Part II: API Quick Reference

Part II provides quick-reference material for the essential APIs of the Java platform. Please read the following section, How to Use This Quick Reference, to learn how to get the most out of this material.

P2.1. How to Use This Quick Reference

The quick-reference section that follows packs a lot of information into a small space. This introduction explains how to get the most out of that information. It describes how the quick reference is organized and how to read the individual quick-reference entries.

P2.2. Finding a Quick-Reference Entry

The quick reference is organized into chapters, each of which documents a single package of the Java platform or a group of related packages. Packages are listed alphabetically within and between chapters, so you never really need to know which chapter documents which package: you can simply search alphabetically, as you might do in a dictionary. The documentation for each package begins with a quick-reference entry for the package itself. This entry includes a short overview of the package and a listing of the classes and interfaces included in the package. In this listing of package contents, package members are first grouped by general category (interfaces, eumerated types, classes and exceptions, for example). Within each category, they are grouped by class hierarchy, with indentation to indicate the level of the hierarchy. Finally, classes and interfaces at the same hierarchy level are listed alphabetically.

Each package overview is followed by individual quick-reference entries, in alphabetical order, for the types defined in the package. The overall organization of the quick-reference is therefore alphabetical by the fully-qualified name of the type. To look up a quick-reference entry for a particular type, you must also know the name of the package that defines that type. Use the dictionary-style headers on the upper corner of each page to help you quickly find the package and class you need.

P2.3. Reading a Quick-Reference Entry

The quick-reference entries for classes and interfaces contain quite a bit of information. The sections that follow describe the structure of a quick-reference entry, explaining what information is available, where it is found, and what it means. While reading the descriptions that follow, you may find it helpful to flip through the reference section itself to find examples of the features being described.

P2.3.1. Class Name, Package Name, Availability, and Flags

Each quick-reference entry begins with a four-part title that specifies the name, package name, and availability of the class, and may also specify various additional flags that describe the class. The class name appears in bold at the upper left of the title. The package name appears, in smaller print, in the lower left, below the class name.