Form 1
Background

This little demo illustrates how one might use a little (invisible) java applet to gather information about how long a visitor actually views a particular page ... well - how long the page is opened in a browser window anyway. In this form of the demo, the applet makes calls, every so often, to a little cgi that actually maintains the records of how long a particular page is viewed by a particular visitor. On each call from the applet, the cgi increments a viewing time by some (applet specified) delta. This approach overcomes the two deficiencies noted above by not relying upon time calculations based on page access requests. PROs: Because this form of the applet makes (perhaps) multiple timer calls WHILE the visitor is still on a page, it provides more up to date information and is not (as) likely to lose data about the current page should the visitor shut down his browser prior to leaving the current page. CONs: Because, in this form of the demo there is one server request for EACH thread execution, this form of the applet 1) can be a problem in terms of server load which reults in a requirement for 2) more gross time interval granularity. I've made a newer version of this demo that is MUCH less burdensome on the server and, consequently, allows much finer timing granularity. Anyway - the following pages comprise this version of the demo. Dummy pages are simply this same list of links. Just visit a few of these dummy pages to simulate traversing a site and then visit the REPORT page to see a list of the times you spent on each of the dummy pages (and this page). Also, you can see the applet tag by viewing the source of any of the pages. Dummy page 1 Dummy page 2 Dummy page 3 Dummy page 4 This demo's main entry page The REPORT page N.B. - This demo uses some of my previous stuff to establish unique identifiers for each visitor. If you're interested in the supporting stuff, drop by the Stats Demos page for more on the supporting stuff.