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Subject:Re: What is the best term to use? From:Jan Cohen <najnehoc -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:Lauren <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>, Janice Gelb <Janice -dot- Gelb -at- Sun -dot- COM>, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:30:43 -0700 (PDT)
I'll buy that, as I can see what you're getting at here. But I'd still
have a pretty tough time calling "tabs" applets. I can see tabs being
created by an applet, or clicking on a tab to execute an applet, but I
cannot see a tab providing operational functionality. IMHO, a tab,
itself, in the sense you describe below, really is only that part of a
user interface used to *access* operational functionality, not provide
the functionality itself.
Then, I'm not paying you your big bucks and if your client insists that
a tab be called an applet, who am I to argue? Let's be friends and
agree to disagree. 8^)
jan c.
----- Original Message ----
From: Lauren <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>
To: Jan Cohen <najnehoc -at- yahoo -dot- com>; Janice Gelb <Janice -dot- Gelb -at- Sun -dot- COM>; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 12:05:00 AM
Subject: RE: What is the best term to use?
Java uses the term "applet" but that does not mean that
"applet" is exclusive to Java technology. Apparently, other programmers
have adopted the term. I, in my current project, cannot call the
applet by another name. It is not a trademarked term, so I don't see why
it cannot be used to refer to other application technology that refers to a
small application in an application. The origin of the term was to
described a short application and it evolved to refer to small applications that
run in web browsers (bigger applications). Java does not own the term, but
Java technology does use applets.
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 8:56 PM
To: Lauren; Janice
Gelb; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: What is the best term
to use?
An
applet is actually a Java application that is downloaded to the user's browser
and executed by the browser's Java Virtual Machine (JVM). In that sense
it is not a stand-alone application. But I'd be careful about calling
"tabs" in any user interface "applet tabs," or something along those lines,
because when the user selects such a tab, they are really executing the applet
itself. If you must bring up the applet in your documentation, my
recommendation would be something along the lines of "clicking on the xyz tab
executes the xyz applet." Or in Zen's original case, "restrict the
functionality of the XYZ applet to read only access by..."
As for poorly written applets, I have to sympathize
with you. For the most part, they've gotten better over the years, but
were real buggy earlier on, especially when it came to causing memory
leaks. Of course, "better" is a subjective word, and if they're written
poorly, even today, well, gigo tends to come to mind.
jan
c.
-----
Original Message ----
From: Lauren <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>
To: Janice Gelb
<Janice -dot- Gelb -at- Sun -dot- COM>; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Sent: Sunday,
October 21, 2007 11:29:58 PM
Subject: RE: What is the best term to
use?
The application that I'm dealing was poorly designed. The
application
receives a great deal of criticism. I think that the
application could have
been designed a little better, but I am not in a
position to change the
design of the application. It is a web
application based in Siebel and
running of an Oracle database. I
think Siebel is responsible for calling
the tabs applets. However,
there are times when the applets really do not
serve any application-like
function that an applet would normally serve.
The nomenclature
here may be a little unstable, but as I've said before, if
a tab provides
operational functional, then it is probably best referred to
as an
applet. If it merely sets parameters or some other option, then it
is
probably a tab. Since Zen mentioned that the tabs provided
functions
(rather than parameters) I followed the idea that the tabs may be
a little
more operational rather than supportive as merely places to set
parameters.
Lauren
> -----Original Message-----
>
From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]
On
> Behalf Of Janice Gelb
> Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 8:19
PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
Subject: Re: What is the best term to use?
>
> Lauren
wrote:
> >> From: Janice Gelb
> >
> >> I
would definitely advise against calling the discrete
> >> entities
"applications" as I think users pretty much
> >> think of an
"application" as the whole shebang. And
> >> "applet" has a pretty
specific technical meaning too,
> >> I think.
> >
> > Applet refers to an application within an application.
> Beyond that, there
> > really isn't a great deal of
specifity in the term.
> >
> [snip]
> >
> >
We need to remain flexible as web technology grows and
> accept that we
will
> > need new terms or new definitions to old terms, but, as
technical
> > communicators, we also need to remain ardent in
maintaining
> cogent terms for
> > elements within web
applications, or any application. How
> do we communicate
>
> a thing, any *thing*, if every application developer has a
>
different name
> > for the thing? I think that in this case,
the technical
> communicator has a
> > bit of duty to
determine the term that is used.
> >
>
> I have
to agree. Most of the definitions I've found
> for "applet," however,
don't seem to be congruent with
> using the term to mean any application
within another
> application. See http://www.answers.com/topic/applet
>
> It
certainly means an application running within the
> framework of another
application but in the context
> in which Zen asked the question, I
don't think that
> the term "applet" is appropriate. You might be
using
> it in your interface but I still think that technically
>
it's not what Zen described. Even the most general
> definition says "An
applet usually performs a very narrow
> function that has no independent
use." That doesn't seem
> to me to fit a term to be used for several
different
> collections of grouped options.
>
> --
Janice
>
>
***********************************************************
> Janice
Gelb | The only connection Sun has
with
> janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com | this
message is the return address
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- Janice
>
>
>
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