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Trail: Creating a GUI with JFC/Swing
Lesson: Getting Started with Swing

## Swing Package Names

> The names of the Swing packages have varied over time. This trail uses the final Swing package names, which generally start with `javax.swing`. If you have code that uses earlier package names, such as `com.sun.java.swing`, then you will need to convert it.

> This section has two parts:

> - How to Convert to the Final Package Names
> - The History of the Swing Package Names

### How to Convert to the Final Package Names

> Between the Beta 2 and Beta 3 releases of Swing 1.1, the names of the Swing packages changed. In Swing 1.1 Beta 2, for example, the main Swing package was called `com.sun.java.swing`, while in Swing 1.1 Beta 3, the name is `javax.swing`. The same changes occurred between the Beta 4 and RC1 releases of the Java 2 Platform, v 1.2.

> Converting the package names is easy, although it can be tedious to do by hand when many source files are involved. Fortunately, the Swing team provides a utility called `PackageRenamer` that converts programs to use the final Swing package names. You can find the program at ``http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/PackageRenamer`` .

> The following table shows how the names have changed:

> Old Name (Swing 1.1 Beta 2, Java 2 Platform v 1.2 Beta 4) | New, Final Name (Swing 1.1 [Beta 3 and later], Java 2 Platform v 1.2 RC1)
> --- | ---
> `com.sun.java.accessibility` | `javax.accessibility`
> `com.sun.java.swing` | `javax.swing`
> `com.sun.java.swing.border` | `javax.swing.border`
> `com.sun.java.swing.colorchooser` | `javax.swing.colorchooser`
> `com.sun.java.swing.event` | `javax.swing.event`
> `com.sun.java.swing.filechooser` | `javax.swing.filechooser`
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf` | `javax.swing.plaf`
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.basic` | `javax.swing.plaf.basic`
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.metal` | `javax.swing.plaf.metal`
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.motif` | `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.motif` (no change)
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.multi` | `javax.swing.plaf.multi`
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows` | `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows` (no change)
> `com.sun.java.swing.table` | `javax.swing.table`
> `com.sun.java.swing.text` | `javax.swing.text`
> `com.sun.java.swing.text.html` | `javax.swing.text.html`
> `com.sun.java.swing.tree` | `javax.swing.tree`
> `com.sun.java.swing.undo` | `javax.swing.undo`
> `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.mac` | `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.mac` (no change)
> `com.sun.java.accessibility.util` | `com.sun.java.accessibility.util` (no change)

> > Note: The `com.sun.java.accessibility.util` package isn't part of the JFC 1.1 release or Java 2 Platform. It's distributed separately as part of the `Accessibility Utilities`.

> > The `com.sun.java.swing.plaf.mac` package is distributed only in the Macintosh download of `JFC 1.1` and the `Mac OS Runtime for Java`, also known as MRJ.

### The History of the Swing Package Names

> At various times, the Swing API has used the following package names:

> - `com.sun.java.swing`
> - `java.awt.swing`
> - `javax.swing`

> In the end, the core Swing API is under the `javax.swing` package, with some additional Sun-provided packages under `com.sun.java.swing`. The previous table gives details of the final package names. Now let's look at how the names have varied over time.

> In all the JFC 1.1 releases up through Swing 1.1 Beta 2, the name of the main Swing package was `com.sun.java.swing`. The JFC 1.1 releases were meant to be used with JDK 1.1. There was no built-in support for Swing until the 1.2 Beta 2 version of the Java 2 Platform.

> In the Beta 2 and Beta 3 releases of the Java 2 Platform v 1.2, the Swing API was in a new package: `java.awt.swing`. However, some of our customers told us that they wanted the Swing package names to be the same in JFC 1.1 and the Java 2 Platform, so that they would be able to use the exact same code for both releases.

> As a result, in v 1.2 Beta 4 the Swing team moved the main Swing package to `com.sun.java.swing`. Unfortunately, many people didn't like this change. One of the reasons for the discontent was that having a core API in a package that didn't begin with "java" seemed to imply that Swing wasn't a core API.

> The Swing team reacted by floating a `proposal` to move the Swing packages to `javax.swing` in both JFC 1.1 and the Java 2 Platform. The proposal was favorably greeted by the user community, and the new package names were introduced in Swing 1.1 Beta 3 and the Java 2 SDK v 1.2 RC1. The right column of the preceding table shows the final package names.

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