When on the Internet, users often encounter files that their browsers don't know how to read or process. If users acquire software designed to read and process the desired file type, they can install that software on their machine and define it as a helper application or viewer in their browser. The next time the user encounters files of that type, the browser automatically knows what to do.
Helper application and viewer, therefore, are browser terms referring to user-based software that can read and process files of a given type. Netscape uses the term "helper application" to refer to such software. Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the term "viewer."
One way to let users launch your COBOL application from your Web site is to have users install the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime on their machine and define it as an Internet helper application or viewer in their browser. Since the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime has the ability to read and process COBOL objects, it allows users to run COBOL programs that they encounter when browsing your Web page.
To deploy your application on the Web using the helper application/viewer method, you (the developer) have three tasks:
2. Prepare your GT application
3. Create a link to your COBOL object file
Once your work is done, the user has three tasks as well. They must:
1. Install the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime on their machine
2. Define the runtime as a helper application/viewer in their browser