Swing and the Abstract Windowing Toolkit

Because Java is a cross-platform language that enables you to write programs for many different operating systems, its graphical user software must be flexible. Instead of catering only to the Windows style or the Mac version, it must handle both along with other platforms.

With Java, the development of a program’s user interface is based on Swing and an earlier set of classes called the Abstract Windowing Toolkit. These classes enable you to create a GUI and receive input from the user.

Swing includes everything you need to write programs that use a GUI. With Java’s user interface classes, you can create a GUI that includes all the following and more:

• Buttons, check boxes, labels, and other simple components

• Text fields, sliders, and other more complex components

• Pull-down menus and pop-up menus

• Windows, frames, dialog boxes, panels, and applet windows