JavaBeans Component API

The JavaBeans component API extends the Java platform's Write Once, Run Anywhere capability to reusable component development. In fact, the JavaBeans architecture takes interoperability a major step forward -- your code runs on every OS and also within any application environment. A developer who creates components based on the JavaBeans architecture (beans) secures a future in the emerging network software market without losing customers that use proprietary platforms, because beans interoperate with ActiveX, OpenDoc, and LiveConnect.

As of v 1.4, the java.beans package provides support for long-term persistence -- reading and writing a bean as a textual representation of its property values. Other changes in v 1.4 include improvements to the Introspector class, a JavaBeans Specification amendment to support retrieving listeners from a bean, and miscellaneous improvements in the treatment of event listeners.

API Enhancements

• API Enhancements in v1.4

JavaBeans Tutorial

Located on the Java Software website:

• JavaBeans Tutorial

Beans Specifications

• BeanContext Specification (PDF | PS)
  Extensible Runtime Containment and Services Protocol for JavaBeans

Located on the Java Software website:

• JavaBeans Specification (PDF and PS)

JavaBeans API Specification

(javadoc)

For More Information

Located on the Java Software website:

• The JavaBeans Home Page
• Beans Development Kit and More Information
  Contains BeanBox test container, example beans, demo source code, and introductory documentation
• Assorted persistence-related articles in The Swing Connection
  Contain examples of using persistence, including a downloadable graphical user interface (GUI) builder that reads and writes XML documents representing GUIs.