(^446) Chapter 11 Web Multimedia and Interactivity Adding a Java Applet to a Web Page The W3C recommends using the tag to configure a Java applet on a Web page and has deprecated the tag. However, in practice, the tag will more reliably display a Java applet on a Web page in commonly used browsers. This example will use the tag. The tag specifies the beginning of an applet area in the body of a Web page. Its closing tag, , specifies the ending of an applet area in the body of a Web page. The tag has a number of attrib- utes described in Table 11.5. Table 11.5Attributes of the tag Attribute Value code Name of the applet file; this has a .class file extension codebase If the applet is not in the same folder as the Web page, the codebase indicates the folder that contains the applet height Specifies the height of the applet area in pixels width Specifies the width of the applet area in pixels alt A text description of the applet In addition, most applets need special values, or parameters, to configure their process- ing. An applet that shows images and handles navigation would need parameters to accept the file names of the images and the URLs for the hyperlinks. The programmer who creates an applet determines the parameter values and names required by a specific Java applet. Therefore, expect each applet to require different parameters. Parameters are configured with tags. The tag is a self-contained tag with two attributes: nameand value. The parameter name is provided in the applet docu- mentation. The parameter value will be different depending on the function of the applet. One parameter might be used to set a background color; another parameter could be used to contain a person’s name. A description of the type of value expected should be contained in the applet documentation. HANDS-ON PRACTICE 11.5 In this Hands-On Practice you will launch Notepad and create a Web page that con- tains a Java applet. This example will use the Fader26 applet (provided by Johannes Schellen). This applet displays text messages one at a time. The list of text messages is obtained from a text file (.txt file extension) that you will create. An example of this applet at work can be found in the student files at Chapter11/java1.html. Let’s get started. Create a folder called testapplet on your disk. Copy the applet file (fader26.class) from the student files at Chapter11/fader26.class and place it in the testapplet folder. Do not change the name of the applet. Whether you obtain an applet from a free Web site or from a coworker, each applet should have some accompanying documentation that indicates what parameter it expects. Documentation for the Fader26 applet appears in Table 11.6.
