applet

[ap-lit] /ˈæp lɪt/
noun, Computers, Informal.
1.
a small application program that can be called up for use while working in another application.
Origin
1990-95; app(lication) + -let
Examples from the web for applet
  • Place it in your vehicle or a large pocket of an incredibly unobservant subject, and track away through the online applet.
  • It gets bonus points for having a shopping-list applet as part of the package, demerits for too aggressive advertising.
  • The structure drawing applet is designed to be a tool for drawing simple chemical structures and submitting them to a server.
  • Many browsers will not print data that are displayed by an applet.
British Dictionary definitions for applet

applet

/ˈæplɪt/
noun
1.
(computing) a computer program that runs within a page on the Internet
Word Origin
C20: from app(lication program) + -let
Word Origin and History for applet
n.

by 1995, a diminutive formation from application.

applet in Science
applet
  (āp'lĭt)   
A small computer program that has limited features, requires limited memory resources, and is designed to be downloaded from the Internet to run on a webpage. An applet cannot read or write data on the user's machine.
applet in Technology

World-Wide Web
A Java program which can be distributed as an attachment in a World-Wide Web document and executed by a Java-enabled web browser such as Sun's HotJava, Netscape Navigator version 2.0, or Internet Explorer.
Navigator severely restricts the applet's file system and network access in order to prevent accidental or deliberate security violations. Full Java applications, which run outside of the browser, do not have these restrictions.
Web browsers can also be extended with plug-ins though these differ from applets in that they usually require manual installation and are platform-specific. Various other languages can now be embedded within HTML documents, the most common being JavaScript.
Despite Java's aim to be a "write once, run anywhere" language, the difficulty of accomodating the variety of browsers in use on the Internet has led many to abandon client-side processing in favour of server-side Java programs for which the term servlet was coined.
Merriam Webster "Collegiate Edition" gives a 1990 definition: a short application program especially for performing a simple specific task.
(2002-07-12)