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ALL APPLETS CAN HAVE AN INIT() METHOD. JAVA TREATS THIS METHOD AS SPECIAL. CAN YOU EXPLAIN BRIEFLY IN WHAT SENSE?
:mrgreen:

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Short answer for : init() is a lifecycle callback defined by the Applet API that the applet container (browser or appletviewer) calls after the applet instance has been created and configured. It is "special" because the runtime guarantees it will be invoked at a defined point for one-time setup: reading parameters, allocating resources, and preparing the UI. See the official Applet.init() javadoc for the formal contract.

Context in the lifecycle: init() is called once per instance. After init() comes start() (called each time the applet becomes active), stop() (when it becomes inactive or hidden), and finally destroy() (for permanent cleanup). Use init() for work that should run only once; use start()/stop() for pausing/resuming animations or threads. See the lifecycle overview at Applet lifecycle.

Practical and threading notes (gap often missed in short answers): init() is not guaranteed to execute on the AWT Event Dispatch Thread (EDT). For Swing-based applets, construct and update Swing components on the EDT (use SwingUtilities.invokeLater/invokeAndWait) and keep long-running I/O off the UI thread. Example pattern:

@Override
public void init() {
    SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
        // build Swing UI here
    });
    // launch background tasks for I/O or heavy work
}

See the Swing concurrency guide at Concurrency in Swing.

Despite the joking tone from and , the above covers the practical, production-safe meaning of "special" for init(). Note that applets are a legacy deployment approach; for modern projects, prefer contemporary web or Java server-side technologies.

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Member Avatar for hooknc

*cough*do you own homework*cough*

Member Avatar for server_crash

I didn't know you could have two decimal points in money.... Oh well. Send me the dough and I'll answer your question.

Member Avatar for Phaelax

What's really sad is that I may have to work with people like this some day.

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