Question about creating Forms in Java.

Question

Hello , im new to Java , i find kinda weird how Java creates Forms , its pretty simple in Oracle Forms ,
why did Java designers make it this difficult ? do people say this is something bad about Java ?
when i learned about the Layout Managers that Java provides i found out how much code one have to write just to create a simple form ,my question to the experienced java developers : what do you do to create a form , do you hard code it ? , or do you use something like GUI Builder in an IDE like NetBeans for example? and is the code generated by this builder easy to deal with and modify ?
Thanks ....

Answer 1

HeavenBoy wrote:
Hello , im new to Java , i find kinda weird how Java creates Forms , its pretty simple in Oracle Forms ,
why did Java designers make it this difficult ? do people say this is something bad about Java ?Some Oracle Forms fans certainly do. But the truth is that Oracle Forms application tie down all the components in fixed pixels. The typical Swing form can be resized and can function at different screen resolutions. So, when designing a Java form, we don't tend to work on a fixed grid but define the sizes and positions relative to other components. What's more the interface between the form elements and the data is completely flexible, and flexibility means extra effort.
>
when i learned about the Layout Managers that Java provides i found out how much code one have to write just to create a simple form ,my question to the experienced java developers : what do you do to create a form , do you hard code it ? , or do you use something like GUI Builder in an IDE like NetBeans for example? and is the code generated by this builder easy to deal with and modify ?
Most I've tried have been a bit of a straitjacket, but I've recently been using the latest Netbeans offering and it's pretty good. I think the breakthrough was the introduction of the GroupLayout layout manager. This is a layout manager really designed for WYSIWYG form designers (pretty challenging to use hand coded).
The way these things work is that the class generated contains some methods which cannot be edited by hand, but you can add any amount of your own code without interfering with the generated code. You hook your own code snippets into the generated code, for example you can select a property of an object, say the model of a JTree, and select "user code", then type in an expression returning the TreeModel you want to use.
With listeners the designer will generate the method signature etc. but you can edit the body of the listener method.
However I would always recommend that you hand code a form or two before resorting to on of these editors because it's important you understand the code, even where a designer writes it.