What is JAVABEANS?

JavaBeans is the software component architecture for the Java language. Software components hide implementation, conform to interfaces, and encapsulate data, just like classes do in object-oriented languages. So how do components differ from classes? The answer: Almost all software components are also classes. What makes them components is their conformance to a software component specification.

JavaBeans turns classes into software components by providing several new features.

A JavaBean is a Java class that defines properties and that communicates with other Beans via events. Software components have properties, which are attributes of the object. Customization is the process of configuring a Bean for a particular task. Properties can be defined within the JavaBean class definition, or they can be inherited from other classes. A Bean, however, is not required to inherit from any particular class or interface.

JavaBeans that represent graphical components and that are meant to be visible must inherit from a java.awt.Component, so that they can be added to visual containers.

There are Beans that are not meant to be visible, and they are referred to as invisible Beans. They are identical to other JavaBeans except that they have no GUI representation.

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