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One of the factors to consider when deciding between implementing the applet
or servlet form of the graph is that, some browsers have trouble printing applets. 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.
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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