JavaBeans™ are reuseable software components that are written in Java™. The component is a piece of program code that provides a well-defined, functional unit, which can be as small as a label for a button on a window or as large as an entire application.
JavaBeans can be either visual or nonvisual components. Non-visual JavaBeans still have a visual representation, such as an icon or a name, to allow visual manipulation.
Many IBM® Toolbox for Java public classes are also JavaBeans. These classes were built to Javasoft JavaBean standards; they function as reuseable components. The properties and methods for an IBM Toolbox for Java bean are the same as the properties and methods of the class.
JavaBeans can be used within an application program or they can be visually manipulated in builder tools, such as the IBM VisualAge® for Java product.
The following examples show how to use JavaBeans in your program and how to create a program from JavaBeans by using a visual bean builder: