Accepting formatted input doesn't have to be difficult with input verifiers and focus listeners. This installment of Magic with Merlin shows you how to use the new JFormattedTextField component to prompt for numbers, dates, and formatted input. The Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE), version 1.4, adds two new Swing components to the palette of available GUI elements: JSpinner and JFormattedTextField.

This generic Swing architecture eases your UI development by integrating intelligent data with Swing components. You can use the iData architecture to create a central repository of data within your application. By doing so, you'll more fully separate data from presentation and produce code that's cleaner and easier to maintain. This article explains how to use the iData technique to ease complex GUI development.

This new column offers a glimpse into the new Java 1.4 release, starting with the new jSpinner component of Swing, which lets users easily select a date, number, or choice from a pick list. Article includes code snipets.