Swing Enhancements in Java SE 7
The following topics are covered:
- JLayer Class
- Nimbus Look & Feel
- Heavyweight and Lightweight Components
- Shaped and Translucent Windows
- Hue-Saturation-Luminance (HSL) Color Selection in JColorChooser Class
JLayer Class
The JLayer
class is a flexible and powerful decorator for Swing components. It
enables you to draw on components and respond to component events
without modifying the underlying component directly. For more
information, read How
to Decorate Components with JLayer in the Java Tutorial.
Nimbus Look & Feel
The Nimbus Look & Feel (L&F) has moved from
com.sun.java.swing to a standard API namespace,
javax.swing; see the
javax.swing.plaf.nimbus package for more information.
Although it is not the default L&F, you can easily use it.
Consult the
Nimbus Look and Feel section in the Java Tutorial for more
information and examples of three simple methods for using Nimbus
in your applications.
Heavyweight and Lightweight Components
Historically, mixing heavyweight (AWT) and lightweight (Swing) components in the same container has been problematic. However, mixing heavyweight and lightweight components is easy to accomplish in Java SE 7. The Mixing Heavyweight and Lightweight Components article shows you how.
Shaped and Translucent Windows
The Java SE 7 release supports windows with transparency and non-rectangular shapes. See How to Create Translucent and Shaped Windows, part of the Java Tutorial.
Hue-Saturation-Luminance (HSL) Color Selection in JColorChooser Class
An HSV tab has been added to the JColorChooser
class, which allows users to select colors using the
Hue-Saturation-Luminance (HSL) color model.
In addition, the following technologies feature related enhancements: