org.mlc.swing.layout
Class LayoutConstraintsManager

java.lang.Object
  org.mlc.swing.layout.LayoutConstraintsManager

public class LayoutConstraintsManager
extends java.lang.Object

This class handles the serialization and deserialization of the xml files that we are using to store the layout constraints.

In the consuming program, the use of this class might look like:
InputStream constraints = this.getClass().getResourceAsStream(xmlFile); LayoutConstraintsManager layoutConstraintsManager = LayoutConstraintsManager.getLayoutConstraintsManager(constraints); LayoutManager layout = layoutConstraintsManager.createLayout("panel", this); this.setLayout(layout);

[I'm sure there are more elegant ways of handling this (like JAXB) or some other mapping software but this is simple, it works, and we don't have to package a bunch of other software or files.]

Author:

Michael Connor

Field Summary

static java.lang.String	BOTTOM
static java.lang.String	CENTER
static java.lang.String	DEFAULT
static java.lang.String	FILL
static java.lang.String	LEFT
static java.lang.String	RIGHT
static java.lang.String	TOP

Constructor Summary

LayoutConstraintsManager()
This method will create a LayoutConstraintsManager with default JGoodies row and column specs that are common in applications.

LayoutConstraintsManager(java.lang.String defaultColumnSpecs, java.lang.String defaultRowSpecs)
This method will create a LayoutConstraintsManager with the JGoodies specs provided as default

Method Summary

void	addLayout(ContainerLayout containerLayout)
ContainerLayout	createLayout(java.lang.String name, java.awt.Container container) This method creates a layout by first trying to look in memory to see if a layout has been defined with the given name.
static java.lang.String	getAlignment(com.jgoodies.forms.layout.CellConstraints.Alignment alignment) Translates an alignment value to a string.
static com.jgoodies.forms.layout.CellConstraints.Alignment	getAlignment(java.lang.String value) Translates a string to an alignment value.
java.awt.Container	getContainer(ContainerLayout layout)
ContainerLayout	getContainerLayout(java.lang.String containerName)
static LayoutConstraintsManager	getLayoutConstraintsManager(java.io.InputStream stream) Returns a LayoutConstraintsManager based on an input stream for an xml file.
static LayoutConstraintsManager	getLayoutConstraintsManager(org.w3c.dom.Node containersNode) Returns a layout constraints manager given a containers node.
java.util.List<ContainerLayout>	getLayouts()
java.lang.String	getXML() Get an XML representation of the FormLayout constraints for all containers in this manager.
static boolean	isTextComponent(java.awt.Component component)
static void	main(java.lang.String[] args)
void	removeLayout(ContainerLayout containerLayout)
void	setLayout(java.lang.String name, java.awt.Container container) This method will build a layout from the xml file based on the name and call setLayout on the container passed in.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

DEFAULT

public static final java.lang.String DEFAULT

See Also:

Constant Field Values

FILL

public static final java.lang.String FILL

See Also:

Constant Field Values

CENTER

public static final java.lang.String CENTER

See Also:

Constant Field Values

LEFT

public static final java.lang.String LEFT

See Also:

Constant Field Values

RIGHT

public static final java.lang.String RIGHT

See Also:

Constant Field Values

TOP

public static final java.lang.String TOP

See Also:

Constant Field Values

BOTTOM

public static final java.lang.String BOTTOM

See Also:

Constant Field Values

Constructor Detail

LayoutConstraintsManager

public LayoutConstraintsManager()

This method will create a LayoutConstraintsManager with default JGoodies row and column specs that are common in applications. The user can then manipulate these default specs using the LayoutFrame to fine tune the specs to be whatever they want.

LayoutConstraintsManager

public LayoutConstraintsManager(java.lang.String defaultColumnSpecs,
                                java.lang.String defaultRowSpecs)

This method will create a LayoutConstraintsManager with the JGoodies specs provided as default

Method Detail

getLayouts

public java.util.List<ContainerLayout> getLayouts()

setLayout

public void setLayout(java.lang.String name,
                      java.awt.Container container)

This method will build a layout from the xml file based on the name and call setLayout on the container passed in.

createLayout

public ContainerLayout createLayout(java.lang.String name,
                                    java.awt.Container container)

This method creates a layout by first trying to look in memory to see if a layout has been defined with the given name. If a layout exists, it is returned. Note that when I say in memory that probably means that it was defined in the xml file. If one doesn't exist, a layout with what I consider relatively generic constraints will be created and returned. The reason this method requires the container is because in the case where you are trying to layout the container visually, I need to be able to get a handle on the container so I can make calls to add components to it during interactive layout. This will not be touched at runtime if you are not doing anything interactively. This method should be seen as a replacement for LayoutConstraintsManager.setLayout(String name, Container container) as it's more natural to set the layout on the container yourself.

getContainer

public java.awt.Container getContainer(ContainerLayout layout)

getContainerLayout

public ContainerLayout getContainerLayout(java.lang.String containerName)

removeLayout

public void removeLayout(ContainerLayout containerLayout)

addLayout

public void addLayout(ContainerLayout containerLayout)

getXML

public java.lang.String getXML()

Get an XML representation of the FormLayout constraints for all containers in this manager.

isTextComponent

public static boolean isTextComponent(java.awt.Component component)

getAlignment

public static java.lang.String getAlignment(com.jgoodies.forms.layout.CellConstraints.Alignment alignment)

Translates an alignment value to a string.

getAlignment

public static com.jgoodies.forms.layout.CellConstraints.Alignment getAlignment(java.lang.String value)

Translates a string to an alignment value.

getLayoutConstraintsManager

public static LayoutConstraintsManager getLayoutConstraintsManager(java.io.InputStream stream)

Returns a LayoutConstraintsManager based on an input stream for an xml file. The root node in the xml file should be called containers and should adhere to the xml format for this tool.

getLayoutConstraintsManager

public static LayoutConstraintsManager getLayoutConstraintsManager(org.w3c.dom.Node containersNode)

Returns a layout constraints manager given a containers node. This will enable you to keep a lot of different constraints in a single file or at least provide a little more flexibility.

main

public static void main(java.lang.String[] args)