Applet vs. Ajax

The power of Ajax in developing highly interactive applications will always be acknowledged. Since its inception, it has pushed the browser into different (and sometimes weird) heights.

Its power to develop online applications has even touted different developers to build mini-desktops into browsers. Although it cannot really change the experience user have with desktop applications, it became a viable alternative.  But not everything could be done by Ajax.

Before Ajax, everything is done differently, for RIAs, you have Flash and Java while HTML, PHP and other simple languages dominate easy to navigate websites. JavaScript has already been there but it did not have the following it had compared to today.

The past alone is a good proof that Ajax is not necessarily the answer. There are other and possibly better ways on how to render the application.

If you are familiar with Java, you might have realized this by now that a good alternative in building RIA is to use applets. There are situations wherein Java applets are easily the viable option instead of Ajax.

When to Use Applets

Applets are one Java’s most powerful feature but remain small through the years. When properly used, developers should be able to build beautiful applications generated by Java.

The best “stage” where an applet could easily perform is when you have an application that needs intensive data manipulation.

When you need an application that will consistently manipulate data to the point that you need to customize each experience, then the applet could outperform Ajax.

The reason of its usability for data is its ability to connect to the server in a more efficient manner.

A Java based application still need prior downloads before it could efficiently run. Since it has a client to support the application, native interaction is possible.

When to Use Ajax

On the other hand, Ajax becomes the choice programming technique when you are building an application that needs to be available in every platform and browser.

An Ajax based application does not need to be limited in a single browser as it does not require any prior downloads.

Everything it needs to run is already stacked in the browser. It can easily stream simple data into the client side.

But aside from simplified data streaming, Ajax is also possible for building applications that needs to be interactive for your users. Of course, there is always the question of the availability of skills by the developers.

The Best of Both Worlds

The beauty of programming is that you do not have to limit yourself to single programming language.

You can harness the interactivity and cross browser capability of Ajax while combining it with Java applets. This way, you will be able to build an application that every user will find useful.

However, you should remember that building an application with two RIAs especially Java and Ajax is that they might cancel out each other’s functionality. Just make sure that each programming language deals with what they know best so that the end result is a highly interactive and secure application.