JDK 1.2 Features Guide

JDK Software

The JDK 1.2 Features Guide is a collection of documents that describe some significant features of JDK 1.2 software. These documents include user guides, tutorials, and specifications.

The Features Guide was originally titled the Guide to New Features and only covered features introduced in the Java 1.2 platform. Many users requested documentation for older features, so we've expanded the scope of the Guide and added material originally written for the 1.1 platform. If you're interested in features added to the 1.2 platform, refer to the New Features Summary

All documents are provided in HTML. Some specifications are available in Postscript and PDF format -- refer to links on the individual feature index pages.

The Features Guide is not a comprehensive description of the Java 1.2 platform. Additional documentation is available from the Documentation Page on the Java Software web site.

• Basic Features
  • The Collections Framework, a unified framework for representing and manipulating collections.
  • The Extensions Framework allows application developers to extend the functionality of the core platform.
  • Java Archive (JAR) Files, a platform-independent aggregate file format.
  • JavaBeans component architecture.
  • Reference Objects reify references in much the same way that Class objects reify classes.
  • Reflection class access.
  • Version Identification for package-levl version control at runtime.
  • Sound Features.
  • Internationalization allows the development of localizable software.
  • Networking.
  • Arbitrary-Precision Math
  • Resources
  • Object Serialization extends the core input/output classes with support for objects.
  • Security and Signed Applets
• Java Foundation Classes (JFC)
  • Abstract Window Toolkit for basic GUI programming.
  • Swing Components, advanced visual components that don't rely on native peers.
  • 2D Advanced Graphics and Imaging.
  • Input Method Framework enables all text components to receive Japanese, Chinese, or Korean input.
  • Accessibility supports Java applications that can interact with assistive technology.
  • Drag-and-Drop data transfer
• Enterprise Features
  • Interface Definition Language (IDL)
  • Remote Method Invocation (RMI)
  • Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)
• Low-level Features
  • Java Native Interface (JNI)
  • Java Virtual Machine Debugger Interface (JVMDI)

Copyright © 1998 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please send comments to: jdk-comments@java.sun.com

JavaSoft