Applet Programming

Applet Programming

• Introduction, How Applets Differ from Applications, Preparing to

Write Applets,
• Building Applet Code, Applet Life Cycle,
• Creating an Executable Applet, Designing a Web Page, Applet Tag,
Adding Applet to HTML File, Running the Applet,
• More About Applet Tag, Passing Parameters to Applets, Aligning the
Display,
• More About HTML Tags, Displaying Numerical Values, Getting Input
from the User
Applet Programming
Introduction:
Applet Fundamentals
• Applets are small applications that are accessed on an Internet server, transported
over the Internet, automatically installed, and run as part of a web document.
• After an applet arrives on the client, it has limited access to resources so that it can
produce a graphical user interface and run complex computations without introducing
the risk of viruses or breaching data integrity
• The simple applet:
import java.awt.*;
import java.applet.*;
public class SimpleApplet extends Applet {
public void paint(Graphics g) {
g.drawString("A Simple Applet", 20, 20);
}
}
Applet Programming
Applet Fundamentals
The simple applet:…
• This applet begins with two import statements. The first imports the Abstract Window Toolkit
(AWT) classes. Applets interact with the user (either directly or indirectly) through the AWT,
not through the console based I/O classes.
• The AWT contains support for a window-based, GUI. Fortunately, this simple applet makes
very limited use of the AWT . (Applets can also use Swing to provide the GUI.)
• The second import statement imports the applet package, which contains the class Applet.
Every applet that you create must be a subclass of Applet.
• The next line in the program declares the class SimpleApplet. This class must be declared as
public, because it will be accessed by code that is outside the program.
• Inside SimpleApplet, paint( ) is declared. This method is defined by the AWT and must be
overridden by the applet. paint( ) is called each time that the applet must redisplay its output.
whenever the applet must redraw its output, paint( ) is called.
• The paint( ) method has one parameter of type Graphics. This parameter contains the
graphics context, which describes the graphics environment in which the applet is running.
This context is used whenever output to the applet is required.
Applet Programming
Applet Fundamentals
The simple applet:…
• Inside paint( ) is a call to drawString( ), which is a member of the Graphics class. This
method outputs a string beginning at the specified X,Y location.
• The general form: void drawString(String message, int x, int y).
• Here, message is the string to be output beginning at x, y . In a Java window, the upper- left
corner is location 0,0. The call to drawString( ) in the applet causes the message “A Simple
Applet” to be displayed beginning at location 20,20.
• Notice that the applet does not have a main( ) method. Unlike Java programs, applets do not
begin execution at main( ). In fact, most applets don’t even have a main( ) method. Instead,
an applet begins execution when the name of its class is passed to an applet viewer or to a
network browser.
• After you enter the source code for SimpleApplet , compile in the same way that you have
been compiling programs. However, running SimpleApplet involves a different process. In
fact, there are two ways in which you can run an applet:
Applet Programming
Applet Fundamentals
The simple applet:…
➢Executing the applet within a Java -compatible web browser .
➢ Using an applet viewer, such as the standard tool, appletviewer. An applet viewer
executes your applet in a window . This is generally the fastest and easiest way to
test your applet.
• To execute an applet in a web browser, you need to write a short HTML text file that
contains a tag that loads the applet . Currently, Sun recommends using the APPLET
tag for this purpose. Here is the HTML file that executes SimpleApplet:
<applet code="SimpleApplet.class" width=200 height=60>
</applet>
• The width and height statements specify the dimensions of the display area used by
the applet . (The APPLET tag contains several other options.) After you create this
file, you can execute your browser and then load this file, which causes SimpleApplet
to be executed.
Applet Programming
Applet Fundamentals
The simple applet:…
• To execute SimpleApplet with an applet viewer, you may also execute the HTML file
shown earlier . For example, if the preceding HTML file is called RunApp.html, then
the following command line will run SimpleApplet:
C:\>appletviewer RunApp.html
• However, a more convenient method exists that you can use to speed up testing.
Simply include a comment at the head of your Java source code file that contains the
APPLET tag.
• By doing so, your code is documented with a prototype of the necessary HTML
statements, and you can test your compiled applet merely by starting the applet
viewer with your Java source code file. If you use this method, the SimpleApplet
source file looks like this:
Applet Programming
Applet Fundamentals
The simple applet:…

With this approach, we can quickly

iterate through applet development
by using these three steps:
1) Edit a Java source file.
2) Compile your program.
3)Execute the applet viewer,
specifying the name of your applet’s
source file. The applet viewer will
encounter the APPLET tag within
the comment and execute your
applet.
Applet Programming
Applet Fundamentals
The simple applet:…
• The window produced by SimpleApplet, as displayed by the applet viewer, is shown
in the following illustration:
• The key points that you should remember now:
➢Applets do not need a main( ) method.
➢Applets must be run under an applet viewer or a Java-compatible browser .
➢User I/O is not accomplished with Java’s stream I/O classes. Instead, applets use
the interface provided by the AWT or Swing.
Applet Programming

Introduction:

• Java programs are divided into two main categories, applets and
applications.
• An application is an ordinary Java program.
• An applet is a kind of Java program that can be run across the Internet.
• Applets are small Java programs that are embedded in Web pages.
• They can be transported over the Internet from one computer (web
server) to another (client computers).
• They transform web into rich media and support the delivery of
applications via the Internet.
Applet Programming

Introduction:

• All applets are subclasses (either directly or indirectly) of Applet.

Applets are not stand-alone programs. Instead, they run within either a
web browser or an applet viewer .
• The illustrations shown in this chapter were created with the standard
applet viewer, called appletviewer, provided by the JDK.
• But you can use any applet viewer or browser you like. Execution of an
applet does not begin at main( ). Actually, few applets even have main( )
methods.
• Instead, execution of an applet is started and controlled with an entirely
different mechanism.
Applet Programming

❖Advantages:
• There are many advantages:
➢It works at client side so less response time.
➢Secured
➢It can be executed by browsers running under many platforms, including Linux,
Windows, Mac Os etc.
❖Drawback
• Plug-in is required at client browser to execute applet.
Applet Programming

How Applets Differ from Applications

• Although both the Applets and stand-alone applications are Java programs, there are certain
restrictions which are imposed on Applets due to security concerns:
➢Applets don’t use the main() method, but when they are load, automatically call certain methods(init, start,
paint, stop,destroy).

➢They are embeddedinside a web page and executedin browsers.

➢They cannotread from or write to the files on local computer.
➢They cannotcommunicate with otherservers on the network.
➢They cannotrun any programs from the localcomputer.
➢They are restrictedfrom using librariesfrom otherlanguages.
• The above restrictions ensures that an Applet cannot do any damage to the local system.
Applet Programming

Building Applet Code: An Example

//HelloWorldApplet.java

import java.applet.Applet;

import java.awt.*;

public class HelloWorldApplet extends Applet {

public void paint(Graphics g) {

g.drawString ("Hello World of Java!",25, 25);

}
Applet Programming

Embedding Applet in Web Page

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>
Hello World Applet
</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<body>
<h1>Hi, This is My First Java Applet on the Web!</h1>

<APPLET CODE="HelloWorldApplet.class" width=500 height=400>

</APPLET>
</body>
</HTML>
Applet Programming

Accessing Web page (runs Applet)

Applet Programming

An Applet Skeleton / Applet Life Cycle

• All but the most trivial applets override a set of methods that provides the
basic mechanism by which the browser or applet viewer interfaces to the
applet and controls its execution.
• Four of these methods, init( ), start( ), stop( ), and destroy( ), apply to all
applets and are defined by Applet.
• Default implementations for all of these methods are provided. Applets
do not need to override those methods they do not use. However, only
very simple applets will not need to define all of them.
• Every applet inherits a set of default behaviours from the Applet class. As
a result, when an applet is loaded, it undergoes a series of changes in its
state.
Applet Programming

The applet states include:

➢ Initialisation – invokes init()
➢ Running – invokes start()
➢ Display – invokes paint()
➢ Idle – invokes stop()
➢ Dead/Destroyed State – invokes
destroy()
Applet Programming
An Applet Skeleton / Applet Life Cycle

➢public void init(): is used to initialized the Applet. It is invoked only once.
➢public void start(): is invoked after the init() method or browser is maximized. It
is used to start the Applet.
➢public void stop(): is used to stop the Applet. It is invoked when Applet is stop or
browser is minimized.
➢public void destroy(): is used to destroy the Applet. It is invoked only once.
Applet Programming

Passing Parameters to Applet

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>
Hello World Applet
</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<body>
<h1>Hi, This is My First Communicating Applet on the Web!</h1>
<APPLET CODE="HelloAppletMsg.class" width=500 height=400>
<PARAM NAME="Greetings" VALUE="Hello Friend, How are you?">
</APPLET>
</body>
</HTML
Applet Programming
Applet Program Accepting Parameters
//HelloAppletMsg.java
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.*;

publicclass HelloAppletMsgextendsApplet{

String msg;

publicvoid init()
{
msg = getParameter("Greetings");
if( msg == null)
msg = "Hello";
}
publicvoid paint(Graphicsg) {
g.drawString (msg,10, 100);
} This is name of parameter specified in
} PARAM tag ; This method returns the
value of paramter .
Applet Programming
What happen if we don’t pass parameter?
See HelloAppletMsg1.html getParameter() returns null..
<HTML> Some default value may be used.
<HEAD>
<TITLE>
Hello World Applet
</TITLE>
</HEAD>

<body>
<h1>Hi, This is My First Communicating Applet on the Web!</h1>
<APPLET CODE="HelloAppletMsg.class" width=500 height=400>

</APPLET>

</body>

</HTML>
Applet Programming
Displaying Numeric Values
//SumNums.java
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.*;
public class SumNums extends Applet {
public void paint(Graphics g) {
int num1 = 10;
int num2 = 20;
int sum = num1 + num2;
String str = "Sum: "+String.valueOf(sum);
g.drawString (str,100, 125); SumNums.html
} <HTML>
} < HEAD>
<TITLE>
Hello World Applet
</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<body>
<h1>Sum of Numbers</h1>
<APPLET CODE="SumNums.class" width=500 height=400>
</APPLET> </body>
</HTML>
Applet Programming

Interactive Applet
• Applets work in a graphical environment. Therefore, applets treats
inputs as text strings.
• We need to create an area on the screen in which use can type and
edit input items.
• We can do this using TextField class of the applet package.
• When data is entered, an event is generated. This can be used to
refresh the applet output based on input values.
Applet Programming
//SumNumsInteractive..java
Interactive Applet
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.*; sum = num1 + num2;
public class SumNumsInteractive extends Applet { String str = "THE SUM IS: "+String.valueOf(sum);
TextField text1, text2; g.drawString (str,100, 125);
public void init() }
{ public boolean action(Event ev, Object obj)
text1 = new TextField(10); {
text2 = new TextField(10); repaint();
text1.setText("0"); return true;
text2.setText("0"); }
add(text1); }
add(text2);
}
public void paint(Graphics g) {
int num1 = 0;
int num2 = 0;
int sum;
String s1, s2, s3;
g.drawString("Input a number in each box ", 10, 50);
try {
s1 = text1.getText();
num1 = Integer.parseInt(s1);
s2 = text2.getText();
num2 = Integer.parseInt(s2);
}
catch(Exception e1)
{}
Applet Programming

Applet and Security

• An applet can be a program, written by someone else, that runs on
your computer .
• Whenever someone else's program runs on your computer, there are
security questions you should ask:
➢ Will it read information from your files?
➢ Will it corrupt your operating system?
• Applets are designed so that they cannot do any of these things (at
least easily).
Applet Programming

Summary
• Applets are designed to operate in Internet and Web environment.
• They enable the delivery of applications via the Web.
• In this presentation we learned:
✓ How do applets differ from applications?
✓ Life cycles of applets
✓ How to design applets?
✓ How to execute applets?
✓ How to provide interactive inputs?