JavaBeans : Java Glossary

• They require a public parameterless default constructor.
• Beans must be totally freestanding. They can’t presume anything has been done for them ahead of time. If they need it, they have to create it or fake it for themselves. For example, they can’t presume some static call has been done to set up a Window for them to display error messages. Beans are like little reptiles that must be able to fend for themselves the moment they hatch (are constructed).
• A bean has no special interface to implement, just the dummy Serializable. There is a formal
  Oracle’s Technetwork JavaBeans Specification
  
  
• Just use the standard getXXX, setXXX naming conventions for your properties and make public the ones you want to expose. You can hide some of the public properties later in your BeanInfo to give you the Delphi-like distinction between public and published.
• String properties should be initialised to "" or some value rather than null.
• Provide a BeanInfo class to describe the properties. BeanInfo classes can get pretty elaborate, but writing a minimal one is very simple. I have provided some sample source under BeanInfo. It theory, you can have a bean without a BeanInfo, but it best to write one, even if just to provide an icon.

JavaBeans have a persistence mechanism similar to serialization, but uses a fluffy XML (extensible Markup Language) format and the PersistenceDelegate class.

Many companies are selling JavaBeans you can plug into your own custom applications. I have some I have written available free with source code. They handle prompting, data validation and generating error messages for data keyed. There are plain and dbaware components for dates, FormattedTextFields, phone numbers, provinces, postal codes, etc. you can download.

Books

Book referral for Mastering JavaBeans

	recommend book⇒Mastering JavaBeans
	by	Laurence Vanhelsuwé	978-0-7821-2097-4	paperback
	publisher	Sybex
	published	1997-05
800-pages. Now out of print.
Online bookstores carrying Mastering JavaBeans abe books anz abe books.ca abe books.de amazon.ca amazon.de Chapters Indigo amazon.es Chapters Indigo eBooks iberlibro.com abe books.com abe books.fr amazon.com amazon.fr Barnes & Noble abe books.it Nook at Barnes & Noble amazon.it Kobo junglee.com Google play abe books.co.uk O’Reilly Safari amazon.co.uk Powells other stores
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