SetPreferredSize() in ListCellRenderer question

Question

Hi,
I was writing a custom cell renderer for my JList component when I realised that the old way I was doing is discouraged all over the Internet.
I used to do it like this:
public Renderer() extends JPanel implements ListCellRenderer {
       setOpaque(true);
       setLayout(null);
       *setPreferredSize*(new Dimension(width, height));
   public Component getListCellRendererComponent(JList list, Object value, int index, boolean iss, boolean chf)
       // add JLabels and other stuff needed
       return this;
   protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        // paint with a gradient
    }The problem is that setPreferredSize should never be used because it has to be computed.
If I use something like setSize() it fails to display my renderer.
Any thoughts on good practice here?

Answer 1

If I use something like setSize() it fails to display my renderer.Well, like everybody else who thinks using a null layout makes life easier it in fact makes life harder. One of the functions of a layout manager is to determine the preferred size of the component. So the easy solution is to use a layout manager. The other solution is to override the getPreferredSize() method rather than attempt to hard code it.