A Java component architecture defined in the JavaBeans specification developed by Sun Microsystems. A JavaBean, or Bean, is a reusable application component—an independent code segment—that can be combined with other JavaBean components to create a Java applet or application. The JavaBean concept emphasizes the platform-independence of the Java language, in which ideally a program, once written, can run on any computing platform. JavaBeans are similar to Microsoft’s ActiveX controls. ActiveX controls, however, can be developed in different programming languages but executed only on a Windows platform. JavaBeans can be developed only in the Java programming language but ideally can run on any platform.