An Introduction to Java and Program Design - Java Programming: Comprehensive Concepts and Techniques - page 29

Rapid Application Development (RAD)

Rapid application development ( RAD ) refers to the use of prebuilt objects
to make program development much faster. Using prebuilt objects is faster
because you use existing objects rather than creating new ones yourself. The
result is shorter development cycles, easier maintenance, and the ability to reuse
objects in other projects. One of the major premises on which industry imple-
mentation of OOP is built is greater reusability of code.
As shown in Table 1-4, the adoption of an object-oriented approach to pro-
gramming and program design has many benefits. First, using OOP means that
not all members of a development team need to be proficient in an object-
oriented programming language such as Java. Second, OOP provides a practical
and economical approach to programming because the task of creating objects
can be separated from the task of assembling objects into applications. Some
programmers, called class providers , can focus on creating classes and objects,
while other developers, called class users , leverage their knowledge of business
processes to assemble applications using OOP methods and tools. The end user,
or simply user, is the person who interacts with a Java program.

J ava 2 J ava 2

v 5 . 0

JAVA UPDATE

v 5 . 0
In 2004, Sun Microsys-
tems came out with a
new version of the Java
Development Kit (JDK),
originally called version
1.5.0. Now commonly
called Version 5.0, the
new JDK includes a
number of new features
that can be used to
enhance performance
and compatibility.

Table 1-4 The Benefits of Object-Oriented Programming

BENEFIT EXPLANATION

Reusability The classes are designed so they can be reused in many systems,

or so modified classes can be created using inheritance.

Stability The classes are designed for repeated use and become stable over

time.

Easier design The designer looks at each object as a black box and is not as

concerned with the detail inside.

Faster design The applications can be created from existing components.

What Is the Java SDK?

As previously noted, the Java Software Development Kit (SDK) is a
programming package that enables a programmer to develop applications
in Java using the included programming interfaces, programming tools, and
documentation. As part of the Java 2 Standard Edition ( J2SE ) version 5.0, the
Java SDK is available for download free from Sun Microsystems on the Web at
java.sun.com. It also is included on a CD-ROM in the back of this topic.
Appendix B discusses how to install J2SE from the CD-ROM.
When you install the J2SE, you can install both the Java Development Kit
(JDK) and the Java 2 Runtime Environment (JRE). The tools and components in
the Java SDK help you develop Java programs; the tools and components in the
Java 2 Runtime Environment ( JRE ) help you deploy Java programs. Table 1-5 on
the next page outlines some of the components in the Java SDK and the JRE. Sev-
eral of these components are discussed in detail on the next page.