| | Qt Jambi is a new and noteworthy alternative to Swing and Java 2D for developing rich, cross-platform desktop-application interfaces. In this article JavaWorld contributor Jeff Hanson introduces the recently released Qt Jambi, explains how it works under the hood, and presents programming examples that will familiarize you with the framework's drag-and-drop API and integrated development tools. | JavaBeans are also used on the server side in JavaServer Pages (JSP). This is possible because JavaBeans don't have to use any specific GUI API. Non-GUI JavaBeans usually act as data models, and their public methods may be used to implement the application's logic, processing the data. There is nothing stopping us from using non-GUI JavaBeans on the client side, in desktop applications. | The development of most applications usually starts with a prototype for several reasons. First of all, you have to make sure that the user's requirements can be satisfied using existing technologies. For example, Windows integration cannot be implemented in a Swing application without using native code, which leads to the loss of Java's cross-platform advantage. SWT provides a limited integration with the operating system, while allowing you to run the same application on most native platforms. In many cases, however, the J2SE platform, with its rich set of features (Swing, Java 2D, Image I/O, etc.), provides everything you need for building complex desktop applications. Before committing to a big Java desktop project, you should always build a prototype to see if J2SE satisfies the application's needs. | Editor's note: Modifying stuff to suit individual desire is the credo of hackers everywhere. These two excerpts from Linux Desktop Hacks let you modify Linux to suit your desires: control how you access your own desktop, and how users access theirs. (And check back here next week for two more hacks from the book--the first on viewing Microsoft Word documents in a terminal, the second on creating an internet phone.) | Sun's Java Desktop System (JDS) has faced a lot of flak from the Free Software community. People object to Sun's naming scheme and branding, and have cried out in angst about JDS's complex and unattractive end-user licensing agreement. It seems odd that strident objections are being directed at the very best, most complete, and thoroughly integrated GNU/Linux distro on the market. Upon close inspection, the discrepancy is about the different objectives of individual open source developers and enterprise software vendors. And in the end, the high quality of Sun's new desktop system stands firm as a testament to our shared values for open standards and competitive functionality. | Editor's note: If you didn't get enough Linux tweaks last week from O'Reilly's Linux Desktop Hacks, here are two more hacks from the book to satiate your hacking needs. | Java runs on all relevant operating systems, including Windows, the Mac, and Linux. Java is the right desktop development platform for any organization that wants to be able to migrate from one operating system to another without having to port existing applications. It might be easier to build .NET applications using Microsoft's visual tools, but this choice locks you into the Windows platform. | | Part 2 of this article will discuss additional new and updated features in Java SE 6: table sorting and filtering, improvements to the Image I/O library, the new modality model, and the desktop API. | The JSR 220 specification defines Enterprise JavaBeans 3.0. One of its primary goals is to simplify the creation, management, and storage of entity beans. Working towards that goal, Sun Microsystems and supporting community developers created a new application programming interface (API) that lets you use "plain old Java objects" or POJOs as your persistable entities. The Java Persistence API facilitates your use of POJOs as entity beans and significantly reduces the need for complicated deployment descriptors and extra helper beans. Additionally, you can even use the API in desktop applications. | With the JDS, businesses finally have an affordable desktop allowing users immediate productivity. With its two pricing options, Sun's Java Desktop System offers 75 percent total cost of acquisition savings compared to Windows-centric clients. | Part 1 of this article discussed several new or updated features available for the Java desktop developer in the final release of Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 (Java SE 6), including splash screens, the system tray, gray rect fix, LCD text, single-threaded rendering, and native look and feel. This article continues the outline, with details about the following elements. | The desktop Java client group at Sun is working on some great features and functionality in the next release of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE, formerly known as J2SE). We thought it might be useful to detail some of the highlights here. Where possible, we will add pointers to additional information (such as bug IDs or other articles). We will also give information on the JDK 6 build into which each item is integrated as development proceeds. And with the Java SE 6 release, this is more than just talk: You can download the latest bits anytime you want. | With the default graphical user interface (GUI) look and feel, printing, and performance, the Java platform has come a long way in its effort to minimize the difference between the performance and integration of native applications and Java applications. Version 6 of the Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE), continues to narrow the gap with new system tray functionality, better print support for JTable, and now the Desktop API (java.awt.Desktop API). This article describes the new Desktop API, which allows Java applications to interact with the default applications associated with specific file types on the host platform. In order to describe the API more effectively, the article also features a simple application called DesktopDemo. | Java DB is lightweight at 2 megabytes and embeddable within desktop Java technology applications. Desktop applications can now access powerful database storage with triggers, stored procedures, and support for SQL, Java DataBase Connectivity (JDBC) software, and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE, formerly referred to as J2EE), all embedded within the same Java virtual machine (JVM).* | Such distribution pushes the complexity of running and managing the services that make up a desktop session to the network, alleviating users from desktop management chores. Hence, a grid-based desktop transforms the problem of software installation and maintenance to that of provisioning networked services. | The desktop improvements focus mainly on user interface (UI) performance and native OS desktop integration. The core improvements focus mainly on improving developer productivity and Java application management. Sun's Mustang team also put significant effort towards Web services support and security improvements. | In the past, creating Java applications that played nice with the operating system's desktop system tray required libraries that were not part of core Java. Of the plethora of tools out there, JDIC (Java Desktop Integration Components), an effort developed by a community of developers at javadesktop.org and sponsored by Sun, was at the forefront of desktop integration. Sun made a good decision in including some components of JDIC as part of Java SE 6. The related classes java.awt.SystemTray and java.awt.Desktop represent these key components. Java.awt.SystemTray represents the operating Task Status Area or Notification Area (whichever the case may be). |
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