Why Beans?

The JavaBeans architecture has advantages whether you're the person using Beans created by another programmer, or the programmer writing the Beans. As the end user:

• JavaBeans gives Java developers the ability to work with sophisticated graphical development tools
• Beans are portable to any platform supporting the Java run-time environment
• JavaBeans, therefore, provides a building-block approach to application development within the Java environment
• JavaBeans provides the ability to integrate Java software into projects using other software technologies, such as ActiveX

Beans are simple to create and easy to use, and are lightweight: they only get the more complex features of the architecture if they're needed. Building a Bean doesn't require the use of complex extensions to the environment, and the Java class libraries provides a rich set of default behaviors for components. Developers can create their own customized property editors wherever defaults aren't appropriate.