Strict XHTML Applets

Noting that this page was reached by the search query "Strict XHTML Applets", a brief guide to what I've done along these lines.

I started with Hixie's Embedding flash without <embed>, which nests <object /> tags, but suffers from parameter duplication, and, IIRC, unless I had things back-to-front, it also leaves empty place-holders for the "other platform" applet in some browsers. By using IE conditional comments in a sneaky fashion, one only need duplicate the opening <object> as follows (code based upon that in my N-body applet page):-

<!--[if IE]>

<object archive="nbodyzip.zip" type="application/x-java-object"
code="Nbody.class" width="250" height="150" title="&lambda; Serpentis
II system simulation" standby="standby" >
<![endif]-->

<!--[if !IE]> -->
<object archive="nbodyzip.zip" type="application/x-java-object"
classid="java:Nbody.class" title="&lambda; Serpentis II system
simulation" standby="standby" width="250" height="150" >
<!-- <![endif]-->

<!-- shared parameter tags go here if needed e.g. -->
    <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" />

<!-- followed by fallback content such as:- -->

    <p>Alas! Either your browser is not one for which I've been able to get
    XHTML object tags to work, or perhaps it's not Java enabled!</p>

<!-- finally close the one object tag -->

</object>

Here IE wants the main-class via the code attribute code="Nbody.class"; whereas Gecko browsers (Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox) want it via the classid attribute, classid="java:Nbody.class". Both use the archive attribute to show where the bytecode is to be found.

This works for Netscape 4 and up. I believe it also works in Konqueror (KHTML), and thus also Safari - but if you know different, please say.

It would be nicer if I could find one tag that would feed Java to all these browsers…

XPP -- XML PreProcessor

XPP 1.0.1708.27390 — Use it to fold repeated units into static pages as a compile-before-upload step for XHTML web pages. See the ReadMe file in the archive for more details.

From the Windows page

PassiveFTP 1.6

PassiveFTP 1.6 — PassiveFTP version 1.6.1701.15662 — when XP SP2 dropped my screen depth from 32-bit to 16-bit off its own bat, all hell broke loose. Fix for the default 16-bit style, maybe all 16-bit and even 24-bit. No 8-bit or less planned.

Texture

A new background texture which is done by Noise + greyscale + invert, followed by blurring and embossing, and then tweaking the brightness and contrast to taste.

PassiveFTP 1.5

PassiveFTP 1.5 — PassiveFTP version 1.5.1667.19669 — minor bug-fix release — this fixes the 11-Jun-04 issue. This turned out to be GDI exhaustion by putting server-side icons in the client icon cache, and thus having to regenerate individual icons for each file on the server, each time the view changed!

Windows page, as usual

I like Metal

Rolled my own textures for the brushed metal look : light and dark brushed aluminium. The brushed metal trick is Noise + greyscale + invert + motion blur; then cut a chunk out the middle.

Fade to Black…

Fade To Black… — version 0.8 — dead simple image manipulation program in Java SDK 1.4. Run using

java -cp fadetoblack.zip com.ravnanadtines.FadeToBlack

(with jre, jrew or javaw instead of java as appropriate), where fadetoblack.zip is the download archive. I used it to do the fade on the top-left masthead image (of the Louvre pyramid, in Paris) on the linked sites.

On the Java page

Glitches -- PassiveFTP and Janus/.Net

With Passive FTP 1.4 I've encountered a number of occasions in live use — but not, alas when running in set-up tests, where it seems that operations on a large server-side directory and shuffling that around by adding or deleting files can cause some sort of fault in the icon rendering.

In Janus.Net 1.1, I have observed that null credentials (empty username and password) will suffice to perform NTLM authentication. A little digging suggests that this is a "feature" of the protocol. Note that IE prevents you giving an empty username+password in the login dialog box by keeping the OK button disabled under those circumstances.

Janus/.Net 1.1

Janus.Net 1.1 experimental — version 1.1.1569.19993 — contains experimental code to perform HTTP Basic and NTLMv2 authentication to HTTP based proxies. The only reliance on library code by the NTLM support is for the System.Security.Crypto.MD5 class — everything else for NTLM is in-line. The code is experimental in that I've tested the authentication code against a local copy of IIS, rather than against a real authenticating web proxy.

From the Windows page.

PassiveFTP 1.4

PassiveFTP 1.4 — PassiveFTP version 1.4.1560.16653 — minor bug-fix release — if a logon to a new server was abandoned by terminating the program, the current server would be set to the new one — but on restart this would cause an out-of-range error, as there would be no stored server details.

Janus/.Net

Janus for .Net — Yes, we do do requests, if not very quickly. Last August, Bob Morgenthaler asked for a Windows version of Janus, and now there is one (using the .NET framework to make things easier).

From the Windows Page.