Hello,

Find below a list of software updates, the current roadmap,
and information about the future of the JGoodies.

UPDATES
The following product updates have been published/released:
o Animation R1.1.2
o Binding 0.9.11
o Book Finder Binary Example (ships with the Swing Suite 1.3)
o Forms R1.0.2
o Forms 1.0.3 Preview
o Looks R1.1.3
o Looks 1.2 Preview
o Looks Pro R1.1.3
o Swing Suite R1.2
o Swing Suite 1.3 Preview
o Validation 0.9.0
o Validation Demo 0.9.0

For detailed change information see the RELEASE-NOTE.html
in the product distribution home directories; for an overview
see http://www.jgoodies.com/downloads/changes.html

The most important change is the transistion to Java 1.4
in the Swing Suite 1.3 and its contained libraries Binding,
Forms, Looks and UIF. Also, the support for the Mac OS X
has been significantly improved in the Forms, Looks and UIF.

HOW TO USE THE NEW LIBRARIES
The Animation, Forms and Looks are almost binary compatible
and so are easy to use. I have only dropped some deprecated
methods and have removed 1.3 code.
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).

I've changed the package names in the Binding library.
To easily use the new class names, you may import the
old sources, rename the binding classes in your environment
to the new names, then replace the binding sources with
the new binary library.

The UI Framework has been changed significantly for 1.2
and again for 1.3. There are several binary incompatible
changes that will require some changes in your code.
Since the Java 1.3 backports for logging and preferences
have been removed in the UIF 1.3, just change the import
statements where necessary to the 1.4 logging and prefs.

I have choosen to duplicate several classes in the UIF 1.3,
so the old versions are binary compatible but I can
refactor, improve and extend the code at the same time.
In the UIF 1.3 Preview you'll find a new package hierarchy
starting with com.jgoodies.uif. I plan to further extend
these classes in the Swing Suite 1.4. For now, you can
choose to either use the old class names, for example
com.jgoodies.swing.util.ToolBarButton or the new one
com.jgoodies.uif.component.ToolBarButton.
Where the new tool bar button provides better support for
handling differences between the Mac and other platforms.
Again, if you want to convert your code, you may import
the old sources, refactor them in your IDE, and later
replace the renamed classes with the new library.

ROADMAP
The Forms 1.0.3 final just needs some final testing
and will likely be shipped within the next two weeks.
The Looks 1.2 still lacks a better handling of fonts on
non-Windows platforms and in non-western environments.
The Data Binding library lacks a tutorial and demo.
The UIF 1.3 final will see some improvements so it can
handle different menu item labels and accelerators for
different platforms. Also, the Swing Suite examples
shall demonstrate the new com.jgoodies.uif.* classes.
I'll then ship the Suite 1.3, likely later this month.

The next step is the conversion of the UIF into a
smaller binary libary and a larger collection of
convenience source code classes. Currently I feel
stiffled by the need for binary and visual compatiblity
of several UIF classes that are primarily intended
as reference examples, for example DefaultAboutDialog.
I cannot do simple improvements - even if the vast
majority of you would welcome them, just because
these changes may break the binary code or layout,
or appearance for a minority of API users.
Therefore I consider moving the com.jgoodies.uif.*
classes to a black-box UIF library and consider moving
the rest to a big bag of example implementations.
I can then add a new AboutDialog to the source bag easily.
I hope this conversion is finished in March (2004).

As a result the set of JGoodies libraries will then
consist of four basic building blocks: Forms, Looks,
Binding and Validation, for layout, appearance, binding,
validation and validation presentation. On top of that
you'll get the UIF that addresses platform differences
and issues that are not supported well by the Swing core.
It will be a real milestone if all these blocks are
available with a tutorial and shrink-wrapped demo.
Pooh.

THE BIG PICTURE
I can then finally turn over and write and explain
how to build Swing applications efficiently. Currently
I hesitate to talk about the binding, just because it
lacks a demo and is so difficult to write about, where
a piece of code could demonstrate the problems, concepts
and solutions quite easily.

The then current JGoodies library set and application
patterns will be our contribution to the Java desktop
blueprints. I hesitate to talk about a pattern, approach
or technology if there's no open source demo available.
I'll try hard to have it ready for the JavaOne 2004.

Also, I can then turn my activities to my strenghts
and design reliable, usable and elegant applications.

BUSINESS MODEL
I plan to open source all parts of the Swing Suite.
This will enable many more developers to benefit from
the Swing Suite solutions. And it helps me work more
on the code and produce better libraries faster.
On the other hand my family needs to live and eat.
So I either need continued support from sponsors or
product revenues.

Therefore I ask you to consider licensing the
Swing Suite product if it helps you save money.
I see the JGoodies as a community effort where I provide
solutions and assistance that many use and some pay for.
Let me thank all customers for purchasing a product,
and many thanks to the Sun Java Desktop team for sponsoring
a significant amount of my maintenance and support work!
I'm going to write about the business model in a separate
mail once the Swing Suite 1.3 is out.

I wish you a successful new year and that you can
work with the updated JGoodies software efficiently.

Best regards,
Karsten Lentzsch