Since 1973 when Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act was established, US Federal agencies are required to purchase electronic and information technology products and services that meet the standards of Section 508.
For you, the Java technology developer, accessibility means building the services and support into an application that enable people with disabilities to use the software. Java accessibility technologies are implemented in the Java Foundation Classes (JFC) and they comprise two separate packages: Java Accessibility API and Java Accessibility Utilities.
Java Access Bridge for the Microsoft Windows Operating System makes it possible for a Windows based Assistive Technology to get at and interact with the Java Accessibility API. The Java Accessibility API is implemented in the Java Foundation Classes (JFC) Project Swing user interface components.