Even though the implementation of dynamic HTML within the Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator browsers is vastly different, the underlying theme of programmatically changing content using scripting code within the displayed page itself was a BIG hit. Applets suddenly started to look old and primitive. The W3C s endorsement of Dynamic HTML finally set the tone for the new breed of sophisticated, dynamic web pages. The Java language is a typed language with powerful constructs. The JDK comes with many useful classes that are typically found only in a high-level class library.
Security is designed into the technology and applets run within a sandbox by default.
Applets must be signed if they are to break the constraints of the sandbox. Signed applets can communicate to any server, not just the one that hosts them. The applet code is not viewable using the browser s View Source option and thus protects intellectual property. The Java .class files are very compact in size, resulting in faster downloads. The disadvantages to using applets are Within a browser session, applets are downloaded either the first time that a page using them is displayed or if the page is later refreshed.