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Java™ Platform
Standard Ed. 8

Java™ Platform, Standard Edition 8
API Specification

This document is the API specification for the Java™ Platform, Standard Edition.

See: Description

Profiles

Packages 
Package Description
java.applet
Provides the classes necessary to create an applet and the classes an applet uses to communicate with its applet context.
java.awt
Contains all of the classes for creating user interfaces and for painting graphics and images.
java.awt.color
Provides classes for color spaces.
java.awt.datatransfer
Provides interfaces and classes for transferring data between and within applications.
java.awt.dnd
Drag and Drop is a direct manipulation gesture found in many Graphical User Interface systems that provides a mechanism to transfer information between two entities logically associated with presentation elements in the GUI.
java.awt.event
Provides interfaces and classes for dealing with different types of events fired by AWT components.
java.awt.font
Provides classes and interface relating to fonts.
java.awt.geom
Provides the Java 2D classes for defining and performing operations on objects related to two-dimensional geometry.
java.awt.im
Provides classes and interfaces for the input method framework.
java.awt.im.spi
Provides interfaces that enable the development of input methods that can be used with any Java runtime environment.
java.awt.image
Provides classes for creating and modifying images.
java.awt.image.renderable
Provides classes and interfaces for producing rendering-independent images.
java.awt.print
Provides classes and interfaces for a general printing API.
java.beans
Contains classes related to developing beans -- components based on the JavaBeans™ architecture.
java.beans.beancontext
Provides classes and interfaces relating to bean context.
java.io
Provides for system input and output through data streams, serialization and the file system.
java.lang
Provides classes that are fundamental to the design of the Java programming language.
java.lang.annotation
Provides library support for the Java programming language annotation facility.
java.lang.instrument
Provides services that allow Java programming language agents to instrument programs running on the JVM.
java.lang.invoke
The java.lang.invoke package contains dynamic language support provided directly by the Java core class libraries and virtual machine.
java.lang.management
Provides the management interfaces for monitoring and management of the Java virtual machine and other components in the Java runtime.
java.lang.ref
Provides reference-object classes, which support a limited degree of interaction with the garbage collector.
java.lang.reflect
Provides classes and interfaces for obtaining reflective information about classes and objects.
java.math
Provides classes for performing arbitrary-precision integer arithmetic (BigInteger) and arbitrary-precision decimal arithmetic (BigDecimal).
java.net
Provides the classes for implementing networking applications.
java.nio
Defines buffers, which are containers for data, and provides an overview of the other NIO packages.
java.nio.channels
Defines channels, which represent connections to entities that are capable of performing I/O operations, such as files and sockets; defines selectors, for multiplexed, non-blocking I/O operations.
java.nio.channels.spi
Service-provider classes for the java.nio.channels package.
java.nio.charset
Defines charsets, decoders, and encoders, for translating between bytes and Unicode characters.
java.nio.charset.spi
Service-provider classes for the java.nio.charset package.
java.nio.file
Defines interfaces and classes for the Java virtual machine to access files, file attributes, and file systems.
java.nio.file.attribute
Interfaces and classes providing access to file and file system attributes.
java.nio.file.spi
Service-provider classes for the java.nio.file package.
java.rmi
Provides the RMI package.
java.rmi.activation
Provides support for RMI Object Activation.
java.rmi.dgc
Provides classes and interface for RMI distributed garbage-collection (DGC).
java.rmi.registry
Provides a class and two interfaces for the RMI registry.
java.rmi.server
Provides classes and interfaces for supporting the server side of RMI.
java.security
Provides the classes and interfaces for the security framework.
java.security.acl
The classes and interfaces in this package have been superseded by classes in the java.security package.
java.security.cert
Provides classes and interfaces for parsing and managing certificates, certificate revocation lists (CRLs), and certification paths.
java.security.interfaces
Provides interfaces for generating RSA (Rivest, Shamir and Adleman AsymmetricCipher algorithm) keys as defined in the RSA Laboratory Technical Note PKCS#1, and DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm) keys as defined in NIST's FIPS-186.
java.security.spec
Provides classes and interfaces for key specifications and algorithm parameter specifications.
java.sql
Provides the API for accessing and processing data stored in a data source (usually a relational database) using the JavaTM programming language.
java.text
Provides classes and interfaces for handling text, dates, numbers, and messages in a manner independent of natural languages.
java.text.spi
Service provider classes for the classes in the java.text package.
java.time
The main API for dates, times, instants, and durations.
java.time.chrono
Generic API for calendar systems other than the default ISO.
java.time.format
Provides classes to print and parse dates and times.
java.time.temporal
Access to date and time using fields and units, and date time adjusters.
java.time.zone
Support for time-zones and their rules.
java.util
Contains the collections framework, legacy collection classes, event model, date and time facilities, internationalization, and miscellaneous utility classes (a string tokenizer, a random-number generator, and a bit array).
java.util.concurrent
Utility classes commonly useful in concurrent programming.
java.util.concurrent.atomic
A small toolkit of classes that support lock-free thread-safe programming on single variables.
java.util.concurrent.locks
Interfaces and classes providing a framework for locking and waiting for conditions that is distinct from built-in synchronization and monitors.
java.util.function
Functional interfaces provide target types for lambda expressions and method references.
java.util.jar
Provides classes for reading and writing the JAR (Java ARchive) file format, which is based on the standard ZIP file format with an optional manifest file.
java.util.logging
Provides the classes and interfaces of the JavaTM 2 platform's core logging facilities.
java.util.prefs
This package allows applications to store and retrieve user and system preference and configuration data.
java.util.regex
Classes for matching character sequences against patterns specified by regular expressions.
java.util.spi
Service provider classes for the classes in the java.util package.
java.util.stream
Classes to support functional-style operations on streams of elements, such as map-reduce transformations on collections.
java.util.zip
Provides classes for reading and writing the standard ZIP and GZIP file formats.
javax.accessibility
Defines a contract between user-interface components and an assistive technology that provides access to those components.
javax.activation  
javax.activity
Contains Activity service related exceptions thrown by the ORB machinery during unmarshalling.
javax.annotation  
javax.annotation.processing
Facilities for declaring annotation processors and for allowing annotation processors to communicate with an annotation processing tool environment.
javax.crypto
Provides the classes and interfaces for cryptographic operations.
javax.crypto.interfaces
Provides interfaces for Diffie-Hellman keys as defined in RSA Laboratories' PKCS #3.
javax.crypto.spec
Provides classes and interfaces for key specifications and algorithm parameter specifications.
javax.imageio
The main package of the Java Image I/O API.
javax.imageio.event
A package of the Java Image I/O API dealing with synchronous notification of events during the reading and writing of images.
javax.imageio.metadata
A package of the Java Image I/O API dealing with reading and writing metadata.
javax.imageio.plugins.bmp
Package containing the public classes used by the built-in BMP plug-in.
javax.imageio.plugins.jpeg
Classes supporting the built-in JPEG plug-in.
javax.imageio.spi
A package of the Java Image I/O API containing the plug-in interfaces for readers, writers, transcoders, and streams, and a runtime registry.
javax.imageio.stream
A package of the Java Image I/O API dealing with low-level I/O from files and streams.
javax.jws  
javax.jws.soap  
javax.lang.model
Classes and hierarchies of packages used to model the Java programming language.
javax.lang.model.element
Interfaces used to model elements of the Java programming language.
javax.lang.model.type
Interfaces used to model Java programming language types.
javax.lang.model.util
Utilities to assist in the processing of program elements and types.
javax.management
Provides the core classes for the Java Management Extensions.
javax.management.loading
Provides the classes which implement advanced dynamic loading.
javax.management.modelmbean
Provides the definition of the ModelMBean classes.
javax.management.monitor
Provides the definition of the monitor classes.
javax.management.openmbean
Provides the open data types and Open MBean descriptor classes.
javax.management.relation
Provides the definition of the Relation Service.
javax.management.remote
Interfaces for remote access to JMX MBean servers.
javax.management.remote.rmi
The RMI connector is a connector for the JMX Remote API that uses RMI to transmit client requests to a remote MBean server.
javax.management.timer
Provides the definition of the Timer MBean.
javax.naming
Provides the classes and interfaces for accessing naming services.
javax.naming.directory
Extends the javax.naming package to provide functionality for accessing directory services.
javax.naming.event
Provides support for event notification when accessing naming and directory services.
javax.naming.ldap
Provides support for LDAPv3 extended operations and controls.
javax.naming.spi  
javax.net
Provides classes for networking applications.
javax.net.ssl
Provides classes for the secure socket package.
javax.print
Provides the principal classes and interfaces for the JavaTM Print Service API.
javax.print.attribute
Provides classes and interfaces that describe the types of JavaTM Print Service attributes and how they can be collected into attribute sets.
javax.print.attribute.standard
Package javax.print.attribute.standard contains classes for specific printing attributes.
javax.print.event
Package javax.print.event contains event classes and listener interfaces.
javax.rmi
Contains user APIs for RMI-IIOP.
javax.rmi.CORBA
Contains portability APIs for RMI-IIOP.
javax.rmi.ssl
Provides implementations of RMIClientSocketFactory and RMIServerSocketFactory over the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.
javax.script
The scripting API consists of interfaces and classes that define Java TM Scripting Engines and provides a framework for their use in Java applications.
javax.security.auth
This package provides a framework for authentication and authorization.
javax.security.auth.callback
This package provides the classes necessary for services to interact with applications in order to retrieve information (authentication data including usernames or passwords, for example) or to display information (error and warning messages, for example).
javax.security.auth.kerberos
This package contains utility classes related to the Kerberos network authentication protocol.
javax.security.auth.login
This package provides a pluggable authentication framework.
javax.security.auth.spi
This package provides the interface to be used for implementing pluggable authentication modules.
javax.security.auth.x500
This package contains the classes that should be used to store X500 Principal and X500 Private Credentials in a Subject.
javax.security.cert
Provides classes for public key certificates.
javax.security.sasl
Contains class and interfaces for supporting SASL.
javax.sound.midi
Provides interfaces and classes for I/O, sequencing, and synthesis of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) data.
javax.sound.midi.spi
Supplies interfaces for service providers to implement when offering new MIDI devices, MIDI file readers and writers, or sound bank readers.
javax.sound.sampled
Provides interfaces and classes for capture, processing, and playback of sampled audio data.
javax.sound.sampled.spi
Supplies abstract classes for service providers to subclass when offering new audio devices, sound file readers and writers, or audio format converters.
javax.sql
Provides the API for server side data source access and processing from the JavaTM programming language.
javax.sql.rowset
Standard interfaces and base classes for JDBC RowSet implementations.
javax.sql.rowset.serial
Provides utility classes to allow serializable mappings between SQL types and data types in the Java programming language.
javax.sql.rowset.spi
The standard classes and interfaces that a third party vendor has to use in its implementation of a synchronization provider.
javax.swing
Provides a set of "lightweight" (all-Java language) components that, to the maximum degree possible, work the same on all platforms.
javax.swing.border
Provides classes and interface for drawing specialized borders around a Swing component.
javax.swing.colorchooser
Contains classes and interfaces used by the JColorChooser component.
javax.swing.event
Provides for events fired by Swing components.
javax.swing.filechooser
Contains classes and interfaces used by the JFileChooser component.
javax.swing.plaf
Provides one interface and many abstract classes that Swing uses to provide its pluggable look-and-feel capabilities.
javax.swing.plaf.basic
Provides user interface objects built according to the Basic look and feel.
javax.swing.plaf.metal
Provides user interface objects built according to the Java look and feel (once codenamed Metal), which is the default look and feel.
javax.swing.plaf.multi
Provides user interface objects that combine two or more look and feels.
javax.swing.plaf.nimbus
Provides user interface objects built according to the cross-platform Nimbus look and feel.
javax.swing.plaf.synth
Synth is a skinnable look and feel in which all painting is delegated.
javax.swing.table
Provides classes and interfaces for dealing with javax.swing.JTable.
javax.swing.text
Provides classes and interfaces that deal with editable and noneditable text components.
javax.swing.text.html
Provides the class HTMLEditorKit and supporting classes for creating HTML text editors.
javax.swing.text.html.parser
Provides the default HTML parser, along with support classes.
javax.swing.text.rtf
Provides a class (RTFEditorKit) for creating Rich-Text-Format text editors.
javax.swing.tree
Provides classes and interfaces for dealing with javax.swing.JTree.
javax.swing.undo
Allows developers to provide support for undo/redo in applications such as text editors.
javax.tools
Provides interfaces for tools which can be invoked from a program, for example, compilers.
javax.transaction
Contains three exceptions thrown by the ORB machinery during unmarshalling.
javax.transaction.xa
Provides the API that defines the contract between the transaction manager and the resource manager, which allows the transaction manager to enlist and delist resource objects (supplied by the resource manager driver) in JTA transactions.
javax.xml  
javax.xml.bind
Provides a runtime binding framework for client applications including unmarshalling, marshalling, and validation capabilities.
javax.xml.bind.annotation
Defines annotations for customizing Java program elements to XML Schema mapping.
javax.xml.bind.annotation.adapters
XmlAdapter and its spec-defined sub-classes to allow arbitrary Java classes to be used with JAXB.
javax.xml.bind.attachment
This package is implemented by a MIME-based package processor that enables the interpretation and creation of optimized binary data within an MIME-based package format.
javax.xml.bind.helpers
JAXB Provider Use Only: Provides partial default implementations for some of the javax.xml.bind interfaces.
javax.xml.bind.util
Useful client utility classes.
javax.xml.crypto
Common classes for XML cryptography.
javax.xml.crypto.dom
DOM-specific classes for the javax.xml.crypto package.
javax.xml.crypto.dsig
Classes for generating and validating XML digital signatures.
javax.xml.crypto.dsig.dom
DOM-specific classes for the javax.xml.crypto.dsig package.
javax.xml.crypto.dsig.keyinfo
Classes for parsing and processing KeyInfo elements and structures.
javax.xml.crypto.dsig.spec
Parameter classes for XML digital signatures.
javax.xml.datatype
XML/Java Type Mappings.
javax.xml.namespace
XML Namespace processing.
javax.xml.parsers
Provides classes allowing the processing of XML documents.
javax.xml.soap
Provides the API for creating and building SOAP messages.
javax.xml.stream  
javax.xml.stream.events  
javax.xml.stream.util  
javax.xml.transform
This package defines the generic APIs for processing transformation instructions, and performing a transformation from source to result.
javax.xml.transform.dom
This package implements DOM-specific transformation APIs.
javax.xml.transform.sax
This package implements SAX2-specific transformation APIs.
javax.xml.transform.stax
Provides for StAX-specific transformation APIs.
javax.xml.transform.stream
This package implements stream- and URI- specific transformation APIs.
javax.xml.validation
This package provides an API for validation of XML documents.
javax.xml.ws
This package contains the core JAX-WS APIs.
javax.xml.ws.handler
This package defines APIs for message handlers.
javax.xml.ws.handler.soap
This package defines APIs for SOAP message handlers.
javax.xml.ws.http
This package defines APIs specific to the HTTP binding.
javax.xml.ws.soap
This package defines APIs specific to the SOAP binding.
javax.xml.ws.spi
This package defines SPIs for JAX-WS.
javax.xml.ws.spi.http
Provides HTTP SPI that is used for portable deployment of JAX-WS web services in containers(for e.g.
javax.xml.ws.wsaddressing
This package defines APIs related to WS-Addressing.
javax.xml.xpath
This package provides an object-model neutral API for the evaluation of XPath expressions and access to the evaluation environment.
org.ietf.jgss
This package presents a framework that allows application developers to make use of security services like authentication, data integrity and data confidentiality from a variety of underlying security mechanisms like Kerberos, using a unified API.
org.omg.CORBA
Provides the mapping of the OMG CORBA APIs to the JavaTM programming language, including the class ORB, which is implemented so that a programmer can use it as a fully-functional Object Request Broker (ORB).
org.omg.CORBA_2_3
The CORBA_2_3 package defines additions to existing CORBA interfaces in the Java[tm] Standard Edition 6.   These changes occurred in recent revisions to the CORBA API defined by the OMG.  The new methods were added to  interfaces derived from the corresponding interfaces in the CORBA package.  This provides backward compatibility and avoids breaking the JCK tests.
org.omg.CORBA_2_3.portable
Provides methods for the input and output of value types, and contains other updates to the org/omg/CORBA/portable package.
org.omg.CORBA.DynAnyPackage
Provides the exceptions used with the DynAny interface (InvalidValue, Invalid, InvalidSeq, and TypeMismatch).
org.omg.CORBA.ORBPackage
Provides the exception InvalidName, which is thrown by the method ORB.resolve_initial_references and the exception InconsistentTypeCode, which is thrown by the Dynamic Any creation methods in the ORB class.
org.omg.CORBA.portable
Provides a portability layer, that is, a set of ORB APIs that makes it possible for code generated by one vendor to run on another vendor's ORB.
org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage
Provides the user-defined exceptions BadKind and Bounds, which are thrown by methods in in the class TypeCode.
org.omg.CosNaming
Provides a naming service for Java IDL.
org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContextExtPackage
This package contains the following classes, which are used in org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContextExt:
org.omg.CosNaming.NamingContextPackage
This package contains Exception classes for the org.omg.CosNaming package.
org.omg.Dynamic
This package contains the Dynamic module specified in the OMG Portable Interceptor specification, http://cgi.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?ptc/2000-08-06, section 21.9.
org.omg.DynamicAny
Provides classes and interfaces that enable traversal of the data value associated with an any at runtime, and extraction of the primitive constituents of the data value.
org.omg.DynamicAny.DynAnyFactoryPackage
This package contains classes and exceptions from the DynAnyFactory interface of the DynamicAny module specified in the OMG The Common Object Request Broker: Architecture and Specification, http://cgi.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/99-10-07, section 9.2.2.
org.omg.DynamicAny.DynAnyPackage
This package contains classes and exceptions from the DynAny interface of the DynamicAny module specified in the OMG The Common Object Request Broker: Architecture and Specification, http://cgi.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/99-10-07, section 9.2.
org.omg.IOP
This package contains the IOP module specified in the OMG document The Common Object Request Broker: Architecture and Specification, http://cgi.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/99-10-07, section 13.6.
org.omg.IOP.CodecFactoryPackage
This package contains the exceptions specified in the IOP::CodeFactory interface (as part of the Portable Interceptors spec).
org.omg.IOP.CodecPackage
This package is generated from the IOP::Codec IDL interface definition.
org.omg.Messaging
This package contains the Messaging module specified in the OMG CORBA Messaging specification, http://cgi.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/99-10-07.
org.omg.PortableInterceptor
Provides a mechanism to register ORB hooks through which ORB services can intercept the normal flow of execution of the ORB.
org.omg.PortableInterceptor.ORBInitInfoPackage
This package contains the exceptions and typedefs from the ORBInitInfo local interface of the PortableInterceptor module specified in the OMG Portable Interceptor specification, http://cgi.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?ptc/2000-08-06, section 21.7.2.
org.omg.PortableServer
Provides classes and interfaces for making the server side of your applications portable across multivendor ORBs.
org.omg.PortableServer.CurrentPackage
Provides method implementations with access to the identity of the object on which the method was invoked.
org.omg.PortableServer.POAManagerPackage
Encapsulates the processing state of the POAs it is associated with.
org.omg.PortableServer.POAPackage
Allows programmers to construct object implementations that are portable between different ORB products.
org.omg.PortableServer.portable
Provides classes and interfaces for making the server side of your applications portable across multivendor ORBs.
org.omg.PortableServer.ServantLocatorPackage
Provides classes and interfaces for locating the servant.
org.omg.SendingContext
Provides support for the marshalling of value types.
org.omg.stub.java.rmi
Contains RMI-IIOP Stubs for the Remote types that occur in the java.rmi package.
org.w3c.dom
Provides the interfaces for the Document Object Model (DOM).
org.w3c.dom.bootstrap  
org.w3c.dom.events  
org.w3c.dom.ls  
org.w3c.dom.views  
org.xml.sax
This package provides the core SAX APIs.
org.xml.sax.ext
This package contains interfaces to SAX2 facilities that conformant SAX drivers won't necessarily support.
org.xml.sax.helpers
This package contains "helper" classes, including support for bootstrapping SAX-based applications.
This document is the API specification for the Java™ Platform, Standard Edition.
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