Java, brought to you by the fine folks at SUN, is a simple to learn, tag-based programming language that, among other uses, can be inserted into HTML code to provide additional features and functionality to your websites.

One of the broadest appeals of Java, and in fact, one of the primary objectives behind its invention, is that Java can run within disparate networks consisting of multiple devices that are using different operating systems. Its status as one of the first and most comprehensive cross-platform language makes it one of the most widespread and commonly used today, both online and off.

Running Java on your sites, therefore, and using the services of a Java hosting server, gives you the confidence that almost any computer in the world will have little to no trouble reading your website in all its luxury. Java's ubiquitous nature ensures that the programs embedded in your sites will function properly on almost any visitor's machine.

Java offers libraries of reusable code with diverse functionality in email, networking, databases, XML, Microsoft Office, and PDF files, among others. Java libraries can help generate bit-maps and vector graphics. With Java and Java hosting, you can create server-side applications for such varied uses as forms and forums, online stores, and polls, to name a few.

In order to run Java applets on your machine you will need to have installed the Java Runtime Environment. Once you've done that, creating Java applets and publishing them to your Java hosting provider is surprisingly simple.

To compose Java applets, you really need only know two kinds of HTML tags:

1. The first is <APPLET> and it merely informs the visitors' browser which applet class file is being used and its dimensions on the screen. As with any html command, you would start an applet code with <APPLET… and end it with </APPLET>. The rest of the APPLET tag will read something like this <APPLET CODE="filename class" WIDTH="640" HEIGHT="480"> Between this tag and the closing tag </APPLET> come the second set of tags.

2. These next tags describe the parameters of the applet, meaning the applet's behavior and the resources it will use to do so. This tags are written as <PARAM> and composed of two elements: a NAME and a VALUE. Any given applet can have one or many <PARAM> tags, or none at all, but every single one is written the same way. <PARAM> tags do not require any closing tag.

After you compose your applet, all you need to do before sending it to your Java hosting company is cut and paste it into your HTML code on the respective web page where you intend it to appear.

One useful piece of advice when uploading Java applet files to your Java hosting provider's server is to put them all in the same directory. This makes the inevitable updates and edits so much easier for you down the line. And make sure, when uploading files to your Java hosting provider, that you don't leave behind any resources like image files that is needed to execute the applet properly. This is a common error that can be easily avoided.

Another file that newcomers to Java often forget to send up to their Java hosting server is the class file, and make sure it's sent it binary format; text won't work. Without the class file on your Java hosting provider's server, your code is useless.

Now for the most exciting part: now that you understand how simple it is to insert Java applets into your Java hosted web pages, you don't even need to invent your own programs or come up with your own code for the applets you desire. The web is saturated with a myriad of prewritten Java applets for your use and enjoyment, many of them totally free!

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