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One
of the factors to consider when deciding between implementing
the applet or servlet form of the graph is that, browsers
in general do not print applets very well. In addition
the results can vary between browser makes and versions.
The
servlet however returns the graph image to the browser
in PNG Image format and as such will print consistently
without any problems across all browser makes and versions.
Another
factor to consider when deciding whether to implement
the applet or servlet is whether the interactive features
of the applet are required (mouseover pop-ups and mouseclick
URL functionality). In the servlet form, the graph is
returned to the browser as an image and as such the
interactive features of the applet are not available.
If both the ability to print and the interactive features are required then
it is possible to implement both the applet and servlet in such a way that they operate from the same data sources. In this case
the following solution is recommended,
Step
1 - Create your html page which contains the applet
version of the graph, with all the interactive features,
configuring the applet to receive the data from either
files, server side scripts or databases.
Step
2 - Create a copy of this page, replacing the
applet implementation with the servlet ( <IMG>
tag ), using exactly the same data sources as with
the applet.
Step
3 - On the applet page, place a little text footnote
at the bottom of the applet which says something like,
"For
a printable version of this page please click here".
Then
hyperlink, this text, to the page created in Step
2.
In
this manor the page created in Step 1 will be
your main page with which your visitors will enjoy all
the interactive features of the applet. If a visitor
does wish to print the graph, then by clicking on the
text, the almost identical page created in Step 2
will be displayed. This will contain the graph in PNG
Image format and hence be universally printable.
For
an example of this please click
here.
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