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<b>General</b>
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<b>Reference</b>
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<h1>:: References ::</h1>
Find here a list of references useful for Java layout.
<h2>Layout Systems</h2>
<a href="http://www.zookitec.com/explicitlayout.html">ExplicitLayout</a>
complements the FormLayout when it comes to non-rectangular layouts
and other complex non-form-oriented designs.
It is a powerful general purpose layout manager that
provides many features to specify the location and size of a component.
<p>
ExplicitLayout offers other useful features:
styles, external UI specification and layout reuse.
ExplicitLayout is licensed under the GNU LGPL and ships with a
user guide and well chosen examples.
<p>
The <a href="https://explicit-tablelayout.dev.java.net/">Explicit Table Builder</a>
adds a few things that the pure ExplicitLayout is missing
such as builders, layout styles, support for Dialog Units (dlu),
and a nice debug panel.
<p>
The Matisse visual builder (integrated with Netbeans)
makes it easy for many people to get layouts done quickly.
It seems that Matisse has been designed for visual building,
but the underlying GroupLayout can be used without Matisse.
<p>
Although the FormLayout is intended to replace the GridBagLayout,
the latter is still a resonable choice, if you cannot add a third party
layout manager like the FormLayout to your project.
The <a href="https://packer.dev.java.net/">Packer</a> simplifies
the use of GridBagLayout.
<p>
<a href="http://ffxml.net/swtforms/">SwtForms</a> is an SWT port
of the JGoodies FormLayout and some Forms builder done by Florian Fankhauser.
<h2>JGoodies Forms Cheat Sheet</h2>
Robert Blixt provides a
<a href="http://www.diod.se/files/formscheatsheet/JGoodies%20Forms%20Cheat%20Sheet.pdf">Forms cheat sheet</a>
that summarizes information about Forms' sizes, units, constraints,
and the string encoding syntax.
<h2>Articles</h2>
Microsoft's
<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com"><i>Design Specifications and Guidelines - Visual Design</i></a>
describe how to layout on the Microsoft platform.
Since the dimensions are specified in a non-pixel size <em>dlu</em>
it is quite useful for multiplatform screen design.
<p>
The <a href="http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/OSXHIGuidelines/index.html"><i>Apple
Human Interface Guidelines</i></a>
provide a lot of tips & tricks for good design.
<p>
I provide <a href="http://www.jgoodies.com/articles/">articles and presentations</a>
about Swing, apperance, and layout.
<h2>Books</h2>
A recommended reading is
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0133033899/qid=1078179517//ref=pd_ka_1/102-7669901-3715319?v=glance&s=books&n=507846"><i>Designing Visual Interfaces</i></a>
by Kevin Mullet & Darrel Sano. If you read 100 pages of this book,
you will learn the most valuable basics of user interface design,
and more generally, design. It is useful for the daily work of every
GUI developer.
<p>
If you either need an introduction or reference about do's and don'ts
in GUI design, read Jeff Johnson's
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1558605827/qid=1078179577/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7669901-3715319?v=glance&s=books"><i>GUI Bloopers</i></a>. If you are busy
and can't find the time to read 500 pages, just look at the book's
contents and check whether you have an idea what all the topics are about.
In this case, I guess, a medium skilled GUI designer will read about 50 pages.
<p>
There are several tutorials and books that can help you get started
with the Swing widget toolkit, widgets, and basic configuration.
The Swing book by
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/193011088X/qid=1078179612/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7669901-3715319?v=glance&s=books">Robinson and Vorobiev</a> is one of the better books.
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