Preface
The Java Media Framework (JMF) is the most exciting addition to the Java Family of APIs since the introduction of Swing. No longer are you restricted to passive dialogs and silent windows. Now you can use JMF to spice up your applications with audio and visual effects.
JMF is divided into three phases: media playback, media capture and conferencing. This book concentrates on the media playback portion of JMF, the Java Media Player API, and how you can use it in real-world scenarios.
Who Should Read This Book?
Multimedia has transitioned from an exotic feature used by few applications to a core feature of Web sites, databases, games and virtually all business applications. As a result, anyone who programs in Java needs to read Core JMF.
Core JMF is targeted at serious programmers who don't want a warmed-over version of Sun's JMF's documentation. It not only clarifies the confusing areas in Sun's documentation, but it also provides unique insights to the inner working of the JMF classes and interfaces. Throughout the text, you'll find honest evaluations of JMF's strengths and weaknesses and advice on how to work around bugs.
Core JMF does not assume that the entire world revolves around Microsoft and its Win32 API. You'll discover how to leverage JMF's cross-platform capabilities on Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Sun Solaris and other flavors of UNIX. You'll see comparisons of how JMF runs on each platform and how to avoid platform specific issues so that your applications are portable.
Core JMF does not contain fluffy example programs that show you how to make noise or play video in a window. Rather, you'll encounter example programs that solve real-world multimedia problems. Some of sample programs will show you how to:
Enhance your applets with multimedia.
Integrate JMF with a Swing file chooser dialog.
Create multimedia beans.
Use JMF objects with native C/C++ programs.
Create a CD Player.
Synchronize text with an audio CD.
Stream multimedia content over the Internet.
This book assumes you have a solid knowledge of Java programming concepts. However, you do not have to be a multimedia expert to read it. You'll find thorough explanations of each multimedia acronym or term.
If you already are a multimedia aficionado and are familiar with environments such as QuickTime, MCI, or DirectShow, this book will show you how each component of JMF compares to the API you already know, so you can rapidly transition to JMF programming.
About This Book
Core JMF covers the core JMF classes and interfaces that you will use in your programs. If you are looking for an exhaustive overview of every JMF API, you should read Rob Gordon and Stephen Talley's Essential JMF. After you've finished reading Core JMF, you'll have thorough knowledge of the following JMF topics:
Multimedia Applets.
Synchronization.
Player Design and Development.
Real-time streaming over the Internet.
Enhancing other Java API's such as Swing, JavaBeans, and JNI with multimedia.
Cross platform multimedia development and issues.
The book is not a disjointed set of unrelated example programs. Rather, it is a cohesive unit. Each chapter builds on the lessons learned in previous chapters. As a result, you'll be able to create sophisticated Java applications and objects without being overwhelmed with details.
Here are some highlights of what you'll learn in each chapter:
Chapter 1:
Multimedia Evolution. Chapter 1 explains why the Java Media Framework (JMF) was created and why you'll want to use it in your programs. It starts with a digital audio primer that defines how analog audio waveforms are captured and stored in the digital realm. Readers who are familiar with digital audio and Video can jump directly to the "Audio Woes" section of the chapter.
The chapter then explores the primitive audio features found in JDK 1.0.2 and explains why they are inadequate for non-trivial programs. We then uncover an undocumented audio interface present in JDK 1.x and explain how to use it.
You'll be introduced into Sun's Java Media and Communication APIs, the most exciting of which is JMF. Finally, you'll discover three key reasons why you should incorporate JMF into your Java programs.
Chapter 2: JMF's Growing Pains. This chapter examines how JMF operates on platforms such as Solaris, Microsoft Windows 95 and 98, Windows NT and the Apple Macintosh. We reveal the companies that have been involved in developing JMF runtimes and uncover why JMF was a crucial component of the United States Justice Department's lawsuit against Microsoft.
You'll also discover the challenges that developers face when they port JMF to environments, such as QuickTime and DirectShow, and how these challenges affect your JMF programs.
We then instruct you how to install JMF on your operating system and set up your development tools so you can compile and test the JMF programs we'll create in subsequent chapters.
Chapter 3: Everything Revolves Around Time. This chapter introduces you to the two core components of JMF: the Player interface and the Manager . You'll learn about the variety of media formats used by a Player and how to differentiate between a TimeBase and MediaTime . You'll also discover a clock's states (or phases) and how clocks affect synchronization.
Chapter 4: Taking Control of the Situation. Chapter 4 examines Controllers and their impact on the utilization of multimedia resources in your programs. You'll learn what a Controller is, its modes of operation and why this model is superior to the older multimedia architectures.
We'll also show you the most efficient techniques to manipulate Controller states and explain how to monitor a Controller 's status by listening for events.
Chapter 5: Origins. This chapter explores DataSources and how they are used by the Manager and the Player . You'll learn why a DataSource removes all input/output responsibilities from a Player and how this makes the Player more flexible.
We'll discover the differences between a Push and Pull DataSource and explain why the Pushed multimedia content will play a larger role in the future. Finally, we'll introduce you to MediaLocators and show you how they can be used to connect a DataSource to a Player.
Chapter 6: AlohaJMF: A JMF Applet. In this chapter, you'll leverage all the information learned in Chapters 1 through 5 to write your first JMF Applet. We'll explain the similarities between the Applet interface and the JMF's Player interface and explain how to use Player methods in your applets. We'll also give you tips to make your JMF enhanced applets more user-friendly.
Chapter 7: Getting Control Over Your Applications. Chapter 7 will show you why Controls are a crucial part of the Player and why every application must use them. You'll learn the three types of controls that a Player can surface and the most efficient means to obtain these controls. Finally, we'll show you how to incorporate the most popular controls in your applications and squeeze the best performance from them.
Chapter 8: Multimedia Swing Set. Swing and JMF can be a dangerous combination and Chapter 8 teaches you how to safely mix JMF in Swing-based applications. First, you'll find out how to enhance Swing's JFileChooser class with multimedia previewing capabilities. Then, you'll discover how to simultaneously handle JMF and Swing events. Finally, we'll explain the problems you'll encounter in Swing multimedia development and show you how to avoid these pitfalls.
Chapter 9: The Next Generation: JavaBeans and JMF. Chapter 9 introduces you to the JavaBeans object model and how it can be used to create multimedia objects. You'll learn what an object model is and how JavaBeans compares to other object models. We'll then take the multimedia chooser created in Chapter 8 and create a JavaBean from it.
While we're creating this multimedia object, we'll reveal guidelines for converting a general purpose multimedia class into a multimedia bean and give you specific examples of how to use these guidelines.
Chapter 10: Going Native. Chapter 10 teaches you how to reuse JMF objects in your C or C++ programs with the Java Native Interface (JNI). You'll discover how to start the Java virtual machine in C++ and learn how to avoid serious performance bottlenecks present in JNI.
You'll then find out how to launch and use the JavaBean from Chapter 9 in a C++ program. We'll show you the most efficient means to access Java constants, member variables and methods and how to optimize your JNI code.
Chapter 11: The Art of Synchronization. In Chapter 11 you'll learn what synchronization is and why it is a vital feature of all multimedia platforms. We'll use the timing concepts you learned in Chapter 3 to explain how JMF synchronizes multiple Player s. You'll learn about the complexities involved with manually synchronizing two or more Player s and find out about Controller methods which make synchronizing Players simple and fun.
We'll also teach you the things you shouldn't try with synchronized Player s and the catastrophic result
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