Java Swing

What Does Java Swing Mean?

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.

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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.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…