Message #3484

From: Melinda Green <melinda@superliminal.com>
Subject: Re: [MC4D] Inside a hypercube (and Java Applets)
Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2016 17:47:19 -0700

On 7/22/2016 6:47 PM, David Vanderschel DvdS@Austin.RR.com [4D_Cubing]
wrote:
> Regarding using the Java Control Panel to allow execution of unsigned
> Java applets:
> On 7/22/2016 6:54 PM, Melinda Green melinda@superliminal.com [4D_Cubing]
> wrote:
>> There’s nothing wrong with that advice except that applets can’t be
>> run standalone.
> It is almost trivial to organize things in such a way that you can use
> the same code to make either an applet or a stand-alone app. Indeed, I
> did precisely that for MC3D; and the difference is so minute that there
> is no maintenance issue. (However, my applet runs in its own window,
> not the browser’s window; so that probably simplifies things.)

Yes, I suppose it can be designed that way and I probably would if I had
a reason to do it again. It would still involve supporting two different
entry points but the fact that it could still be packaged as an
executable jar file makes it attractive.

>> A separate Java application can certainly be written for them but
>> that’s more maintenance trouble
> As I recall, there is even a way to adapt an applet to function as an
> app; but I do not recall the specifics anymore.

For developing applets, I had found a nice little library to use that
wrapped the applet in a main class and acted like a browser from its
point of view. That was a huge help when debugging though it wasn’t a
complete solution because it didn’t handle sound. There are probably
more complete versions of this idea available.

>> and people are afraid to download and execute desktop applications
>> anyway. …
> Well, doing the authorization in the Java Control Panel is equivalent to
> downloading and executing an unsigned executable anyway, and people need
> to understand that. The point is that the mechanics of downloading an
> app and then authorizing the execution of it is much easier to accomplish.

Oh yes, I know that applet authentication is a dead-end for general
visitors to my site. I just want to be able to run some of those applets
myself sometimes or tell a motivated person how to do it, and you’ve
helped me do that.

>
>
> I certainly regret having used Java to write MC3D; but that was back in
> the day of "Write once, run anywhere." I should have used Javascript,
> for which that promise still holds (oddly). However, my choice nowadays
> is Python. Forget running it in a browser.

Javascript didn’t exist when I started writing applets so I don’t regret
it. My applets had a good run. I just don’t feel like porting them to
what seems like an inferior platform.

Thanks again for your help,
-Melinda