13. The new AWT

In Java 1.1 a dramatic change has been accomplished in the creation of the new AWT. Most of this change revolves around the new event model used in Java 1.1: as bad, awkward, and non-object-oriented as the old event model was, the new event model is possibly the most elegant I have seen. It's difficult to understand how such a bad design (the old AWT) and such a good one (the new event model) could come out of the same group. This new way of thinking about events seems to drop so easily into your mind that the issue no longer becomes an impediment; instead, it's a tool that helps you design the system. It's also essential for Java Beans, described later in the chapter.

Instead of the non-object-oriented cascaded if statements in the old AWT, the new approach designates objects as "sources" and "listeners" of events. As you will see, the use of inner classes is integral to the object-oriented nature of the new event model. In addition, events are now represented in a class hierarchy instead of a single class, and you can create your own event types.

You'll also find, if you've programmed with the old AWT, that Java 1.1 has made a number of what might seem like gratuitous name changes. For example, setSize( ) replaces resize( ). This will make sense when you learn about Java Beans, because Beans use a particular naming convention. The names had to be modified to make the standard AWT components into Beans.

Java 1.1 continues to support the old AWT to ensure backward compatibility with existing programs. Without fully admitting disaster, the online documents for Java 1.1 list all the problems involved with programming the old AWT and describe how those problems are addressed in the new AWT.

Clipboard operations are supported in 1.1, although drag-and-drop "will be supported in a future release." You can access the desktop color scheme so your Java program can fit in with the rest of the desktop. Pop-up menus are available, and there are some improvements for graphics and images. Mouseless operation is supported. There is a simple API for printing and simplified support for scrolling.