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There
are several factors to consider when choosing whether
to implement either the applet or servlet version of
the Bar Graph. The table below highlights some of the
most important points to be taken into account.
| Implementation
Type |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Servlet |
- The
most dependable solution.
- Graph
can be inserted in dynamic HTML with the IMG
tag.
- Because
an Image is generated at the server, it is compatible
with all web browsers.
- Offers
better performance for clients with slower CPUs.
- Usually
less load time on the browser than applets.
- Provides ability for direct database access
|
- Requires
Servlet Engine on the server.
|
| Applet |
- Easy
to install and modify.
- Processing
occurs at the client which offloads the processing
of images from the server.
- Interactive
Graph functionality (eg. display pop-up values
on mouse over, execute url & JavaScript
on mouse click.)
- Does
not require any custom modifications to the
server.
- The
small size of the JAR files provide quick applet
load times (only 15kb).
|
- Some
browsers do not print applets.
- The
browsers Java VM must be enabled. ( These days
this is usually the case but some people do
turn java off).
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As
you can see from the table above the big advantage of
the Applet is the interactive features it offers and
the big advantage of the Servlet is the ability to print
the graph image consistently across all browser versions.
If both these factors are important to your implementation
then a combination of the two may be the answer. For
an outline of this solution please see the section "Graph
Printing" or click here.
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