Rapid Development of Java 2 Applications

• Visual IDE For Java 2 Development
  • Support for the latest Java Standards
    
  • Multi-JDK Debugging
    
  • Swing Integration
• New Visual Tools
  • Enhanced Deployment Wizard
    
  • Javadoc Wizard
    
  • Package Migration Wizard
    
  • Pure Java Help System
• Open Tools API
  
• Companion CD
  
• 300+ JavaBeans with Source Code

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Continue to Part II
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Rapid Development of Java 2 Applications

Rapid development of Java applications begins with a solid foundation. The JBuilder IDE delivers the key core features demanded by professional Java developers, including a fully integrated Application Browser, drag-and-drop visual designers, 100% Pure Java Two-Way-Tools™, a graphical debugger, a lightning-fast compiler, and much, much more.

Visual IDE for Java 2 development

The JBuilder 3 Integrated Development Environment has been enhanced to significantly speed up the development of Java 2 applications. 80% of the JBuilder 3 IDE is written in Java on the Java 2 platform, for true WYSIWYG development.

Figure 1: The new Java 2 hosted visual designer with a new JTree based tree view

Key new features include:

• IDE Productivity Enhancements
  • The JBuilder menu system and graphics are enhanced for increased usability. (The File, View, Tools, and Window menus have changed, and a Project menu has been added). In addition, right-click menus on the navigation, structure, and editor panes are revamped.
  • Windows management has been improved (save window positions, select an open project from the Windows menu, cascade, tile, and so on.)
  • Structure Pane navigation now supports inner classes
  • A graphical user interface for adding custom tools.
  • The option to not close the DOS box open after running a console application.
• Enhanced visual designers
  • Visual development using Java 2 hosted designers
  • New, faster parser for Pure Java Two-Way-Tools to reduce designer startup time and to understand more complex expressions.
  • Bean Chooser to select individual JavaBean components for use, without having to add it to the component palette.
  • New property editors for javax.swing.Border and javax.swing.Icon
  • New Tree View displays component icon for easier navigation
  • Ability to view normal, expert, and hidden properties in the Inspector
  • Drag-and-drop in the structure pane
• Java 2 Just-in-Time Compiler (JIT)
  
  • The JBuilder 3 JIT delivers the fastest performance for loading Java 2 applications.

Support for the latest Java Standards

JBuilder 3 offers developers an open, standards based development environment for creating platform independent applets, applications, servlets, JavaBeans, and Enterprise JavaBeans for the Java 2 platform. Supported standards include Java 2, JDK 1.1.x (through JDK Switching), JavaBeans, Enterprise JavaBeans, JDBC, RMI, and Serialization.

Multi-JDK Debugging

The JBuilder 3 debugger is enhanced to support the debugging needs of professional application developers. Improvements include:

• Debugging of Java 2 applications using the new JVMDI debugging APIÆs.
• Multi-JDK debugging to debug JDK 1.1.5 or later applications.
• Multi-process debugging to debug the multiple processes of distributed applications.
• Remote debugging to debug Java applications on distributed machines.
• Multi-platform debugging to debug application on multiple platforms, including Windows™ and Solaris™.

Swing Integration

Figure 2: Swing components on the JBuilder 3 Component Palette

JBuilder 3 provides tight integration of the Java 2 Swing components. Developing visually appealing Java 2 applications is easier than ever before using the new Wizards and Designers with support for the new Java 2 Swing components. Plus, JBuilder 3 adds even more components to the already rich palette, including JToggleButton, five box layout components, JFileChooser, JOptionPane, and JColorChooser.

New visual tools

Enhanced Deployment Wizard

The new Deployment Wizard simplifies the process of creating deployable JAR or ZIP files. JBuilder 3 now provides complete control over the contents of the archive, allowing the user to add and remove classes, files, and other resources individually and at the package level. The new wizard speeds up the deployment of a project by automatically creating customizable manifest files and remembering user settings from previous deployments.

Figure 3: Customizing the packages and classes to include in a JAR file

Javadoc Wizard

The new Javadoc Wizard makes it easy to generate documentation for classes from within the JBuilder IDE. The generated HTML files can then be used in the JBuilder IDE or in an HTML Browser.

Package Migration Wizard

The Package Migration Wizard simplifies the process of migrating applications from JDK 1.1.x to Java 2 by converting the package locations of the Swing components to the new locations in Java 2. The package migration also helps converting arbitrary projects and source code by renaming all specified references to new references, plus it creates new directories and moves files over based on new package names as applicable.

Figure 4: Using the package migration wizard to reference the new Swing package locations

Pure Java Help System

The new all Java help system in JBuilder delivers the features developers need to rapidly find the information they need. Key features include:

• Full text search
• Easier keyboard navigation
• Menus and a floating toolbar
• The ability to access any external URL from the Help Viewer's File menu

Figure 5: Full text search makes it easy to find information in the new JBuilder help system

Open Tools API

JBuilder 3 includes the Open Tools API to easily integrate third-party tools or wizards into the JBuilder IDE. In fact, the wizards included with JBuilder 3 are written as add-ins using the Open Tools API. To simplify the development process, JBuilder 3 includes samples, documentation, and a testbed for testing newly created add-ins. Plus, many of the tools on the Companion CD, included with JBuilder 3, are integrated into the JBuilder environment using the Open Tools API.

Companion CD

The JBuilder 3 Companion CD delivers functional versions of leading applications to speed up application development. This is not just a CD full of 30-day trial ware û the JBuilder 3 Partner CD includes full or lite versions that do not time out! The JBuilder 3 Companion CD includes:

• Together/J Whiteboard edition UML modeling tool from Object International.
• InstallShield Lite for Java installation creation tool from InstallShield Software Corporation.
• JRun for using servlets in the most popular web servers, from Live Software Corporation.
• Many more third party tools and JavaBean components.

300+ JavaBeans with Source Code

One of the best learning tools when starting with any new technology is to read the source code of professional applications and components. With this in mind, JBuilder Professional and Enterprise include a comprehensive library of reusable JavaBeans. The over 300 JavaBean components, with source code, provide a head start for developers who want to creating reusable JavaBeans.

Continue to Part II

Database Application Development

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What's New in JBuilder 3