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Frequently Asked Questions
A. The Java Foundation Classes (JFC) are a comprehensive set of GUI components and services which dramatically simplify the development and deployment of commercial-quality desktop and Internet/Intranet applications.
Q. What is the difference between JFC and AWT?
A. The Java Foundation Classes are a superset that contains AWT. JFC extends AWT by adding many components and services.
Q. How is JFC different from other framework classes from third parties?
- No need to bundle. Java Foundation classes are core to the Java 2 Platform.
- JavaBeans components. All JFC components are JavaBeans components. JFC components have all the benefits that JavaBeans components offer — reusability, interoperability, and portability. For more information on JavaBeans visit here.
- There is no framework lock-in. Developers can easily bring in other third-party JavaBeans components to enhance their applications written using JFC. JFC offers an open architecture.
- Truly cross-platform. Being part of the Java Platform, all JFC components and services are designed to work everywhere. For example, Drag and Drop services within JFC work the same between the Java Platform and all operating systems. While third-party vendors might be able to implement certain components to be cross-platform, only Sun can make sure that foundation services behave consistently across all Java-Compatible Platforms.
- Fully customizable. Developers can easily extend these components to create other more customized components. In addition, even the look and feel of these components can be change by either developers or users through the Pluggable Look and Feel architecture in JFC.
- Not just components. In addition to components, Java Foundation Classes include foundation services such as Java 2D. These services significantly enhance the type of applications developers can build.
Q. Are the Java Foundation Classes easy to use?
A. Not being a port from a different environment, the Java Foundation Classes conform 100% with Java’s object and component model. Developers find JFC a very easy and natural extension to the Java Platform.
Q. How do the Java Foundation Classes make developers’ lives easier?
A. The Java Foundation Classes substantially reduces the amount of programming needed by providing many reusable and cross-platform UI components. In addition, foundation services offered in JFC enable developers to build richer solutions with fewer lines of code. The last and most important point is that developers don’t have to worry that their application will only perform well on one platform. JFC is designed to be 100% cross-platform.
Q. Are the Java Foundation Classes supported by major Java tools vendors?
A. Absolutely; we have close relationships with all the major Java development environment vendors. As part of the Java Platform, JFC is available in all major Java development tools. A listing of tool providers can be found on this site under the product directory.
Q. Do the Java Foundation Classes run better on one platform than others?
A. Because the Java Foundation Classes are designed to be truly cross-platform, they run equally well on all Java Compatible Platforms.
Q. What specific components are available in JFC?
A. The JFC/Swing components can be divided into two groups — those that provide improved, JFC/Swing versions of AWT components, and those that are new.
Q. What specific foundation services are available in JFC?
- Swing components (listed above)
- Pluggable look and feel
- Accessibility: support for people with disabilities
Available only in the Java 2 Platform:
Q. What does a JFC-based application user interface look like?
A. Applications built using JFC are not locked in to a specific look and feel. Using JFC, developers can create apps that either have a native platform look and feel or use the Java look and feel — or they can create their own custom look and feel. The power lies in the hands of developers — they can develop their products using the look and feel that is most appropriate for their users.
Q. What is the difference between lightweight components and peerless components?
A. They are the same thing. These are just two term that describe the attributes of JFC components.
Q. What does JFC cost?
Q. What is Swing?
Q. What is Java Accessibility?
A. As part of JFC, the Accessibility API enables Java applications to work with alternate input and output devices such as Screen Readers, Screen Magnifiers, Braille terminals, and others. The Accessibility API takes the current Java system that is visually oriented and extends it to be usable by people who need to work with other non-visual devices. We are truly taking «Write Once, Run Anywhere» to another level by extending the benefits of Java Computing to users with disabilities.
Q. What is Java 2D?
A. With Java 2D, developers can render, manipulate, and transform complex 2D images and text. Java 2D enables the creation of richer-looking components and applications.
Q. Why was the Java look and feel developed?
A. To provide a common interface for developers who are deploying applications and services in a heterogeneous computing environment.
Q. Are other native look and feel designs available?
A. Yes. The Java 2 Platform, SE, provides pluggable look-and-feel implementations for the Windows and UNIX platforms. Other look and feels are available, as well.
Q. Why is there a locking mechanism on the Windows look and feel?
A. We have not determined that we have the right to deliver the Windows look and feel on platforms other than Windows. If Microsoft were to confirm our right to deliver this look and feel on other operating systems, we would be delighted to remove the lock. To date, Microsoft has declined to do this.
| Swing versions of AWT components | New components |
|---|---|
| labels text fields buttons check boxes radio buttons combo boxes ( Choice in AWT) lists text areas scroll panes and scroll bars panels frames dialogs menus and menu bars | tool tips sliders tables trees styled text areas progress bars spinners (as of 1.4) formatted text fields (as of 1.4) color choosers file choosers split panes tabbed panes internal frames layered panes |
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Java Foundation Classes
Java Foundation Classes (JFC) are a set of graphical user interface (GUI) components for Java applications that streamline software and cloud application development. JFC contains the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT), Java 2D and Swing.
Techopedia Explains Java Foundation Classes
Because of its cross-platform capabilities, written Java applications run on any OS without source code change requirements. However, when writing a GUI-enabled application, developers always face a dilemma: Should the same GUI be provided across all platforms, or should the GUI be consistent with the look and feel of its underlying platform?
With the first option, the look and feel of a button, scroll bar, text box or checkbox are the same, regardless of platform. For example, a word processor application developed in Java looks and feels the same when running on Windows or Linux operating systems. With the second option, the buttons, scroll bars and text boxes, etc., change and adapt to the look and feel of the host OS. In this case, the same word processor application looks and feels like a Windows application when running on Windows, but when running on Linux, it looks and feels like a Linux application.
A key JFC advantage is that its components are pluggable and require fewer lines of code. Additionally, JFC retains Java qualities. Thus, the performance of a GUI created through JFC is predictable. An application that runs seamlessly on one OS runs seamlessly on another OS.
What are Java Foundation Classes?
Java Foundation Classes (JFCs) are reusable software components that can be used to build a graphical user interface in a Java® application. They are an improvement on the toolkit that shipped with early versions of Java®. They are intended to simplify software development, shorten programming time and fulfill the goal of creating applications that look and act the same no matter the type of computer on which they are run.
JFCs are a set of user interface components that expand on the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) that was originally provided with the Java® programming language. They are JavaBeans™ components that are part of Java 2® and are designed to be cross-platform and customizable. They are meant to reduce programming time by providing components that can be reused from application to application and from platform to platform. The Java Foundation Classes don’t actually replace the Abstract Window Toolkit but are instead a part of it. They do, however, enable the Java® ideal of «write once, run anywhere» more completely than the original AWT.
The AWT enables user interface design, but it does so using the windowing system of the operating system on which it is running. This makes it difficult to create applications that look and behave the same on any platform, because of the inherent differences in features between operating systems. AWT was also very limited in that the set of controls it provided was not broad enough to create complex user interfaces and advanced software applications. The AWT components are what Sun Microsystems calls «heavyweight» because they use the host windowing system.
Recognizing the limitations of AWT, Netscape developers created a set of components called the Internet Foundation Classes. These were a set of «lightweight» components, components written natively in Java®. This extended the functionality of AWT and allowed developers to create user interfaces that kept their appearance when run on different platforms. JavaSoft then began a joint project with Netscape, called the Swing project. This project resulted in a set of user interface controls with a variety comparable to that available from any of the operating system platforms.
Swing is a set of lightweight components that Sun released to the public in combination with several other feature improvements that were intended for the Java Development Kit (JDK) version 1.2. This package of Swing plus other feature improvements was what JavaSoft named the Java Foundation Classes. The Swing user interface controls are the major portion of the Java Foundation Classes, which also include, among other items, printing, clipboard and accessibility functions. The JDK 1.2 includes the full version of JFC, although a limited version was made available that could be used with the then-current JDK 1.1.
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