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Java Swing is a lightweight Java graphical user interface (GUI) widget toolkit that includes a rich set of widgets. It is part of the Java Foundation Classes (JFC) and includes several packages for developing rich desktop applications in Java. Swing includes built-in controls such as trees, image buttons, tabbed panes, sliders, toolbars, color choosers, tables, and text areas to display HTTP or rich text format (RTF). Swing components are written entirely in Java and thus are platform-independent.
Techopedia Explains Java Swing
Swing offers customization of the look and feel of every component in an application without making significant changes to the application code. It also includes a pluggable look and feel feature, which allows it to emulate the appearance of native components while still having the advantage of platform independence. This particular feature makes writing applications in Swing easy and distinguishes it from other native programs.
Swing was distributed as a downloadable library and has been included as a part of Java standard edition 1.2. Originally, the graphics library for Java, developed by Netscape Communication Corporation, was called Internet Foundation Classes (IFC). The first release of IFC was on December 16, 1996. The evolution of JFC can be traced back to 1997, when Sun Microsystems and Netscape Communication Corporation came up with the idea of merging IFC with other technologies.
