Lesson 1

One way to draw lines, rectangles, text, or images in Java, is to use the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT). Java's AWT offers a library of powerful classes that are used primarily to draw graphics and build user interfaces. The AWT is very easy to use.

Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) was the original GUI toolkit provided by Java. It offered a basic set of GUI components like buttons, text fields, and menus. However, AWT components are heavyweight because they rely on the underlying native system's GUI components. This dependency led to several limitations:

• Platform Inconsistency: The look and feel of components varied across different operating systems, leading to inconsistent user experiences.
• Limited Components: AWT provided a minimal set of GUI components, lacking advanced features required for modern applications.
• Extensibility Issues: Customizing or extending AWT components was challenging due to their reliance on native code.

To overcome these limitations, Java Foundation Classes (JFC) Swing was introduced:

• Lightweight Components: Swing components are written entirely in Java, making them lightweight and not dependent on native system resources. This ensures consistent behavior across platforms.
• Rich Component Set: Swing offers a comprehensive set of GUI components, including tables, trees, sliders, and text components, which were absent in AWT.
• Pluggable Look and Feel: Swing supports a pluggable look and feel architecture, allowing developers to change the appearance of applications without altering the underlying code.
• Customizability: Swing components are highly customizable and extensible, enabling developers to create custom components tailored to specific needs.
• Double Buffering: Swing introduced double buffering by default, reducing flicker and improving the rendering performance of GUI applications.

In summary, the evolution from AWT to Swing addressed the need for a more flexible, consistent, and feature-rich GUI toolkit that could provide a better user experience and easier development process.

While Swing significantly improved upon AWT, it started to show its age with the advent of modern GUI requirements:

• Complexity: Swing's architecture is intricate, making it cumbersome for developers to create and maintain complex UIs.
• Limited Graphics Capabilities: Swing lacks advanced graphics features like modern animation, transitions, and hardware acceleration.
• Outdated Look and Feel: The default appearance of Swing applications appeared dated compared to modern applications.

To address these shortcomings, JavaFX was developed as a next-generation GUI toolkit:

• Modern UI Controls: JavaFX provides a rich set of modern UI controls and layouts, facilitating the development of contemporary user interfaces.
• Hardware Acceleration: It leverages the GPU for hardware-accelerated graphics, resulting in smoother animations and better performance.
• CSS-like Styling: JavaFX allows developers to style applications using CSS-like syntax, making it easier to customize the appearance and maintain consistency.
• FXML: Introduces FXML, an XML-based language for defining UI layouts, which separates design from logic and enhances collaboration between designers and developers.
• Property Binding: Simplifies UI updates by allowing properties of UI components to be bound to application data models, reducing boilerplate code.
• Multimedia Support: Offers built-in support for audio and video playback, enabling richer media experiences within applications.
• Web Integration: Includes a WebView component based on WebKit, allowing developers to embed web content directly into JavaFX applications.
• Responsive Design: JavaFX supports responsive UI design, adapting to different screen sizes and resolutions, which is essential for modern applications

In summary, the shift from Swing to JavaFX was driven by the need for a modern, feature-rich, and efficient GUI toolkit that could meet the demands of contemporary application development, including rich media integration, advanced graphics, and a more streamlined development process.

Overall Evolution:

• From AWT to Swing: Addressed the need for a consistent, extensible, and richer set of GUI components by moving away from native heavyweight components to Java-based lightweight components.
• From Swing to JavaFX: Responded to the demands of modern applications by introducing a toolkit with advanced graphics capabilities, modern UI controls, and a more efficient development paradigm.

This evolution reflects Java's commitment to providing developers with the tools necessary to create sophisticated, high-performance, and visually appealing user interfaces that align with contemporary standards and user expectations.

After completing the module, you will have the skills and knowledge necessary to:

1. Understand the importance of Java's Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT)
2. Draw graphics primitives and text
3. Understand the structure and makeup of images
4. Load and draw images
5. Build an interactive slide show applet