Applet life cycle consists of 5 methods which will be automatically invoked by JRE when some action is done on the application/browser.

List of Methods:

  1. public void init()
  2. public void start()
  3. public void stop()
  4. public void destroy()
  5. public void paint(Graphics g)

Which method will be invoked when?

init()

  • Invoked only once
  • Invoked when the application is launched using appletviewer or browser
  • Should include code for component defination, Object creation, Layout settings, Basic look and feel

start()

  • Invoked when application is maximized
  • Default application state is Maximized window so this will also be invoked on launching
  • Should include code for starting/resuming thread, starting/resuming Graphical User Interface, etc…

stop()

  • Invoked when application is minimized
  • invoked also when the window is terminated while its in maximizes state.
  • Should include code for pausing/stopping thread, pausing/stopping Graphical User Interface, etc…

destroy()

  • Invoked when application is about to terminate
  • invoked when we close the application.
  • Should include code for connection closing, file closing, etc…

paint()

  • Invoked when application is to be refreshed in terms of GUI
  • invoked when we start, move or resize applet.
  • Should include code for GUI design

Some method calling scenarios:

On Launching an Applet application: init(), start(), paint()

On Minimizing an Applet application: stop()

On Maximizing an Applet application: start(), paint()

On Moving/Re-sizing an Applet application: paint(), paint(), …, paint()

On Terminating an Applet application: stop(), destroy()