by Kathy Walrath and Mary Campione
This trail describes
the API JavaSoft has added to the JDK since 1.0.
Mainly, it talks about the 1.1 release --
how 1.1 differs from 1.0,
how to use 1.1 features,
and so on.
This trail also gives you a preview of
what to expect after 1.1.
Note: The JDK 1.1 release was shipped in December 1996.
The JDK 1.1 release was quickly followed by the JDK 1.1.1
bug-fix release and more will likely follow.
Generally speaking, bug-fix releases do not add new features over
their predecessors. Thus, it is likely that documentation
describing the JDK 1.1 will apply equally well to future bug-fix
releases.
What's New in 1.1?
will be the place to learn about 1.1 and beyond.
This might be your first stop if you used 1.0.
Even if you didn't use 1.0,
you'll probably find this lesson handy
as an overview of capabilities that JavaSoft provides.
Until this lesson is complete, you can find information about 1.1
by looking at the
documentation bundle
for the current 1.1 release.
For information on writing programs that can use 1.1 features
and yet work even in 1.0 runtimes, see
Writing
Compatible Programs.
GUI Changes: The AWT Grows Up
describes how the GUI-related classes --
in particular the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) --
work in 1.1,
and the new features you can expect after 1.1.
The lesson includes detailed information
on using the new event system,
writing lightweight components,
and converting 1.0 AWT-using programs to 1.1.
[PENDING] Converting 1.0 Programs to 1.1 . . .
is under construction. Stay tuned. In the interim, you can see the
document on the 1.1 website that describes
How to Convert Programs to the 1.1 AWT API.
Besides the information provided in this trail,
the tutorial also contains the following trails that
document the new internationalization, native interface,
and JavaBeans(tm) APIs:
In the future, look for more 1.1 trails to cover
the JDBC, Object Serialization, and so on!
