Preface

For Whom This Guide Is Intended

This guide is intended for three groups of readers:

Application developers: software programmers who want to write Java^TM applications or applets using audio or MIDI. Most readers will fall into this category.
Service providers: developers of software modules that extend the capabilities of an implementation of the Java Sound application programming interface (API). For example, a vendor might provide a new audio mixer or MIDI synthesizer, or the ability to read and write a new file format. The Java Sound API is designed to let programs automatically access all such "plug-in" modules available on a particular system.
API implementors: developers creating new implementations of the Java Sound API.

It is assumed that the reader has a basic knowledge of programming in the Java language. Familiarity with audio and MIDI is helpful but not assumed.

What This Guide Describes

This is a largely conceptual description of the Java Sound API, with some code snippets as programming examples. The Java Sound API specifies a software layer that allows application programs to communicate with an audio and MIDI engine. The Java Sound API is part of the Java^TM 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE), version 1.3, which is the version described by this guide. The sound API is included in both the Java 2 Software Development Kit (SDK), Standard Edition, and the Java 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition. Earlier implementations of the Java Sound API were supplied as a separate products and their programming interfacea differ from the one described here.

Note:

This guide is not a description of any particular implementation of the Java Sound API. In particular, it does not specifically describe the reference implementation of the Java Sound API created by Sun Microsystems, Inc. For example, you will not find here a list of exactly which sound file formats are supported in the reference implementation. (Because the Java Sound API makes "plug-in" services possible, API implementors and/or third parties can add support for new formats, ports with special features, etc.) In general, this guide ignores unique features, extensions, limitations, or bugs of a particular implementation.

As a convenience for developers, it does make note of some current limitations of Sun's reference implemenation. If you are having problems, it is highly recommended that you consult:

Sun's Bug Database in the Java Developer Connection
Java Sound Home Page
Java Sound Reference Implementation Notes

For More Information

See the links to the Java Sound API reference documentation at http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.4/docs/guide/sound/. This Web site also includes a brief description of the reference implementation, as well as links to other resources about the Java Sound API, such as demo programs, mailing lists, and Frequently Answered Questions (FAQs). Also see the Java Sound Home Page mentioned above.