JavaBeans is a component based programming model on top of the Java programming language [17,6], which reduces programming to simple graphical operations as far as possible. It is applied mostly for the construction of graphical user interfaces, but can be used more generally, as is shown here. Working with JavaBeans consists mainly of the following steps:
To work with JavaBeans you need the Java development kit (Java-SDK), a graphical programming environment (IDE = Integrated Development Environment) and of course a set of beans. All descriptions in this book refer to the NetBeans IDE [4], which is open source, but different IDEs can be used as well, generally in a very similar way. All beans that are used in the following are part of the PhysBeans library, that is included on the accompanying CD. In addition you can use the beans of the Swing library which is part of the Java SDK.
Included on the CD are versions of all programs needed, for Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. Their installation is described in the following sections. Alternatively you can use your own Java-SDK (version 1.5 or later) or a different IDE.