JAVA PLUG-IN

Java began its industry career as an embedded programming language
inside Web browsers. Java applets were initially very popular, but over time,
they stagnated due to the early weaknesses of Java and lack of browser
support.

Applets were simple pieces of Java GUI code that hooked into the Web
page with basic HTML code. The code could be hooked in as a jar archive or a
class. For example:

<applet code="com.generationjava.applet.GJAppletExample" width="50"
height="50" archive="deploy/GJAppletExample.jar">
</applet>

The applet tag lets the browser know it has to talk to an internal Java
Virtual Machine (JVM). If need be, the JVM is started and the applet is
run.

With Java stagnating in the browser, room was left for other
technologies to move in. The most successful of these is Shockwave/Flash. Flash is
installed as a standard plug-in, fitting into a standard browser plug-in
system without requiring a special JVM. The plug-in system ensures that
the correct version of Flash is available and that everything runs
smoothly.

Sun created the Java Plug-in to fit the JVM into the plug-in system. A
browser no longer needs an embedded JVM when it's installed. Instead,
users can go to a Web site that requires Java and install the plug-in when
prompted.

To do this, a complicated <object> tag for IE and <embed> tag for
Netscape inform the browser that the Java Plug-in is required. Here's an
example of the HTML for IE and Netscape:

<OBJECT classid="clsid:8AD9C840-044E-11D1-B3E9-00805F499D93"
WIDTH = "150" HEIGHT = "40"
codebase="http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.3/j
install-13-win32.cab#Version=1,3,0,0">
<PARAM NAME = CODE VALUE = "com.generationjava.applet.GJDropDownApplet"
>
<PARAM NAME = ARCHIVE VALUE = "deploy/GJDropDown.jar" >

<PARAM NAME="type" VALUE="application/x-java-applet;version=1.3">
<PARAM NAME="scriptable" VALUE="false">
<COMMENT>
<EMBED type="application/x-java-applet;version=1.3" CODE =
"com.generationjava.
applet.GJDropDownApplet" ARCHIVE = "deploy/GJDropDown.jar" WIDTH = "150"
HEIGHT
= "40" scriptable=false
pluginspage="http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.3/pl
ugin-install.html"><NOEMBED></COMMENT>

</NOEMBED></EMBED>
</OBJECT>

However, there's an easier way to accomplish this. Sun's HTML Converter
changes the old applet tag into the example above. It is easy to use and
has a template structure that permits different HTML if need be. This
allows developers to use the old applet tag and then automatically update
the code to the new Java Plug-in.

Read about the Java Plug-in here. The HTML Converter is automatically
included in Java J2SE 1.3.1 and up; plus, it's available at the Java Web
site.
http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/?frontpage-javaplatform
http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.3/docs/html_converter.html

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