Applets Advantages and disadvantages

Applets Advantages and disadvantages ( What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Applet?)

Advantages of applets

A Java applet can have any or all of the following advantages:

* it is simple to make it work on Windows, Mac OS and Linux, i.e. to make it cross platform
* the same applet can work on "all" installed versions of Java at the same time, rather than just the latest plug-in version only. However, if an applet requires a later version of the JRE the client will be forced wait during the large download.
* it runs in a sandbox, so the user does not need to trust the code, so it can work without security approval
* it is supported by most web browsers
* it will cache in most web browsers, so will be quick to load when returning to a web page
* it can have full access to the machine it is running on if the user agrees
* it can improve with use: after a first applet is run, the JVM is already running and starts quickly, benefiting regular users of Java
* it can run at a comparable (but generally slower) speed to other compiled languages such as C++
* it can be a real time application
* it can move the work from the server to the client, making a web solution more scalable with the number of users/clients

Disadvantages of applets

A Java applet is open to any of the following disadvantages:

* it requires the Java plug-in, which isn't available by default on all web browsers
* it can't start up until the Java Virtual Machine is running, and this may have significant startup time the first time it is used
* if it is uncached, it must be downloaded (usually over the internet), and this takes time
* it is considered more difficult to build and design a good user interface with applets than with HTML-based technologies
* if untrusted, it has severely limited access to the user's system - in particular having no direct access to the client's disc or clipboard
* some organizations only allow software installed by the administrators. As a result, many users cannot view applets by default.
* applets may require a specific JRE.