A DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUEST :
It should be possible for a Swing program to query for task bar properties, register as a task bar listener, and to paint into task bar buttons.

JUSTIFICATION :
Virtually all desktop environments, notably Windows, KDE, Gnome and MacOSX, know an object called "the task bar", wellknown as the host to tray icons.

Some modern looking UIs want to position their Windows at or near to the task bar, like the "what's currently playing" window of the Windows Media Player. If the task bar moves outside of the screen (one of Windows' effects: not fading but moving), that Windows shall stay "glued" to the task bar's edge -- and move with it. To be able to do that, an application must get informed of property changes of the task bar.

Also, modern looking UIs might want to paint into the taskbar. For example, the windows media player paints play / pause / stop buttons and a text line telling the currently playing title into the task button itself.

  To be able to code cool stuff like this, Swing users currently need to use JNI -- resulting in programs beeing no more portable. It would be great to have a portable API that allows to do cool things like this.

EXPECTED VERSUS ACTUAL BEHAVIOR :
EXPECTED -
There shall be an API that allows Swing to get query for task bar properties, and to register as a task bar listener.

There shall be an API that allows Swing to paint into task bar buttons.
ACTUAL -
Need to use JNI and Windows API

CUSTOMER SUBMITTED WORKAROUND :
Use JNI and Windows API