The Past, Present and Future of Java Foundation Classes

May. 1, 1998 12:00 AM

In 1995, Java technology shook the World Wide Web as a network-centric, object-oriented language providing client-side processing that helped Web developers turn otherwise static pages into dynamic visual experiences. Key to the creation of these animated Web pages was Java's graphical user interface library, the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT).

Now, Sun's Java Developer's Kit (JDK) release 1.1 introduces the first installation of the most significant cross-platform graphical user interface technology since the advent of windowing systems: the Java Foundation Classes (JFC). JFC is a complete graphical user interface (GUI) toolkit that dramatically extends the original AWT with a comprehensive set of classes and services.

JFC is a scalable, robust and open technology that enables developers to create and deploy commercial-grade intranet and Internet applications, casting Java GUI development in a new light. Even as components and services grow, JFC promotes ease of use and facilitates rapid application development. It is delivered as core Java technology, which means it is available on all Java platforms, resulting in faster application downloads, more reliable applications and simplified application deployment.

History of Java Foundation Classes
When it was introduced, the AWT provided developers with a rudimentary library for building applications and applets -- Java applications that are executed from inside a browser instead of being launched and run from the native operating system.

Designed for simple, Web-centric tasks, developers encountered limitations with the AWT when attempting to create modern, sophisticated client applications. Although the AWT was limited in scope, it did offer two important features for all applets and applications:

100 percent portability from a single set of source code

Assumption of a native look and feel on deployment platforms

The AWT delivered on the promise of a standards-based platform that adapted to the user desktop. It also provided a good starting point for graphical Java development with room for improvements - some evolutionary, and some revolutionary.

GUI developers count on baseline functionality to create professional-quality applications. The AWT, while best suited for applet development, provided little integration into the desktop environment and even less functionality for creating large-scale applications. JFC, which delivers a more robust framework for GUI development, also delivers the baseline components and frameworks that developers have come to expect from the Java platform.

Current State of JFC
JFC extends the original AWT by adding a comprehensive set of GUI class libraries that is completely portable and delivered as part of the Java platform. In addition, JFC will include many of the key features found in Netscape's Internet Foundation Classes. Since the JFC is core to the Java platform, it eliminates the need to download special classes at runtime and is compatible with all AWT-based applications.

JFC includes a rich suite of high-level components and services that are fully and uniquely cross-platform compatible, and offers significant performance improvements. With JFC, developers can create and deploy large scale, mission-critical intranet, Internet and Crossware applications. And because Java is an open, standard technology, a broad complement of third party tools and components are available to enhance application development.

In short, JFC includes many new, easy-to-use and sophisticated features that are designed to work together to offer the following key advantages over other frameworks:

JFC is core to the Java platform and reduces the need for bundled classes.

All new JFC components are JavaBeans.

JFC has no framework lock-in, so developers can easily bring in other third-party components to enhance their JFC applications.

JFC components are cross-platform.

JFC enhanced services promote development of feature-rich applications.

JFC subclasses are fully customizable and fully extendable.

Additionally, JFC offers:

JavaBeans compliance

Lightweight UI framework

Delegation event model

Printing

Data transfer/clipboard

Desktop colors integration

Graphics & image enhancements

Mouseless operation

Popup menu

ScrollPane container

Future of JFC
JFC will continue to expand, with plans in the works to include a rich complement of high-level components that will enhance the user's visual experience and improve user productivity. New application services are slated for JFC that will further integrate Java applications into the desktop environment.

New features will further enhance a developer's ability to deliver scalable, commercial-grade applications. These features will be made available to developers as they are completed and then rolled into the next release of JDK. They will include:

Drag and drop

New high-level components

Pluggable look and feel

2-dimensional API

Accessibility features for the physically challenged

The JFC raises the bar for GUI functionality in Java while delivering a rich API and a growing set of components and services to make it easier for developers to create and deploy commercial-grade applications.

Published May. 1, 1998— Reads 9,267
Copyright © 1998 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
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