Java Foundation Classes in a Nutshell

CHAPTER 11

Thejava.awt.datatransfer Package

The java.awt.datatransfer package contains classes and interfaces that define a frame-

work for user-driven interapplication and intra-application data transfer. It also

contains classes that support data transfer through cut-and-paste. The Java 2 plat-

for m java.awt.dnd package implements drag-and-drop using the framework defined

by this package.

The Transferable inter face is implemented by any class that allows data to be trans-

ferr ed. The DataFlavor class defines the type of data to be transferred. Clipboard and

ClipboardOwner ar e used for implementing cut-and-paste. StringSelection is a utility

class that enables easy data transfer of strings. Figure 11-1 shows the class hierar-

chy of this package. See Chapter 6, Data Transfer, for more details about data

transfer.

Clipboard Ja va 1.1

java.awt.datatransfer PJ1.1

This class repr esents a clipboard on which data may be transferred using the cut-and-

paste metaphor. When data is cut, it should be encapsulated in a Transferable object and

register ed with a Clipboard object by calling setContents().AClipboard can hold only a sin-

gle piece of data at a time, so a ClipboardOwner object must be specified when data is

placed on the clipboard. This object is notified that it no longer owns the clipboard

when the data is replaced by other, mor erecent, data.

When a paste is requested by the user, an application ...