Difference between Java Classes And Java Beans

How do U basically distinguish between a Java class and a Java Bean on a technical level as there are a lot of debatable points if some could please elaborate on this topic

Hi
Sheldon,
Beans r reuseable components whereas classes r not.

Java Bean is always a Java Class. Only thing is that it should follow certan rules to be a Java Bean.
i.e. Java Bean is a sub-set of Java Class.

Originally posted by Sheldon Rego:
How do U basically distinguish between a Java class and a Java Bean on a technical level as there are a lot of debatable points if some could please elaborate on this topic

A java bean must have accessors and mutators for all variables and references.
(or so I think... someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Thanks all of you.

A key attribute of a bean is that it can be visually composed in a development environment such as jBuilder or VisualAge.
Beans expose their attributes and methods to the development environment using introspection and reflection.
For more info, have a look at the Sun tutorial
http://www.java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/javabeans/