What is an applet program?

An applet is a Java application that could be installed into a web page and runs within the web browser and operates at the client-side. It is usually embedded in an HTML page using the APPLET or OBJECT tag and treated on a web server.

Applets are employed to make the web site more productive and entertaining. All applets are sub-classes (directly or indirectly) of java.applet. Applet class and are not stand-alone applications. Instead, they work in a web browser or an applet viewer. JDK provides a standard applet viewing tool known as applet viewer. In general, the working of an applet does not begin at the main() method. When an applet starts, the init(), start() and paint() methods are called in a sequence and when an applet is terminated, stop( )and destroy( ) method calls take place.