Swing Hacks

Tips & Tools for Building Killer Guis

Swing Hacks helps Java developers move beyond the basics of Swing, the graphical user interface (GUI) standard since Java 2. If you're a Java developer looking to build enterprise applications with a first-class look and feel, Swing is definitely one skill you need to master. This latest title from O'Reilly is a reference to the cool stuff in Swing. It's about the interesting things you learn over the years--creative, original, even weird hacks--the things that make you say, "I didn't know you could even do that with Swing!"

Swing Hacks will show you how to extend Swing's rich component set in advanced and sometimes non-obvious ways. The book touches upon the entire Swing gamut-tables, trees, sliders, spinners, progress bars, internal frames, and text components. Detail is also provided on JTable/JTree, threaded component models, and translucent windows. You'll learn how to filter lists, power-up trees and tables, and add drag-and-drop support.

Swing Hacks will show you how to do fun things that will directly enhance your own applications. Some are visual enhancements to make your software look better. Some are functional improvements to make your software do something it couldn't do before. Some are even just plain silly, in print only to prove it could be done. The book will also give you give you a small glimpse of the applications coming in the future. New technology is streaming into the Java community at a blistering rate, and it gives application developers a whole new set of blocks to play with.

With its profusion of tips and tricks, Swing Hacks isn't just for the developer who wants to build a better user interface. It's also ideally suited for client-side Java developers who want to deliver polished applications, enthusiasts who want to push Java client application boundaries, and coders who want to bring powerful techniques to their own applications.

Whatever your programming needs, Swing Hacks is packed with programming lessons that increase your competency with interface-building tools.

About the Authors
Joshua Marinacci is the author of "The Java Sketchbook" column for java.net, covering topics in Java client-side and web development. A Java programmer since 1995, he's currently working on enterprise document management software. Joshua earned his BS from Georgia Tech in 1997, and has been a professional programmer for over a decade.

Chris Adamson is an Associate Online Editor for O'Reilly's Java websites, ONJava and java.net. He is also a software consultant, in the form of Subsequently and Furthermore, Inc., specializing in Java, Mac OS X, and media development. He wrote his first Java applet in 1996 on a 16 MHz black-and-white PowerBook 160 with the little-seen Sun MacJDK 1.0. In a previous career, he was a Writer / Associate Producer at CNN Headline News. He has an MA in Telecommunication from Michigan State University, and a BA in English and BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University.