Introduction

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Limitations of applets

• Browsers have varying degrees of Java support
• Stringent security limitations (no file or hardware access)

Although the use of applets has the notional advantage of simplicity for the end user, in practice this advantage is often not realised because Web browser technology cannot keep pace with developments in the Java language. In practice it is often the case that Web browsers lag behind the development of Java by one or two major revisions (for example, Java version 1.3 is widely available but some Web browsers support only version 1.1 or Java 1.2).

However, the main problem with distributing software as applets is that the applet is allowed hardly any interaction with the user’s computer. For example, an applet can do none of the following :

• read, write, create or delete files on the computer
• open network connections (with a few exceptions)
• start or stop other programs
• interact with other programs

This means that for traditional, stand-alone applications (like a word processor) an applet would be completely unsatisfactory. What use would a word processor be that could not save or open documents?

Please note that it has not been said that an applet cannot read or write files — rather, an applet cannot read or write files on the computer that is running the applet unless it is the same computer the applet originates from.

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