A Mortgage Calculator. This Java Applet's layout is not fully complete.
It's a work in progress. (Aren't they all.)
This application works best if you limit the
browser window to about 800 pixels wide. Why? Because of the popup
JFrames that arise when the user asks for a "payment schedule" or
a "mortgage balance chart". It's just a window overlap issue.
The applet lets a user calculate either monthly payments, given a mortgage
amount, interest rate, and term, OR mortgage amount that could be
given based on monthly payment that could be made, interest rate,
and term. Somewhat useful to home buyers?
The GUI is very basic to start. That's the idea.
*
To see more features, do View -> ToolBar on the Applet.
This brings up some toolbar icons.
They just mimic most of the operations available
under the Menu headings. Some people must have their toolbar.
And, it does make operation selection easier once you learn what the
cryptic little icons mean.
Descriptions of the icon operations are given below.
Home Icon: Jam some numbers in the text fields for a quick test.
$: Calculate payments.
$$: Calculate principal.
1: Jam Plan 1 interest and term in text fields. A bank promotion.
2: Jam Plan 2 interest and term in text fields.
3: Jam Plan 3 interest and term in text fields.
Form Icon: Calculate and display a full-term payment schedule.
An On/Off toggle.
Curve Icon: Show a graph of mortgage balance vs time.
Curve Not: Remove the graph.
Blank Icon: No op.
Book Icon: Some information.
>>: Show more icons - no operations yet.
<<: Show only original icons.
For a quick test, select the following icons: Home, $, Form, Curve.
The curve is useful to show how short payback periods give an almost
linear relationship between balance and time. But, long payback periods
result in a slow principal payback rate in the early years and a fast
rate in the closing years.
* The "html resize" buttons attempt to change the size of the applet.
This sort of works with IE, but hasn't been working with FF. The communication
of events between Java and Javascript is somewhat tricky. For example, when
a Java operation of showing or hiding the toolbar is performed, how is notification
sent to the html page to resize the displayed applet area automatically, which
sometimes gets messed up by the re-layout of the page on the browser.
Not sure yet. Suggestions welcomed - use the Contact page.