Chapter 1. Programming Java for OS X
What's so different about Java on a Mac? Pure Java applications run on any operating system that supports Java. Popular Java tools run on OS X. From the developer's point of view, Java is Java, no matter where it runs.
Users do not agree. To an OS X user, pure Java applications that ignore the feel and features of OS X are less desirable, meaning the customers will take their money elsewhere. Fewer sales translates into unhappy managers and all the awkwardness that follows.
In this book, I show how to build GUIs that feel and behave like OS X users expect them to behave. I explain development tools and libraries found on the Mac. I explore bundling of Java applications for deployment on OS X. I also discuss interfacing Java with other languages commonly used on the Mac.
This chapter is about the background and basics of Java development on OS X. I explain the history of Java development. I show you around Apple's developer Web site. Finally, I go over the IDEs commonly used for Java development on the Mac.
Reviewing Apple Java History
Apple embraced Java technologies long before the first version of OS X graced a blue and white Mac tower. Refugees from the old tan Macs of the 1990s may vaguely remember using what was called the MRJ when their PC counterparts were busy ...
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