Applets are executed within a Java enabled browser, but a
Java application is a standalone Java program that can be executed outside of a browser.
However, they both require the existence of a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Furthermore, a Java application requires a main method with a specific signature, in order to start its execution. Java applets don’t need such a method to start their execution. Finally, Java applets typically use a restrictive security policy, while Java applications usually use more relaxed security policies.
Source: github.com/snowdream
