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Flash Movies

Back to the example, the

getMessageFromApplet()

function does nothing more than display the argu-

ment that was passed. Here’s the complete HTML code for the page:

<html>

<head>

<title>Applet Example</title>

function getMessageFromApplet(sMessage) {

alert(“Applet says: “ + sMessage);

}

</script>

</head>

<body>

<p>This page defines a function that is called by the applet once

it is loaded.</p>

width=”400” height=”50” id=”ExampleApplet”>

</object>

</body>

</html>

When this page is loaded, the applet displays the page title (

Applet Example

) and the URL you are

viewing the example from. Then, you should see an alert displaying the message

“Applet says:

Hello from the Java applet!”

You can also use

call()

to execute

getMessageFromApplet()

Object[] args = new Object[1];

args[0] = “Hello from the Java applet!”;

window.call(“getMessageFromApplet”, args);

Because

getMessageFromApplet()

is a global function, it’s considered a method of

window

and, there-

fore, can be called using the

call()

method.

Flash Movies

What began as a way to embed small, vector-based animations on Web pages has grown into a develop-

ment environment for entire Web sites and Web applications. Macromedia Flash has evolved into more

than just a tool for animations, but an entire development environment designed for use on the Web.

Flash movies, as they are called, are created using Macromedia’s proprietary Flash and Flash MX devel-

opment environments (although many graphics programs now feature an Export to Flash feature based

on Macromedia’s Open SWF initiative). Because of its ubiquity, the Flash plugin now ships with most

browsers, meaning that most users never have to download the plugin manually to enjoy the benefits

(unless an upgrade is made available, of course).

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Interacting with Plugins

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