# `apt`

The `apt` tool provided a facility for programmatically processing the annotations added to Java by JSR 175, Metadata Facility for the Java TM Programming Language. In brief, JSR 175 allows programmers to declare new kinds of structured modifiers that can be associated with program elements, fields, methods, classes, etc.

The `javac` completely replaced functionality provided by `apt`. It was done within implementation of JSR 269, Pluggable Annotation Processing API. So it's expected programmers to use `javac` instead of `apt`.

Using `javac` with JAX-WS annotation processor will generate portable artifacts used in JAX-WS services.

Be aware that the `apt` tool and its associated API, `com.sun.mirror.\*`, are being deprecated in JDK 7.

For more information on this compiler please see .