From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
JavaBeans
<programming> A component architecture for the Java
programming language, developed initially by Sun, but now
available from several other vendors. JavaBeans components
are called "beans".
JavaBeans allows developers to create reusable software
components that can then be assembled together using visual
application builder tools including Sybase's PowerJ,
Borland's JBuilder, IBM's Visual Age for Java,
SunSoft's Java Workshop and Symantec's Visual Cafe.
JavaBeans support Introspection (a builder tool can analyze
how a Bean works), Customisation (developers can customise the
appearance and behaviour of a Bean), Events (Beans can
communicate), Properties (developers can customise and program
with Beans(?)) and Persistence (customised Beans can be stored
and reused).
{Home (http://www.javasoft.com/beans/)}.
(1997-11-20)