Javascript has Many benifits. JavaScript’s main benefit is that it can be understood by the common human. It is much easier and more robust than Java. It allows for fast creation of web page events. Many JavaScript commands are what are known as Event Handlers: They can be embedded right into existing HTML commands. JavaScript is a little more forgiving than Java. It allows more freedom in the creation of objects. Java is very rigid and requires all items to be denoted and spelled out. JavaScript allows you to call on an item that already exists, like the status bar or the browser itself, and play with just that part. JavaScript is geared to web pages. Java is geared toward where it is needed most at the time.
Both will create great web page events. Both can offer interaction between the user and your Web page. But they are not created equally by any means.
So to answer the question of which to use where… use whichever fits your needs. That sounds like a cop-out answer, but remember that the applets and JavaScript are most often offered on the Net as fully functioning items. You simply grab them from the Net and use them on your page (provided you are given permission). There are many, many sites out there that do nothing more than hand out applets or JavaScript.
Gamelan.com is a good one for applets. Take a look at javascripts.com for over 2300 free JavaScript scripts. The HTML Goodies Applet and JavaScript Tutorials will teach you how to implement these items on your pages. They will not teach you to write the languages, but rather instruct you on placing functioning applets and JavaScript scripts on your Web pages. It is a good introduction to the formats. Once you know how to get these pups on your pages, you’ll understand more about their structures and can then more easily attempt to learn the language and create functioning JavaScripts or applets yourself.
