Simon Morris's Blog

January 2008 Archives

To the Top of the Food Chain

One of the things which slightly unsettled me after the release of Update N was the frequent mention of how much better things would now get for Java applets. The subject cropped up again, in detail, during my post-holiday catch up of Java Posse podcasts.

To paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi: "Applets, now there's a name I haven't heard in a long long time."

Like many who came to the platform in its early days, my first experience of Java was via web applets. Back then I was working on projects for Hewlett Packard — the only way to build Java code on HPUX boxes was to call the JVM embedded in Netscape 2! Boy was I glad when HP released a proper SDK!

While I recognised the potential of the Java platform (which it still hasn't fulfilled!) I wasn't mad keen on grafting it into web pages. Years later web designer friends would jokingly comment on Java's decline at the hands of Flash — no doubt they expected a robust defense of the applet platform, but that was the last thing I was ever likely to give.

The undoubted kudos and publicity Java received thanks to applets came at a heavy price: the term "Java" became synonymous with eye candy. Useful applets were few and far between compared to the sea of eye candy. It's an image which seems to have stuck in the minds of many, as I've found when pitched Java solutions to government and media clients. I sometimes think it's an easier sell if the client has never heard of "Java".

All this talk of applets has got me thinking: isn't it about time we moved Java up the food chain?

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