Oracle is probably the biggest user of the java applet technology. Oracle Forms runs as an Applet in the browser. Now, Oracle Forms isn’t the hippest tool ever, people have been expecting it to die for a couple of years. But it’s still around. Mainly because Oracle still uses Forms in their Oracle E-Business Suite.
Recently, plugin based user interfaces have become popular again. Mostly based on Flex or Silverlight. Oracle has also created some applications using Flex, but why use an Adobe product if you don’t have to? Sun created JavaFx to compete with Flex and Silverlight. If Oracle rewrites Forms using JavaFX, and replaces the transport protocol with some open standard it will have the hippest and most productive development suite ever. Ready to compete with Flex and Silverlight. All based on a very old and mature technology. Maybe it’s even time to brush up Oracle Designer and sell it as an MDA tool for JavaFX client server 2.0 applications…