Introducing Java (TM) - Your First Applet

By Diana Luckevich

The picture below is a screen shot of an applet that allows you to scroll through a list of names, select one name and press the button to send an email to the selected person. This applet conserves space on the HTML page and provides an interesting graphical display.

Click here to run the applet

This article will introduce the Java^(TM) programming language through the study of this useful applet. You will learn how a Java enabled browser controls the flow of work in an applet. You will learn how to build a simple graphical user interface and how to handle user initiated events like pressing a button. You will learn how to read data into an applet and how to parse this data. You will see how easy it is to invoke the browsers email program from an applet. You will be able to put the Contact applet on your Java powered web pages today.

This article assumes you have programming experience. Java is a good language to use to learn programming. However, teaching you how to program is beyond the scope of this article. You should consider selecting a Java textbook.

Applets

• What is a Java Applet?
• What are the Java Language Terms?
• What is the structure of an applet program?
• What are member variables?
• What are the applet methods?
• How do you create a graphical user interface?
• How is data supplied to a Java applet?
• How are user events managed?
• How to start programming Java applets?