Re: Java Applets Revival? Back to SWING? Adieu, JavaScript?

From:
=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Arne_Vajh=F8j?= <arne@vajhoej.dk>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.java.programmer
Date:
Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:50:20 -0400
Message-ID:
<4ad37a64$0$291$14726298@news.sunsite.dk>
RoboHobby wrote:

We are working on Java hobby robotics project (http://
www.RoboHobby.com - Java code examples,
PIC programming, etc.).

Recently, viewing my site statistics (I use Google Analytics) I found
one interesting fact -
majority of our users (85-92%) use Java!

I found this information in section "Google Analitics/Visitors/Java
support".
And it was interesting and surprising - about 90% of users use Java.

As you might remember, there was a long period, when Java was 'rear
bird' on client's browsers.
Many years I've heard that:
-Nobody wants to download and install Java (JRE or plugin), because it
is too huge.
-Client's site Java is over.
-Everybody uses JavaScript, forget your Java and your applets.
JavaScript is already pre-installed in every browser, but your
'favorite toy' - Java is too big for downloading.
etc.

And - yes, it was true - 92-99% of our site's users turned on
JavaScript on their browsers.

I hate JavaScript. I know, it is the meter of taste, but I like Java,
not JavaScript and I suppose SWING is one of the best GUI, I've ever
seen during last 20 years.

Under pressure of the market we started to use GWT (Google Web Toolkit
- Java-to-JavaScript converter) as a client front end instead of good-
old SWING in applets.
(http://www.RoboHobby.com/web_remote_control_for_robotics_gwt.jsp)

And what I see now(!) - big percent of our users use Java too!

QUESTION - Is it time to forget about JavaScript and go back to SWING?
May be new wide channels - DSL, etc, changed the Wolrd and now it is
not a problem to install Java and we can go back to applets?

What do you think?

PS: Today's Connection Speed statistic from my site:

Unknown=45.41%
DSL= 27.36%
Cable= 16.44%
T1= 7.91%
Dialup= 2.70%

As you see only 2.7 % of users use low speed connection.
That means file size of JRE is not the problem now.


Applets (especially with JavaFX) is a relevant option if you
need the functionality and like the language.

The questions are:
- can you live with 100% - 85-92% of your users (8-15%) having
   a problem
- they have Java but what version, Java is not always being
   kept uptodate

JavaScript and Flash/Flex are dominating the industry. But if you
like applets, then you can use it.

Arne

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