<p>I'm not sure what the best api for simple 2d graphics with Java is. I know <code>java.awt.Graphics2D</code> was the standard but has it been replaced? Swing is the new API for Java GUI apps but it seems a bit heavy for what I want. What I really want is something like the C <a href="http://libsdl.org/" rel="noreferrer">SDL library</a>.</p>

Java 2D
(
```
Graphics2D
```
and friends) is indeed the best choice that I know of. Swing is actually implemented on top of Java 2D, so yes, if you want non-GUI-type graphics, Java 2D is the way to go.