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top of the NetBeans Platform

The NetBeans Platform is a generic framework for Swing applications. Principally, it is a response to the fact that every desktop application has a set of common needs, such as a menu bar, a toolbar, and a windowing system. The NetBeans Platform provides all of these out of the box, meaning that you do not need to code these, and similar common requirements, yourself.

In the second place, the NetBeans Platform responds to the need for a sound and flexible application architecture. Rather than you needing to create the architecture of each of your applications, the NetBeans Platform gives you an architecture for free. The NetBeans Platform's architecture is modular. As a result, the applications that you create can be robust and pluggable.

Read the Full NetBeans Platform Description