Java API

Java Application Programming Interface

User's Guide

How the API Is Organized

There are three levels to the API:

Level 1 - All Packages

This level of the API provides links to the packages in the 1.0 release.

Level 2 - This Package

This level provides links to the classes and interfaces in a given package. There are three catogories in the listing:

Level 3 - This Class/Interface

This level begins with an index, followed by the detailed API. There are three categories at the class level. A category is omitted when a class has no applicable entries.

Within these categories there is additional color coding as follows:

Instance Variables
Static Variables
Constructors
Instance Methods
Static Methods

How to Locate Items

A Closer Look at the Class-Level API

Take a look at class String in the package java.lang. The navigational anchors are at the top. This is followed by the fully qualified class name and a representation of its position in the class hierarchy.

The next entries are links to the superclass and the interfaces, if any. This is followed by a description of the class, taken from the class comment. Notice how the programmer has embedded some code samples using html tags.

The author also chose to include a See Also entry to another class. Following the class-level entries for See Also, Version, and Author, the index begins.

The Index

Each class/interface begins with an index of its variables, constructors and methods, sorted alphabetically. The entry consists of the declaration and short description. The description is the first sentence of the doc comment for that item. The index entries are linked to their corresponding entries in the application programming inteface which immediately follows.

The Detailed API

The index is followed by the complete API for each entry. Within the three categories: Variables, Constructors, and Methods, the entries are presented in the order they appear in the source. This is done to preserve the logical groupings established by the programmer.

Where Are All the Links in the API?