FormLayoutMaker : An easier way to build JGoodies
Java forms
If you love Java but you haven't found an elegant way to
layout forms then you've come to the right place. I struggled
with this for years and always thought that there should be
something easier than GridBagLayout. I thought laying out Java
Swing forms should be as easy as laying out HTML pages. With
FormLayoutMaker, you can easily build complex screens in
minutes without a heavy weight IDE. FormLayoutMaker will work
in conjunction with any development environment, from NetBeans
and Eclipse to VI and Emacs. And for the best part, it's
completely free and open source.
A while ago I stumbled onto TableLayout
which I thought was a great way to layout forms. After I
played with that for a while, I came upon the JGoodies
Forms which includes a FormLayout component that takes the
TableLayout to an all new level and includes some very
powerful features and great documentation. This suite is one
of many suites provided by Karsten Lentzsch. JGoodies Forms is
open source and it's the best layout I've seen over the years.
Even though the FormLayout provided by JGoodies is the best
layout manager, I still found that it took a while to create
the forms and even longer to make changes later.
FormLayoutMaker is dedicated to providing a WYSIWYG tool
that enables developers to quickly layout Java screens using
the JGoodies FormLayout layout manager. The result is an xml
file containing all of the constraints. If you want to make
changes by hand, you can always go and edit the xml file
directly. You could also write XSL to convert the xml file
back to code. I think it's nice thought to have layout stuff
away from my code. I hate it when I have a 1000 line file and
400 of it is layout stuff. This way especially bad when I used
to use GridBagLayout with those ridiculous GridBagConstraints
objects. That was really ugly.
Here's a screen shot of FormLayoutMaker in action.
What FormLayoutMaker is not...
FormLayoutMaker is not a full service RAD tool. It is
designed to do one thing well, layout screens. You cannot
change colors, fonts, and all of the properties on a control.
In my opinion, that stuff should be done using factory
methods, through the look and feel, or just done by hand
through code.
FormLayoutMaker is not a generic layout tool. It is
designed only to work with JGoodies FormLayout layout manager.
I believe that this layout manager is the best layout manager
in existence. Functions like min, max, pref, and the use of
dialog units as well as pixels make it unbeatable. I have not
come across a screen layout that I could not easily
design with the JGoodies FormLayout layout manager. This tool
in conjunction with this that layout manager beats the snot
out of GridBag.
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