Browse user interfaces for Jini services; Build a JFC-based application for browsing and launching Jini services

Summary - The ServiceUI specification developed by the Jini.org community defines a suggested procedure for attaching user interfaces to Jini services. In this article, Jeffrey Peden -- a new contributor to the Jiniology column -- introduces you to a simple ServiceUI- based example service. Then he shows you how to build an application for browsing and launching user interfaces for Jini services. (3,500 words) The implementation of our TaskBar will use a combination of Swing components and Jini utilities to present the user with a list of Jini services. Our ServiceUI client application will be responsible for reacting to the user and instantiating the appropriate user interface for a selected Jini service. In this article you've learned how to create a simple ServiceUI- based Jini service and how to use services with such ServiceUI-based GUIs from a Swing-based application. We've encountered and examined some of the intricacies of mixing Jini services and Swing applications, and made design decisions based upon them.