from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
applet
<World-Wide Web> A {Java} program which can be distributed as
an attachment in a {World-Wide Web} document and executed by a
Java-enabled {web browser} such as Sun's {HotJava},
{Netscape Navigator} version 2.0, or {Internet Explorer}.
Navigator severely restricts the applet's file system and
network access in order to prevent accidental or deliberate
security violations. Full Java applications, which run
outside of the browser, do not have these restrictions.
Web browsers can also be extended with {plug-ins} though these
differ from applets in that they usually require manual
installation and are {platform}-specific. Various other
languages can now be embedded within {HTML} documents, the
most common being {JavaScript}.
Despite Java's aim to be a "write once, run anywhere"
language, the difficulty of accomodating the variety of
browsers in use on the Internet has led many to abandon
client-side processing in favour of {server}-side Java
programs for which the term {servlet} was coined.
Merriam Webster "Collegiate Edition" gives a 1990 definition:
a short application program especially for performing a simple
specific task.
(2002-07-12)