Hello,

Find below of a list of software updates, notes about major
changes in the JGoodies libs and apps, and the current roadmap.


UPDATES
The following software updates have been published:
o Binding 1.3.1
o Looks 2.1.2
o UIF 1.8.0 RC
o UIF Extras 1.8.0 RC
o Validation 1.4.0
o Swing Suite 1.8.0 RC


IMPORTANT NOTE: To avoid duplicate and incompatible library
versions in your classpath, I recommend to remove library jars
from the Java extension directory (<jre-home>/lib/ext).
See also https://looks.dev.java.net/faq.html#3.3


LIBRARY CHANGES
The Binding 1.3.1 allows to extend class BeanAdapter and
to customize the BeanAdapter creation in PresentationModels.
The Looks 2.1.2 contains minor bug fixes and improvements.
The Validation 1.4.0 allows to associate multiple message
keys with Swing components.


SWING SUITE CHANGES
The Swing Suite 1.8 is the next step towards the JSR 296
"Swing Application Framework". The JGoodies UIF, UIF Extras
and examples use a new resource management.

The JGoodies UIF and the JSR 296 address: application lifecycle,
resource management, action management, and persisting UI state.
The JSR has not reached the "Early Draft" review state of the
Java Community Process. However, some concepts are stable and
already supercede solutions used in older Swing Suite versions.

The Swing Suite version 1.8 manages resources much like the current
JSR 296 prototype implementation. The UIF's application lifecycle
has been slightly changed, and the UIF class names and resource keys
are now closer to the JSR prototype. The UIF's action management
and UI state persistency mechanism are almost unchanged.

All example applications have been updated to use the new resource
organization. Skeleton Pro 1.9.1 is the reference application
for the UIF 1.8. It is recommended to study the new Skeleton Pro
#main method, the SkeletonPro.properties, and the classes in
com.jgoodies.uif.application, especially the class ResourceMap.


MIGRATION
There are different strategies how to move your projects towards
the JSR 296 and towards this and future Swing Suite versions.
You can refactor your projects step-by-step as new Swing Suite
versions appear, or you can jump to a future Swing Suite that'll
include an implementation of the final JSR 296. See the UIF
Release Notes for details and for information how to migrate
to version 1.8.

The Swing Suite 1.8.0 Release Candidate seems to be stable.
If no show stoppers come up, this RC will become the 1.8 final.

If you have recently purchased the Swing Suite, I recommend
to download this release candidate and study the Skeleton Pro
version 1.9.1 RC. It's easier to understand than previous versions.


DOWNLOADS
The Swing Suite 1.8.0 RC is available from the JGoodies
product download page; access is password protected
http://www.jgoodies.com/downloads/products.html


ROADMAP
I plan to add a few features to the JGoodies open source libs
before these will moved to Java 5. Next planned updates are
the Forms 1.1, Binding 1.4, and Swing Suite 1.9. - all which
shall still support Java 1.4. For more information see:
http://www.jgoodies.com/downloads/roadmap.html

The next planned Swing Suite versions will further move the UIF
towards the JSR 296. A Swing Suite 1.9 shall include an new action
management, and a Swing Suite 2.0 shall be based on Java 5, so
it can use Java annotations that are required for the JSR 296.


Best regards,
Karsten Lentzsch