I came across some webpages where it said that Java Applets are obsolete http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/28/10858250/oracle-java-plugin-deprecation-jdk-9 and should not be supported any more.
I understand that from web perspective because HTML5 and CSS3 are very powerful now and there is no need for applets.
My question is, are applets obsolete in Java application for desktop too, is there some better solution, some alternative (not including opengl) for drawing in Java desktop apps?
I am learning Java, so I don't want to lose time on something which will not be useful.
..are applets obsolete in Java application for desktop..
Unless by 'applet' you mean the more generic 'small application', then you would not use an applet on the desktop, but a Swing based JFrame (rather than the older AWT based Frame) or a Java-FX based Scene. Applets should never have been used on the desktop.