Finding your way:

Accessible Web Page Design:
HTML Alternatives for JAVA™ Applets.

Java™ and JavaScript™ applications (called applets) are relatively new features of the World Wide Web. These applets are essentially full-featured programs which can automatically download and run on your personal computer when you connect to a Web-page that includes them.

Java™ is a network-aware, platform independent programming language that allows developers to create applications, or applets, that can do everything from simple animation of text strings to full-blown database query interfaces to interactive games and virtual worlds -- if you can conceive it, you can program it. JavaScript™ is a simplified version of the Java™ language (currently only supported by Netscape 2.0). The question is: how accessible are applications or information delivered by Java? The short answer is: I don't know yet.

The level of accessibility of any Java™ or JavaScript™ application cannot be determined beforehand. Since these are actual programming languages, it is presumed that any application developed with them can be made more or less accessible by the application developer. If you develop or plan to develop Java™ or JavaScript™ applets, you should ensure that basic accessibility features are included.

At the time of writing (April 19, 1996) there are few graphical browsers capable of running Java™ or JavaScript™ applets. Delivering critical information or developing your entire site around Java™ interactivity is not recommended at this time, since only a small proportion of the user-base will be able to view or run these applications.

HTML allows a Java™ or JavaScript™ developer to include an alternative set of HTML instructions to be executed or displayed if the end-user's browser does not support Java™ applets. Including an effective alternative to the Java™ applet is equivalent to including ALT=TEXT with a graphic image: it lets the user know what they are missing, and lets them determine if missing the applet is important to them, or not. Some examples follow.

Concern has been expressed by some Internet security experts that there is nothing to stop an unscrupulous person from coding a virus into a Java™ or JavaScript™ applet. This virus would automatically run on your system when you accessed a page containing the applet with an enabled Java-aware browser. For this reason, the experts are warning us to only enable our Java™ capability if we are certain of the reliability of the Java™ site.

If you are using Netscape Navigator 2.0, there is an option to enable or disable the running of Java™ applets (i.e., in the same way that you can enable or disable in-line image display). Unfortunately, even with Java-display disabled, this browser does not display the alternate HTML coding. Apparently, you will only benefit from the accessible alternative if you use a browser that is completely unaware of Java. With Navigator 2.0 then, the ability to provide alternatives within the <APPLET> element is wasted. HTML developers will have to include accessible alternatives outside the Java™ applet statement if they want to benefit Navigator 2.0 users who choose not to view Java™ applets.

Example 1: Plain text alternative.

The Guideline:

So, the "accessible" thing to do is: always describe (in as much detail as is necessary) the form or function of the Java™ Applet or point to an accessible alternative. Since the "field" where you can describe the applet accepts standard HTML, you can use any HTML constructs, including links to other pages. Unlike ALT-text, there are no limits on the amount or kind of coding you can include.

Finding your way.

Are Bilingual Pages Accessible?
Making Links Accessible.