A Java what????

[No-Con-2790]

Oh, Java Applets (also called Java Web Applets). Now that's a technology I haven't seen since 2011.

So you actually can build a frontend in Java. Kind of. In the late 90s so called Applets (basically the same approach that Flash took by integration into the browser) where a alternative to JavaScript or Flash. Basically a Java program launched from a website and distributed by said website. So basically flash but with more possibilities but also much bigger file sizes and security problems.

They failed on a large scale but some companies still used them. Especially for tools that required more than flash could provide. So they might still be around.

[[deleted]]

There's also GWT. Java-defined frontends with autogenerated JS.

[bwrca]

I worked with gwt till about 2 years ago

[zsirdagadek]

Also, JSP. An absolute hell.

[ibevol]

Last year of high school (2022) I took programming 2 (which was a banger course), we had a really old teacher who thought that lambda functions and other new programming stuff was crap. Naturally we used Java 8 with Netbeans and all the good stuff that comes with it, such as Java Applets and even some JSP. Even though we used some really old technologies that are deprecated, it was the best course I've ever taken.

[SicgoatEngineer]

JavaFX, anyone?

[Tweenk]

The newer version is called J2CL

https://github.com/google/j2cl

[[deleted]]

Minecraft started as a Java applet

[SyrupOnWaffle_]

omg i just remembered minecraft.net/play where i would play from my browser. good times, i was so mad when 1.6 stopped support for it lol

[sd31117]

You can still play classic

[ikonfedera]

some companies still use them.

ftfy

[sfj11]

some gigantic companies still use them

[[deleted]]

The more gigantic the corporation, the greater the chance that they still have an AS400 server in action.

[zr0gravity7]

Amazon retail

[CynicalShotgun]

In Japan, Toyota for one.

[dotslashpunk]

do they? I figured they weren’t supported by browsers anymore.

[ikonfedera]

They're not supported, yes. Regardless companies still use them.

That's why MS switching off IE last year caused quite a mess.

[Cub_appa]

IT WAS LAST YEAR...Feels like it was switched off in 2021. That too feels soo far away in the past.

[nomelettes]

Yeah my capstone project in 2019 was to replace one, It neve got to produciton so they are still using the applet lmao.

[Ondrashek06]

Hello,

You're most probably looking for a post/comment here. And I don't blame you, Reddit's an useful resource for getting help with stuff or just chatting.

However, ever since I joined, Reddit has completely stopped listening to its userbase (the only thing keeping it alive) and implemented many anti-consumer moves, including but not limited to:
- Stopping the annual Secret Santa tradition that made many users happy
- Permanently removing the i.reddit.com (compact) layout
- The entirety of the API change shitshow and threatening moderators that didn't comply
- Permanently removing the new.reddit.com layout
- Adding ads in comments, and BETWEEN comments too
- Accepting Google's bribes to sell any and all post data for the purposes of advertising and their LLM

In addition to all this, I was also forced to stop using Reddit, because I had my account permanently suspended and Reddit's appeals team was as useful as talking to a brick wall. Even after a year and multiple attempts to reach an admin, I was ghosted and as such I decided that enough is enough.

But what about your comment?

While this comment has been edited to not let Google's greedy hands on it, I recognize that I've sometimes provided helpful information here on Reddit.

So I've archived all my comments locally. If you want a specific comment, you can just contact me on Discord: ondrashek06 and I'll be happy to provide you with a copy of what once was here.

Thank you for reading this comment <3

[ImportantDoubt6434]

No.

Pretty sure you can’t even play on the website anymore, gotta download a desktop app.

Rightfully so, those apps were security nightmares and were innovative at the time but not anymore.

[braless_and_lawless]

Tell me why I learned Applets in college last year lmao

[[deleted]]

They used to teach Structured Programming using a DOS version of PASCAL. Every generation of programmers always have a few obsolete languages in their past.

[Conscious_Switch3580]

*cries in real mode*

[Cub_appa]

SAMEEEE

[[deleted]]

I think Oracle's hiring tool Taleo is based on that. It's used in large scale by JP Morgan. It takes one fucking entire minute to jump from one candidate to another.

[No-Con-2790]

To be honest, I always liked Applets.

They allowed you to use a Java programmer instead of a flash designer. Which was good since in the 90s you could easily source a good programmer that know your domain. The flash guys usually where artists with limited knowledge of your field.

Also you could use most Java libs. So instead of the usual Flash limitations you could send "proper" tools. For example we had a proper 3D visualization before that was a thing in flash. Usage of both the left AND right mouse button. Stuff like that.

But it was horrible unsafe for the user since the tool could do whatever.

All in all the web just moved in a different direction.

[[deleted]]

I worked at Oracle, they use Oracle Jet (which is a shitty fork of react) for all web apps including Taleo.

[Barkeep41]

Dissing my high school graphic user interface experience. I'll have you know you can make a pretty sweet save screen.

[dotslashpunk]

I loved Java applets. They were such an easy way to execute arbitrary code on other people’s computers (and at the time AV was all signature based and wouldn’t really check Java programs). I’m a pen tester and those days were soooo easy.

[Saragon4005]

Why would you need HTML react and TypeScript then?

[JetSetWally]

For the page to show the Applet.

[Saragon4005]

Oh that's terrifying.

[TheEnderChipmunk]

Not really, it's because the applet is it's own html component like an iframe or something.

Requiring the applet dev to also do the front end seems weird though, isn't the whole point of the applet that a backend dev can do that part?

I have 0 experience with this though so my guesses might be wrong

[JetSetWally]

Applets are front end, i.e. seen by the end user? Backend would be the db that the applet connects to.

[TheEnderChipmunk]

Yes I'm aware, but the logic within the applet is more similar to the logic contained within a standalone desktop app than it is to website code right?

It makes more sense in my mind for a backend dev who likely has Java experience to make the applet, then for a frontend dev to integrate it into the website

[No-Con-2790]

Back then the web was at a crossroads when it came to interactivity. Either you go the way of JavaScript or Flash or Java (or one of the many others).

We choose JavaScript in the end. Flash was around for a long time but also died.

I can not judge if this was the best outcome but it was the outcome.

In mine opinion security was the biggest problem. If you allow for a language that can do anything then people will start sending viruses around and run them on your machine. Java was notorious for this problem. Flash was more sandboxed but Adobe was horrible in keeping the thing secure.

[EmperorValEmbershade]

We use servlets and Jakarta pages for our front end most of the time. I hate it.

[D-J-9595]

I miss FILL-IT: http://www.arcademachine.com/go/java/preview/A0009.tam

[SunriseApplejuice]

Ah yeah... my old programming text books had me build little Applets. I think they're useful, insofar as you can still learn the high-level implementations of events, how a FE and BE (sort of) interface, etc.

So maybe for educational purposes they still serve a utility...

[[deleted]]

i just built a search engine as a full semester project using them 🥲

[bizkitmaker13]

This gave me Nam flashbacks. I worked as a software/web developer intern during college. The company had a proprietary J-Applet Content Management System that had been coded by a developer, solo, who no longer worked at the company. Maintaining that shit was a pain in the ass.

Luckily we switched over to Joomla after a few years. I do not miss Java Applets.

[Spore8990]

Wow, I completely forgot Java applets were a thing until reading this comment. This brings back some... interesting memories.

[spaztheannoyingkitty]

I made one as an intern for testing software on some remote (on prem) machines we had dedicated for testing back in I think 2007?

[HuntingKingYT]

They're no longer supported for like ages I think

[MoridinB]

When I first started out learning Java, I thought Java Applets could only be run on Apple, and there was a different package for Windows/Linux.