, and how to deploy applets.
A Java applet is a special kind of Java program that a browser enabled with Java technology can download from the internet and run. An applet is typically embedded inside a web page and runs in the context of a browser. An applet must be a subclass of the java.applet.Applet
class. The Applet
class provides the standard interface between the applet and the browser environment.
Swing provides a special subclass of the Applet
class called javax.swing.JApplet
. The JApplet
class should be used for all applets that use Swing components to construct their graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
The browser's Java Plug-in software manages the lifecycle of an applet.
Please make sure you have at least Java SE Development Kit (JDK) 6 update 10 release on your client machine before proceeding further. You will need this to view the sample rich internet applications and read subsequent sections without interruptions.