By the mid 1990s, the World Wide Web had transformed the online world. Through a system of hypertext, users of the Web were able to select and view information from all over the world. However, while this system of hypertext gave users a high degree of selectivity over the information they chose to view, their level of interactivity with that information was low. | Java Unleashed Page 1 Chapter 1 Java Makes Executable Content Possible By the mid 1990s, the World Wide Web had transformed the online world. Through a system of hypertext, users of the Web were able to select and view information from all over the world. However, while this system of hypertext gave users a high degree of selectivity over the information they chose to view, their level of interactivity with that information was low. Hypermedia had opened up many options for new kinds of sensory input a user might receive, including access to graphics, text, or even videos. However, the Web lacked true interactivity—real-time, dynamic, and visual interaction between the user and application. Java brings this missing interactivity to the Web. With a Java-enabled Web browser, you can encounter animations and interactive applications. Java programmers can make customized media formats and information protocols that can be displayed in any Java-enabled browser. Java’s features enrich the communication, information, and interaction on the Web by enabling users to distribute executable content—rather than just HTML pages and multimedia files—to users. This ability to distribute executable content is the power of Java. With origins in Sun Microsystem’s work to create a programming language to create software that can run on many different kinds of devices, Java evolved into a language for distributing executable content through the Web. Today, Java brings new interest to Web pages through applications that can all give the user immediate feedback and accept user input continuously through mouse or keyboard entries. In this chapter, I first present a description and definition of Java and explore what Java brings to Web communication. Then I present a brief “armchair” tour of some examples of what Java can do. If you want to go directly to programming in Java, see the other parts of this book. Otherwise, read this chapter and the others in this part for a survey
