<s>
The	O
Java	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
(	O
JFC	O
)	O
are	O
a	O
graphical	O
framework	O
for	O
building	O
portable	O
Java-based	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
GUIs	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
JFC	O
consists	O
of	O
the	O
Abstract	B-Language
Window	I-Language
Toolkit	I-Language
(	O
AWT	B-Language
)	O
,	O
Swing	B-Language
and	O
Java	B-Language
2D	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Together	O
,	O
they	O
provide	O
a	O
consistent	O
user	O
interface	O
for	O
Java	B-Language
programs	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
whether	O
the	O
underlying	O
user	O
interface	O
system	O
is	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
or	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
AWT	B-Language
existed	O
before	O
JFC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AWT	B-Language
was	O
heavily	O
criticized	O
for	O
being	O
little	O
more	O
than	O
a	O
wrapper	O
around	O
the	O
native	O
graphical	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
host	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
meant	O
that	O
the	O
standard	O
widgets	O
in	O
the	O
AWT	B-Language
relied	O
on	O
those	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
native	O
widgets	O
,	O
requiring	O
the	O
developer	O
to	O
also	O
be	O
aware	O
of	O
the	O
differences	O
between	O
host	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
alternative	O
graphics	O
library	O
called	O
the	B-Language
Internet	I-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
was	O
developed	O
in	O
more	O
platform-independent	O
code	O
by	O
Netscape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
another	O
graphics	O
library	O
,	O
called	O
Application	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
(	O
AFC	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
developed	O
independently	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
made	O
to	O
be	O
easier	O
to	O
extend	O
the	O
graphic	O
components	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
primarily	O
aimed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Language
Java	I-Language
Virtual	I-Language
Machine	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
2	O
,	O
1997	O
,	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
and	O
Netscape	O
announced	O
their	O
intention	O
to	O
combine	O
IFC	O
with	O
other	O
technologies	O
to	O
form	O
the	O
"	O
Java	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Java	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
"	O
were	O
later	O
renamed	O
"	O
Swing	B-Language
"	O
,	O
adding	O
the	O
capability	O
for	O
a	O
pluggable	B-Language
look	I-Language
and	I-Language
feel	I-Language
of	O
the	O
widgets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
Swing	B-Language
programs	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
platform-independent	O
code	O
base	O
,	O
but	O
mimic	O
the	O
look	O
of	O
a	O
native	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
the	O
Java	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
Java	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
(	O
JFC	O
)	O
are	O
pre-written	O
code	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
class	O
libraries	O
(	O
coded	O
routines	O
)	O
that	O
give	O
the	O
programmer	O
a	O
comprehensive	O
set	O
of	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
GUI	B-Application
)	O
routines	O
to	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Java	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Classes	I-Language
are	O
comparable	O
to	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Language
Foundation	I-Language
Class	I-Language
Library	I-Language
(	O
MFC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
JFC	O
is	O
an	O
extension	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Java	B-Language
Abstract	B-Language
Windowing	I-Language
Toolkit	I-Language
(	O
AWT	B-Language
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
JFC	O
and	O
Swing	B-Language
,	O
an	O
additional	O
set	O
of	O
program	O
components	O
,	O
a	O
programmer	O
can	O
write	O
programs	O
that	O
are	O
independent	O
of	O
the	O
windowing	O
system	O
within	O
a	O
particular	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
