Thread: My Custom Layout (VERY EASY TO USE)

NOTE: UPDATED CODE A FEW POSTS DOWN

So a few months ago I got really annoyed with the stupidity of all of the layouts Java supplies for organizing components. I said to myself, why cant I just tell a GUI element to be placed at this specific coordinate? Then I found SpringLayout. After a few minutes of that, I had a minor stroke. SpringLayout is the most versatile of the Java supplied layouts, but it is incredibly ridiculous and confusing for any normal human to understand. So, I figured I'd create my own layout that would use the versatility of SpringLayout and provide me with my desired coordinate placing. So, for those who have gotten really pissed off at Java Layouts like I have, here is my Coordinate Layout code and a small test program for you to see how it works. It is very simple to use and works beautifully. If there are any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

Layout Class:

import javax.swing.SpringLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.Component;
 
public class CoordinateLayout extends SpringLayout
{
	//Container Variable
	Container cont;
 
	//Constructor
    public CoordinateLayout(Container ct) 
    {
    	//Extend SpringLayout
    	super();
    	//Set Layout to Container
    	ct.setLayout(this);
    	//Initialize Container Variable
    	cont = ct;
    }
 
    //Method to Add Components -- (0,0) is top left of container
    public void addComponent(Component comp, int x, int y)
    {
    	//Adds Component to Container
    	cont.add(comp);
    	//Set both x and y SpringLayout contraints
    	super.putConstraint(SpringLayout.WEST, comp, x, SpringLayout.WEST, cont);
		super.putConstraint(SpringLayout.NORTH, comp, y, SpringLayout.NORTH, cont);
    }
}

Test Class:

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
 
public class CoordinateLayoutTest 
{
 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    {
    	//Create Frame and Panel
    	JFrame mainFrame = new JFrame("TEST");
    	JPanel first = new JPanel();
 
    	//Create Layout and send it the Panel
    	CoordinateLayout layout = new CoordinateLayout(first);
 
    	//Create components
    	JLabel l1 = new JLabel("First Name:");
    	JTextField b1 = new JTextField(10);
		JLabel l2 = new JLabel("Last Name:");
		JTextField b2 = new JTextField(10);
		JLabel l3 = new JLabel("Home City:");
		JTextField b3 = new JTextField(10);
		JLabel l4 = new JLabel("Home State:");
		JTextField b4 = new JTextField(10);
		JLabel l5 = new JLabel("Account Number:");
		JTextField b5 = new JTextField(10);
		//Add components
		layout.addComponent(l1,5,5);
		layout.addComponent(b1,105,5);
		layout.addComponent(l2,5,35);
		layout.addComponent(b2,105,35);
		layout.addComponent(l3,5,65);
		layout.addComponent(b3,105,65);
		layout.addComponent(l4,5,95);
		layout.addComponent(b4,105,95);
		layout.addComponent(l5,5,125);
		layout.addComponent(b5,105,125);
 
		//Simplify adding components by creating JLabels when you use them
		/*
    	JTextField b1 = new JTextField(10);
		JTextField b2 = new JTextField(10);
		JTextField b3 = new JTextField(10);
		JTextField b4 = new JTextField(10);
		JTextField b5 = new JTextField(10);
		layout.addComponent(new JLabel("First Name:"),5,5);
		layout.addComponent(b1,105,5);
		layout.addComponent(new JLabel("Last Name:"),5,35);
		layout.addComponent(b2,105,35);
		layout.addComponent(new JLabel("Home City:"),5,65);
		layout.addComponent(b3,105,65);
		layout.addComponent(new JLabel("Home State:"),5,95);
		layout.addComponent(b4,105,95);
		layout.addComponent(new JLabel("Account Number:"),5,125);
		layout.addComponent(b5,105,125);
		*/
 
    	//Finish creating Frame
    	mainFrame.setSize(300,300);
    	mainFrame.setContentPane(first);
    	mainFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    	mainFrame.setVisible(true);
    }   
}

You can get the width and height of a component using the getWidth() and getHeight() methods, or alternatively call the getSize() method to get a dimension object containing the width and height.

I'm pretty sure there's a simple method call to get the relative location of one component to another component, but I can't think of it off the top of my head. However, This should work to fullfill this purpose (this is untested code):

/**
 * Gets the a point representing the relative coordinate of component's top-left corner to base's top-left corner
 */
public static Point getRelativePosition(Component base, Component component)
{
     Point basePoint = base.getLocationOnScreen();
     Point compPoint = component.getLocationOnScreen();
     return new Point(compPoint.x - basePoint.x, compPoint.y - basePoint.y);
}

Ok, so continuing with this, I have made some changes that might make it more usable. I could use some suggestions and some feedback.

import javax.swing.SpringLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.*;
 
public class CoordinateLayout extends SpringLayout
{
	public static void main(String args[])
	{
		JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test");
		JPanel panel = new JPanel();
		frame.setContentPane(panel);
		frame.setSize(700,400);
		CoordinateLayout layout = new CoordinateLayout(panel);
		layout.setSize(frame);
 
		//Standard addComponentMethod
		JButton button = new JButton("Standard Placing");
		layout.addComponent(button,5,5);
 
		//Centered addComponentMethod
		JButton button2 = new JButton("Centered Placing");
		layout.addCenter(button2,30);
 
		//Vertical Array of Components
		Component[] vertArr = new Component[5];
		for(int i=0;i<vertArr.length;i++)
		{
			vertArr[i] = new JTextField("Vertical Fields");
		}
		layout.addComponent(vertArr,5,40,30,CoordinateLayout.VERTICAL);
 
		//Horizontal Array of Components
		Component[] horiArr = new Component[5];
		for(int i=0;i<horiArr.length;i++)
		{
			horiArr[i] = new JTextField("Horizontal Fields");
		}
		layout.addComponent(horiArr,150,5,5,CoordinateLayout.HORIZONTAL);
 
		//Grid Layout with JLabels and JTextFields
		Component[][] gridArr = new Component[5][2];
		for(int i=0;i<gridArr.length;i++)
		{
			gridArr[i][0] = new JLabel("Label "+i+":");
			gridArr[i][1] = new JTextField("Grid Field");
		}
		layout.addComponent(gridArr,150,40,30,CoordinateLayout.VERTICAL);
 
		frame.setVisible(true);
		frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
	}
 
 
	//Variables
	Container cont;
	int width = 0;
	int height = 0;
 
	//Constants
	static final int VERTICAL = 0;
	static final int HORIZONTAL = 1;
 
	//Constructor
    public CoordinateLayout(Container ct)
    {
    	super();
    	ct.setLayout(this);
    	cont = ct;
    }
 
	/*
	 *Method to indicate desired size of cont.
	 *w = width.
	 *h = height
	*/
    public void setSize(int w,int h)
    {
    	width = w;
    	height = h;
    }
	/*
	 *Method to indicate desired size of cont.
	 *frame = the Component which has its Content Pane set to cont
	*/
    public void setSize(Component frame)
    {
    	width = frame.getWidth();
    	height = frame.getHeight();
    }
	/*
	 *Standard Method to Add Components:
	 *comp = Component being added.
	 *x = desired x coordinate
	 *y = desired y coordinate
	 */
    public void addComponent(Component comp, int x, int y)
    {
    	cont.add(comp);
    	super.putConstraint(SpringLayout.WEST, comp, x, SpringLayout.WEST, cont);
		super.putConstraint(SpringLayout.NORTH, comp, y, SpringLayout.NORTH, cont);
    }
 
	/*
	 *Method to add multiple Components in a Grid-Type Layout. This method's intended use is to display Labels next to Components
	 *Pre-Condition: One of the setSize methods have been implemented.
	 *
	 *comps = 2 Dimensional Array of Components. For this method, it is recomended that the inclusive array has a length of 2 (Label and Component)
	 *xV = desired starting X coordinate
	 *yV = desired starting Y coordinate
	 *space = desired spacing between components.
	 *type = Either CoordinateLayout.VERTICAL or CoordinateLayout.HORIZONTAL to indicate which direction the spacing will occur. This method currently only supports VERTICAL spacing
	 */
    public void addComponent(Component[][] comps, int xV, int yV, int space, int type)
    {
    	int x = xV;
    	int y = yV;
 
    	if(type == 0)
    	{
    		int largestWidth = super.getConstraints(comps[0][0]).getWidth().getValue();
    		for(int i=1;i<comps.length;i++)
    		{
    			Component[] com = comps[i];
    			if(super.getConstraints(com[0]).getWidth().getValue()>largestWidth)
    				largestWidth = super.getConstraints(com[0]).getWidth().getValue();
    		}
    		largestWidth+=5;
    		for(int i=0;i<comps.length;i++)
    		{
    			Component[] com = comps[i];
    			for(int xu=0;xu<com.length;xu++)
    			{
    				addComponent(com[xu],x,y+(space*i));
    				x+=largestWidth;
    			}
    			x = xV;
    			y += super.getConstraints(comps[i][0]).getHeight().getValue();
    		}
    	}
    	else
    		System.out.println("Not Supported Yet");
    }
	/*
	 *Method to add multiple Components either Vertically or Horizontally
	 *Pre-Condition: One of the setSize() methods have been implemented
	 *
	 *comps = 1 Dimensional array of Components
	 *xV = desired starting X coordinate
	 *yV = desired starting Y coordinate
	 *space = desired spacing between Components
	 *type = Either CoordinateLayout.VERTICAL or CoordinateLayout.HORIZONTAL to indicate which direction the spacing will occur.
	 */
    public void addComponent(Component[] comps, int xV, int yV, int space, int type)
    {
    	int v = 0;
    	for(int i=0;i<comps.length;i++)
    	{
    		int x = xV;
    		int y = yV;
    		if(type == 0)
    			y += (space+v)*i;
    		else
    			x += (space+v)*i;
 
    		addComponent(comps[i],x,y);
    		if(type == 0)
    			v = super.getConstraints(comps[i]).getHeight().getValue();
    		else
    			v = super.getConstraints(comps[i]).getWidth().getValue();
 
    	}
    }
	/*
	 *Method to add a Component centered along the X Axis.
	 *Pre-Condition: One of the setSize() methods have been implemented
	 *
	 *comp = Component to be centered
	 *y = desired Y coordinate
	 */
    public void addCenter(Component comp, int y)
    {
    	int widthC = super.getConstraints(comp).getWidth().getValue();
    	int windowWidth = width;
    	int loc = (windowWidth-widthC)/2;
    	addComponent(comp,loc,y);
    }
}