Java Applets, Beans and Scripts

I know, this sounds a little nutty ... OK, fruity maybe! At least it sounds like something very organic - beans, applets, etc. Are you really sure you want to know what these things are? I mean, it's a lot easier to just use the damned things than it is to actually understand them.

OK, don't say I didn't warn you! But I'm not going to say much. I sometimes use applets and JavaScript, but have never used a Java Bean (except in my coffee pot) and don't intend to!

Java Applets

A Java Applet is a program not intended to run on its own, but rather is supposed to live at some location in a Web page, similar to the way a graphic image might.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a script language - a system of programming codes, created by Netscape, that can be embedded into the HTML of a web page to add functionality. JavaScript should not be confused with the Java programming language. In general, script languages such as JavaScript are easier and faster to code than more structured languages such as Java and C++.

Java Beans

Sun Microsystems, who invented Java, describes JavaBeans as " a reusable software component that can be manipulated visually in a builder tool."

The JavaBeans white paper defines a Bean as follows:

A Java Bean is a reusable software component that can be manipulated visually in a builder tool.

And from PC Magazine:

A component software architecture from Sun that runs in the Java environment. JavaBeans are independent Java program modules that are called for and executed. They have been used primarily for developing user interfaces at the client side. The server-side counterpart is Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs).

What are EJBs ?

EJB stands for "Enterprise JavaBeans" which are distributed network aware components for developing secure, scalable, transactional and multi-user components in a J2EE environment.

Above definition actually describes EJBs from functional point of view i.e. what they do. A more structural definition would be : "EJBs are collection of Java classes, interfaces and XML files adhering to given rules".

For the rest of us, I think we'll settle for grinding them up and making coffee. Actually there is a Java Bean coffee shop in Seattle that seems a lot more familiar than this stuff!