Much of the functionality that is provided by w3browse is based on certain so-called internal applications, which are often also denoted as applets. This type of application operates within a kind of internal server environment and behaves the same as it would do when running on a real (web) server.
Because of the before mentioned properties, internal applications are usually accessed by using certain special URLs which are called internal URLs. The request context that is used to access such URLs determines the restrictions that may be imposed on their usage.
Almost all internal applications provide an HTML interface to their functionality. As a consequence, the output is usually presented by a viewer window, and further actions are performed by following links or submitting forms in the usual way.
More about the functionality of internal applications and their invocation can be found in the following sections:
An advantage of such an implementation is that components just have to be written once and can then be re-used in a rather broad range of other situations. Another advantage is their adaptability and extensibility without the need to modify the core part of the application itself.
A disadvantage of applets that provide some kind of user interface, e.g. an HTML interface, may be found in the limitations that are imposed by just that markup language and its capabilities that is used for the interface.