JFC

JFC -- Expanding On A Solid Foundation

The JFC represents a significant introduction of new functionality to the Java development environment. The release of these classes with JDK 1.1 marks the beginning of major enhancements that will continue to improve the completeness and functionality of Java GUI applications.

Additions to the Java Foundation Classes will soon incorporate several features that further enhance a developer's ability to deliver scalable, commercial-grade applications. These new features will be made available to developers as they are completed over the next few months and then rolled into the next release of the JDK.

New features will include:

* Drag and Drop
* New High-Level Components
* Pluggable Look and Feel
* Java 2D API
* Accessibility Features for the Physically Challenged
* Additional new features continually being added

Drag and Drop

The Drag and Drop specification is available in the JDK 1.1 documentation and will soon be released as an update to the JFC. Drag and Drop (D&D) functionality as part of the core JFC class library means it will be available on all Java platforms in a consistent and supported fashion. It will significantly improve application interoperability by enabling D&D between Java applications and non-Java applications.

The generic, platform-independent implementation of D&D will enable objects to be dragged and dropped from one application to another. This update will support D&D between two Java applications, but more importantly, it will support D&D between a Java application and a native application. This means a user running the application on UNIX will be able to D&D to a Motif application and then run the same code on Microsoft-Windows and D&D to native application running there. D&D support makes it much easier to introduce Java applications to the enterprise.

New Java Foundation Classes Components

Working closely with Netscape and IBM, Sun will soon release an expanded set of components written in 100% Pure Java that will enable applications to be more fully integrated into the native environments. These new high-level components will be available on all platforms as part of the standard Java platform, thereby eliminating the need to download extra classes. In addition, new JFC components will carry two important attributes: all components will be both lightweight and peerless, thus facilitating a customizable look and feel without relying on native windowing systems or adding system overhead, and improving the deployment of applications will be simplified.
This comprehensive set of new high-level components will allow developers to create sophisticated professional-quality applets and applications using core JDK 1.1 functionality. The following components will be included with JFC: