Java serialization was initially used to support remote method invocation
(RMI), allowing argument objects to be passed between two virtual machines.
RMI works best when the two VMs contain compatible versions of the class
being transmitted, and can reliably transmit a binary representation of the
object based on its internal state. When an object is serialized, it must
also serialize the objects to which its fields refer - resulting in what is
commonly called an object graph of connected components. Although the
transient keyword can be used to control the extent to which the
serialization process penetrates the object graph, this level of control is
seldom enough.
Many have tried to use Java's serialization to achieve the so-called
"long-term persistence" of data - where the serialized form of a Java data
structure is written to a file for later use. One such area... (more)
A number of very significant development efforts are underway that bode well
for Desktop Java's future.
On the language side is the Java FX script project
www.sun.com/software/javafx/index.jsp. Java FX is neat because it provides a
high-level scripting interface that runs on top of the Java 2D API. From the
users' viewpoint it means they don't have to write Java code and, for better
or worse, understand the intricacies of threads, Java 2D or Swing class
hierarchies, timing frameworks, and so forth. Instead they just write script
that describes the desired GUI at a high level, in... (more)
The Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT) is a Java class library that allows you to
create native user interfaces. It's designed to provide efficient, portable
access to the underlying facilities of the operating system on which it's
implemented. SWT uses native widgets wherever possible, giving an SWT program
a native look and feel and a high level of integration with the desktop. In
addition, SWT includes a rich set of controls such as tree, table, and tab
folder. This article introduces SWT by describing some of the basic concepts
and classes.
Hello World: A Simple SWT Program
The e... (more)
The first part of this article (JDJ, Vol. 8, issue 4) introduced the Standard
Widget Toolkit (SWT), and showed how graphical user interfaces can be created
using some of the basic widgets found in SWT. In addition, layout classes
were described that allow widgets to be arbitrarily positioned and sized
within their parent.
In Part 2, we continue where the previous article left off, describing some
of the more advanced controls and concepts, including multithreading in the
user interface. We conclude with a brief discussion of SWT graphics.
Items
Many of the advanced controls in SW... (more)
Before Java I was a Smalltalk guy. I remember switching from one language to
the other and the tipping point that you reach when you’ve mastered the new
language and how many months it takes, not to mention the years, to do really
good design and know-how, which patterns to apply and how to avoid mistakes,
understand performance issues, and so forth. I recently had to look at some
Smalltalk code and realized that after spending a period away it was hard to
figure out what to do – I definitely wouldn’t call myself a competent
Smalltalk programmer anymore.
What’s my point? I think... (more)
Joe Winchester, Editor-in-Chief of Java Developer's Journal, was formerly JDJ's longtime Desktop Technologies Editor and is a software developer working on development tools for IBM in Hursley, UK.
David Lucas
Cathy Lopez
Shaul Efraim
Terence Martin Breslin
Cory Marchand
David Hughes
James Carlini
John Iffert
Dan Stolts
Joe Zeto
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