Chapter 2. Structure of the NetBeans Platform: Let's Find Out What It's Made Of!

To give you an overview of how a rich client application is structured, and to show the relationship between the application that you're creating and the NetBeans Platform, this chapter will discuss the architecture of the NetBeans Platform. You will also be introduced to the independent building blocks of the NetBeans Platform and to the responsibilities that the runtime container handles for you. Finally, the structure of the NetBeans classloader system will be explained, together with the role it plays in applications built atop the NetBeans Platform.