Re: Java applet or Flash?

Peter Morris [Droopy eyes software] wrote:
Hi all

A web app I am considering writing would require an embeddedclient side app which would need to talk to a webservice to fetch / update data it presents. The embedded app would need to work in various browsers and on different OS's so I think a Java Applet or Flash would be a good choice, all it needs to do is to present diagrams and allow the user to modify them (for illustration let's say they are UML diagrams, although they are not).

So my questions are:
1) Would flash be a better choice than Java applets? More people have it installed?
2) Where can I find a good coder that I could contract to write something? I have no desire to learn either, and my previous experience of rentacoder.com is that there are so many low skilled people it makes it hard to find someone good.

Thanks



It all depends upon the complexity of the app.

Flash is very good for graphics, while Java is better suited for Business Type applications. The problem with either, is that users will need to have install privileges to install runtimes. If the user(s)do not have such privileges, then the problem with either Flash or Java will be that they will not be able to use the application.

Personally, I would not use Java Applets, but rather Java Web Start. The reason? Web Start allows Java Applets or Applications to run in the security sandbox, but downloads the app locally to the user's machine. When the Web Page request the Application/Applet to run, it will only be downloaded if a new version of the applet/application has been deployed. If no new version exists, then the current downloaded application (transparent to the user, no install required), will be used. This means much faster startup times and no new download required.

As others have stated, another alternative is to use Ajax. Ajax requires no download, so you do not have to worry about the user needing the rights to install anything. Ajax will be faster, since all modern browsers (IE 5 and up), Mozilla 1.1 and up, Netscape 5 and up, Opera 2 and up, Apple Safari (all versions), will support Ajax out of the box. The only downside to Ajax is if the browser has Java Script permissions turned off (which some MS security patches do). Ajax is not as rich as Java Applets/ Web Start nor Flash, but the advantages could outweight the disadvantages.

I am primarily a Java architect, and I use Ajax for most of my current development. It is fast, works extremely well, and in most cases, works nearly as well as Flash or Java Web Start. Graphing and charts are something that can be done with JavaScript, but I would definitely suggest that you use one of the JavaScript/Ajax toolkits for heavy duty stuff. There are several available including Dojo, Rico, Scriptaculous, and the ubiquitous prototype (which most of the others use). The new version of Scriptaculous, is pretty darn good and is my personal favorite.

As far as tools, the best thing to do is to download Firefox and use the Venkman JavaScript tools and the IE tab (for viewing IE in Firefox), HyperDom (for viewing the HTML DOM) and Firebug. I simply cannot live and develop Ajax applications without Firefox the plethora of great development tools for Firefox. Please be aware, IE is a B*tch to debug JavaScript with and MS tools simply SUX for Ajax Development. Gates fans may disagree, but I will bet they are doing any serious AJAX development.

For Flash there is of course the development suite from Adobe (formerly Macromedia), and Lazarus an open source IBM product. Be aware, Lazarus is not user friendly at all. I've used it a couple of times, but a good text editor beats it hands down for Ajax. It will do Ajax or Flash.

Java wise, you have the moon to choose from. Borland's excellent JBuilder will work for you, and the new NetBeans Layout manager, works extremly well for more drag and drop GUI development. All can be had for Free. Eclipse has the advantage of SWT development, but I do not know of a decent RAD tool for SWT. There are some Plugins for SWT and Swing RAD development for Eclipse that can be had for a price. They work fairly well, if you are willing to pay for them.

.

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