Question about GUI.

Should I be learning how to construct gui's with Netbeans Pallette tool? Or should I be focusing on how to write one entirely by myself without help from the program. Thanks.

In no way am I an expert on this, but this is how I feel about it:

Using NetBeans's Palette tool isn't a transgression so long as you have an idea of what it's doing. What I would do (again, I'm no expert) is learn the basics of GUI's, such as layout managers, swing components, and event listeners.

In my opinion, so long as you know the gist of those things (and inherently, what NetBeans's Palette tool is doing), using the Palette tool isn't a huge problem.

I'd wait for an VIP, mod, or admin to post here though so you can have a more expert opinion. :P

My .02 - learn how to do it manually, at least to a certain extent, before relying on a builder. I have seen many folks rely on GUI builders and come to a complete impasse because they have clue about the class structure/architecture of Swing. And when I say stuck, I mean lost when it comes to debugging, trouble shooting, extending an already built interface, contributing to team projects, etc...This is not to say GUI builders are not useful, but it should be balanced with knowing enough about what is made to be able to break it down, build on top of it, and/or design how it integrates with other aspects of the program.

Thanks i'm taking your advice. Turns out JFrame and the other arn't too hard as I thought. Thanks for the response, i'm not relying on it at all.

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Originally Posted by copeg

My .02 - learn how to do it manually, at least to a certain extent, before relying on a builder. I have seen many folks rely on GUI builders and come to a complete impasse because they have clue about the class structure/architecture of Swing. And when I say stuck, I mean lost when it comes to debugging, trouble shooting, extending an already built interface, contributing to team projects, etc...This is not to say GUI builders are not useful, but it should be balanced with knowing enough about what is made to be able to break it down, build on top of it, and/or design how it integrates with other aspects of the program.

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But the necessary condition is to know the architecture of classes. If you know nothing about them and simply rely on the GUI builder, you are learning nothing but creating.

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Thanks i'm taking your advice. Turns out JFrame and the other arn't too hard as I thought. Thanks for the response, i'm not relying on it at all.

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Don't forget to know the architecture. I have seen many Advanced Java Programmers who don't even know what the Top level Containers are. So, be really understanding with what you are actually using and how are you using.
Good Luck

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Originally Posted by Mr.777

But the necessary condition is to know the architecture of classes. If you know nothing about them and simply rely on the GUI builder, you are learning nothing but creating.

Don't forget to know the architecture. I have seen many Advanced Java Programmers who don't even know what the Top level Containers are. So, be really understanding with what you are actually using and how are you using.
Good Luck

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Thanks I figured maybe as I learned to build using the program id learn how to do it anyways. But yeah, that was before I figured out how easy it was and figuring out how to do it manually would probably expand my knowledge of java.