Highlights

Java, a technology created by Sun Microsystems, should be the ideal partner for Web services. In addition to having much in common, they complement each other. One could even say that they are synergistic. One could go on to claim that Java applets were a kind of precursor to today s XML Web services. It is worth noting that Java applets are defined as being small applications that are delivered over the Web. The similarity of this definition to the one for Web services is inescapable and irresistible. But there are also some obvious and fundamental differences between these two highly Web-centric methodologies.

Java applet methodology, which predates XML by 2 to 3 years, is not XML-based in any way or shape. On the other hand, applets, though they do not deal in HTML, are inextricably associated with HTML because they can be invoked via the HTML tag. Java applets are a mechanism to add dynamism and flair to HTML Web pages. In this context, there is also an interesting and profound difference as to what actually gets delivered across the Web in the case of these two methodologies. With Java applets, the actual and complete Java mini-application is delivered to the invoker of the applet, which typically is an HTML Web page being rendered by a Web browser. The applet will then be executed within the Web browser s...