Many n-tier architectures deploy applets as a GUI frontend for applications. Frequently, the browser then acts as the applet's frame. This helps prevent the user from assuming that the browser window is a separate application and accidentally closing it. The problem with this approach is that the applet does not resize itself as the user resizes the browser frame. This article presents a technique to enable dynamic resizing of applets embedded within browser frames. The approach is simple and uses JavaScript-to-Java communication. (1,000 words)
This tip shows you how to create an archive containing all of your class files so that Netscape-browser users can download your applet in record time! (850 words)
5. Alternative deployment methods, Part 2: The best of both worlds
Despite a history of black eyes and a reputation for being difficult to work with, Java applets are still the dominant client-side Java application-deployment technique in enterprise environments. Unfortunately, they are often not the right tool for the job. In Part 2 of this deployment series, Todd Sundsted explains how to combine the best features of applets with a handful of more traditional deployment techniques, creating a solution both easy to use and powerful enough for the enterprise. (1,200 words)
6. Alternative deployment methods, Part 1: Beyond applets
When the issue of application deployment arises, developers typically consider the possibility of deployment as an applet. Often, this is not the correct approach. This month, Todd Sundsted begins an exploration of deployment alternatives that avoid some of the difficulties and limitations associated with applets. (1,400 words)
7. An alternative way for applet-to-applet communication
You might think that your only option for letting applets communicate with each other is to use the getApplet method. Unfortunately, the getApplet method only returns applets on the same HTML page as the calling applet, limiting the ways you can build interesting interfaces with applet-to-applet communication. This tip shows you an alternative way to let applets invoke methods on each other when they're located in different frames or even in different browser windows. (1,000 words)
Parameterizing an applet is often a tedious chore, involving many repetitive lines of code in the applet's init() method. Last month, Java tipster Yvon Sauvageau showed you how to reduce all those lines of code to just one, thanks to the class reflection mechanism. He did not, however, demonstrate how to implement array initialization. This tip shows you the ins and outs of automating array initialization. (2,000 words)
Parameterizing an applet is usually a tedious chore, involving many repetitive lines of code in the applet's init() method. But all these lines can be replaced by a single one. This tip shows you how it can be done, thanks to the class reflection mechanism. (1,250 words)
