The new Java standard from Sun provides the richest array of functionality yet for developers and users. The Java 2 SDK, from Sun Microsystems, puts unprecedented programming power into the hands of Java developers and gives enhanced functionality to end users. The new Java standard appears to be the richest ever, though end users may have to wait to reap all the benefits promised in this release. Swing The most visible improvement in Java 2 is its set of classes that lets programmers create highly graphical applications and applets. Better yet, these Swing classes have a pluggable look and feel, which means that a Java application can change its appearance to mimic Windows or Unix's Motif on the fly.
Developers can even create their own visual styles.
This chameleon-like flexibility will be a winning feature to vendors who are considering writing a Java application that needs to run on more than one OS or hardware platform. In short, whatever native applications can do, Java 2 applications can do just as well, in functionality if not performance. Under the hood, Java 2 adds new features that will keep corporate developers happy as they write applications for the new millennium. There are a richer array of container classes for common data structures, like linked lists and maps. This addition makes up for the relatively weak support for containers in earlier versions of Java.