In this article, Alex Kalinovsky shares his experiences with these three technologies, and provides criteria and tips for choosing among them in your Java development. Finally, you'll learn an innovative approach that bridges Java Swing and HTML with minimal effort. Java has enjoyed a flow of positive and negative press, quite often giving contradictory information and creating chaos in public opinion. Obviously, Java entrenched itself on the server side where it has clear advantages over any other existing technology. However, just about any application has some form of user interface and front-end presentation.
Reality is that there are more choices than a plain old HTML client.
I'll cover three major solutions for developing the user interface in Java-based applications. I'll start with the pros and cons of using HTML with JSPs and servlets. Finally, I'll move into XML and the myriad other X-rated technologies that sprang up around this new language. The strongest argument for choosing HTML is its wide acceptance on any platform. Basic HTML is well standardized, and without getting too fancy, you are guaranteed to have a positive experience.