[izpack-devel] IzPanel Layout

[Bartz, Klaus]

Hi Elmar,
see context related.

Cheers

Klaus

>-----Original Message-----
>From: izpack-devel-bounces at bat.berlios.de
>[mailto:izpack-devel-bounces at bat.berlios.de]On Behalf Of Elmar Grom
>Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 5:45 PM
>To: izpack-devel at bat.berlios.de
>Subject: Re: [izpack-devel] IzPanel Layout
>
>
>Klaus,
>
>a couple of things.
>
>1) Layout Manager
>
>Since you mention the use of GridBagLayout, I might be able to 
>support you
>in this quest. If you managed to ever make GridBagLayout work 
>for a layout,
>more power to you. I don't consider myself a dimwit but I 
>never managed to
>make use of it in any productive way.
>
>Anyway, I found that a layout manager of the type grid layout 
>if quite often
>what is called for. Unfortunately neither GridLayout nor GridBagLayout
>really work for most real world cases. Well GridBagLayout 
>might, but setting
>up all the constraints is so complicated and takes so much 
>code that one
>might just as well go ahead and write an entire layout manger. 

I have used the GridBagLayout for most of my IzPanels in the past.
But - what you adumbrate - the result is a little bit beside what
I would have. Major problem is the MultiLineLabel because its width
depence on the hight and vice versa. In my prototype of a 
layout manager I compute the layout two times if there are hints
that a Component will change hight if width should change.

>One day I got
>so fed up by this problem that I wrote a layout manager that 
>did exactly
>what I thought GridLayout should do in the first place to be 
>really useful.
>I call it TableLayout, because it produces a layout just like 
>an HTML table.
>This means that components are laid out in rows and columns, just as in
>GridLayout but each row is just as tall as it needs to be and 
>all columns
>are just as wide as they need to be. This means it can also be 
>used as a
>FlowLayout and as a *vertical* form of FlowLayout. It would 
>also be able to
>replace the ColumnLayout that I had written for the UnserInputPanel.
>
>If you think this layout could help solving your issue, or 
>might be useful
>as a starting point, I would be willing to contribute it to 
>the project.
>

It sounds like that it do just the things I need.
It will be nice if you can send it. May be to my berlios account.
Perhaps it is better as my proto type or there are good things in it
I self never can thought about.
>2) Docu
>
>No problem with that. Again, I know that a lot of folks have a 
>real hurdle
>to overcome on this point. Just please care enough to send 
>Fabrice the info,
>so that he can take care of it. And as I mentioned in me mail, 
>I am willing
>to help with writing text as well.
>
>	Elmar
>

Most I trial to synchronise the XHTML docu with my changes.
If needed, I can send Fabrice a "ping", but I think normaly he
see my changes.
Only things which are related with implementing something in
IzPack ( like a layout manager) are not documented in the XHTML 
docu else in the code self. This can be written in a
system manual, but the IzPack docu is a user manual, I think.

<snip>