JAVA Beans
A Java Bean is a software component that has been designed to be reusable in a variety of different
environments. There is no restriction on the capability of a Bean. It may perform a simple function, such as
checking the spelling of a document, or a complex function, such as forecasting the performance of a stock
portfolio. A Bean may be visible to an end user. One example of this is a button on a graphical user interface.
A Bean may also be invisible to a user. Software to decode a stream of multimedia information in real time is
an example of this type of building block. Finally, a Bean may be designed to work autonomously on a user's
workstation or to work in cooperation with a set of other distributed components. Software to generate a pie
chart from a set of data points is an example of a Bean that can execute locally. However, a Bean that provides
real-time price information from a stock or commodities exchange would need to work in cooperation with
other distributed software to obtain its data. A bean encapsulates many objects into one object, so we can
access this object from multiple places. Moreover, it provides the easy maintenance.
Advantages of Java Beans
A software component architecture provides standard mechanisms to deal with software building blocks. The
following list enumerates some of the specific benefits that Java technology provides for a component
developer:
A Bean obtains all the benefits of Java's "write-once, run-anywhere" paradigm.
The properties, events, and methods of a Bean that are exposed to an application
builder tool can be controlled.
A Bean may be designed to operate correctly in different locales, which makes it
useful in global markets.
Auxiliary software can be provided to help a person configure a Bean. This software is
only needed when the design-time parameters for that component are being set. It
does not need to be included in the run-time environment.
The configuration settings of a Bean can be saved in persistent storage and restored
at a later time.
A Bean may register to receive events from other objects and can generate events that
are sent to other objects.
