Why is swing so slow ? :(

Question

Why java don't use native code for creating UI ?
Any application, writen in swing is SLOW ...
compared with .NET for example...
even well tuned examples a too slow for using.
I like java, but this $#%ing swing kills all GUI applications.

Answer 1

The sad truth is that Swing has got such a bad wrap
that many flock to SWT thinking its the holy grail of
Java UI development because Swing is so bad. Nothing
could be further than the truth. SWT is great in many
respects, but Swing is better in many respects as
well. If done right, Swing beats SWT in most cases.
With JDK 1.4.2 improvements are even better, and on
Mac OS X, Apple works with Sun to build their own
optimized JVM, so Swing is pretty darn fast, near
native performance on Mac OS X.
I wish there was a faster way to get the truth about
Swing out there. One problem, a lot of developers are
not the types to accept that they wrote crappy code
and thus their slow Swing performance is a direct
result of their bad coding. It's a shame really.
Accepting that you wrote some crap code only helps you
get better...well, unless you really do stink at
programming, then a career change may be in order ;)Well, this about wraps up my feelings about SWT and Swing.
The problem with many programmers is: they don't like to read.
Unfortunately Swing is too complex to write a decent program without a concerted effort in reading at a minimum the online tutorials, but to become professional you need a good Swing book.
Once you get the hang of Swing it is actually better than Visual Basic or MS Access. I have written code generators for MS Access and Ms SQL Server applications. But I like Swing better for many reasons. For example a VB GUI is static, while with Swing you can create a form on the fly. I can go on for a couple of pages of why Swing is so cool, but I simple want to state that statements about Swing should be based on facts, not on some hype.
Of course Swing can be made easier. That is why Sun is building a product like Rave.
Swing is here to stay. Within just a couple of years more and more VB programmers will be coding Swing.
This is good for Swing for the IT industry as a whole, becuase it will mean an explosion in quality products for the consumer market.