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| GUI builder for new projects [message #270249] |
Mon, 13 April 2009 11:32  |
Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: ns_dkerber.ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com
What would be the appropriate project or package to use for building new
data-collection java applications with very simple gui requirements (a
couple of buttons, a small menu, and a scrolling textbox to display
data).
I see several different packages out there, but nothing that describes
which one might be appropriate for different situations.
I have no java gui code to reuse, just lots of webapp processing code.
My gui experience is in Visual Basic 6, and I like the way it works, if
that influences the recommendations.
Thanks!
Dave
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| Re: GUI builder for new projects [message #270255 is a reply to message #270249] |
Mon, 13 April 2009 13:51  |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: eclipse-news.rizzoweb.com
On 4/13/2009 11:32 AM, ns_dkerber@ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com wrote:
> What would be the appropriate project or package to use for building new
> data-collection java applications with very simple gui requirements (a
> couple of buttons, a small menu, and a scrolling textbox to display
> data).
>
> I see several different packages out there, but nothing that describes
> which one might be appropriate for different situations.
>
> I have no java gui code to reuse, just lots of webapp processing code.
> My gui experience is in Visual Basic 6, and I like the way it works, if
> that influences the recommendations.
The Eclipse Visual Editor Project might server your needs, but it is
only unofficially supported on the newer versions of Eclipse:
http://www.eclipse.org/vep
A more robust (and supported) tool is WindowBuilder Pro; it is a
commercial tool but reasonably priced and offers a free trial period so
you can determine if it is the right tool for you:
http://www.instantiations.com/windowbuilder/
Hope this helps,
Eric
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| Re: GUI builder for new projects [message #270285 is a reply to message #270259] |
Tue, 14 April 2009 12:23 |
| Eclipse User |
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<ns_dkerber@ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com> wrote:
> What would be the appropriate project or package to use for building new
> data-collection java applications with very simple gui requirements (a
> couple of buttons, a small menu, and a scrolling textbox to display
> data).
If that's all the GUI you have, it might be easy enough to code it by
hand. It might be easier than trying to learn a new tool. But if
"rolling your own" isn't your cup of tea, a visual editor might be the way
to go.
> In article <grvtv5$1em$1@build.eclipse.org>, eclipse-news@rizzoweb.com
> says...
> It does, but brings up one more question: Swing or SWT, and why one
> over the other?
From the Wikipedia article
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Widget_Toolkit): "SWT and Swing are
different tools that were built with different goals in mind. The purpose
of SWT is to provide a common API for accessing native widgets across a
spectrum of platforms. The primary design goals are high performance,
native look and feel, and deep platform integration. Swing, on the other
hand, is designed to allow for a highly customizable look and feel that is
common across all platforms."
So, if you want "native look and feel," you should probably go with SWT.
If you want the app to look the same no matter was O/S it runs on, use
Swing. From personal experience, Swing is pretty easy to use. The
Wikipedia article also claims that SWT doesn't have as much functionality
as the Swing components, so that could also influence your decision.
Sorry this wasn't a "these components are better and this is why," but was
"it depends", but this is the way as most things in life...
Regards,
Frecklefoot
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| Re: GUI builder for new projects [message #270287 is a reply to message #270285] |
Tue, 14 April 2009 13:36 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: ns_dkerber.ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com
In article <b5005dfa4c00baf07421391b3d708eb4$1@www.eclipse.org>,
frecklefoot@gmail.com says...
> <ns_dkerber@ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com> wrote:
>
> > What would be the appropriate project or package to use for building new
> > data-collection java applications with very simple gui requirements (a
> > couple of buttons, a small menu, and a scrolling textbox to display
> > data).
>
> If that's all the GUI you have, it might be easy enough to code it by
> hand. It might be easier than trying to learn a new tool. But if
> "rolling your own" isn't your cup of tea, a visual editor might be the way
> to go.
That's certainly a possibility, as simple as our application's needs
are. Can you point me to a basic reference for getting started hand-
coding a GUI? I've done a bit (though not a lot) of searching with not
much luck.
> > In article <grvtv5$1em$1@build.eclipse.org>, eclipse-news@rizzoweb.com
> > says...
>
> > It does, but brings up one more question: Swing or SWT, and why one
> > over the other?
....
> So, if you want "native look and feel," you should probably go with SWT.
> If you want the app to look the same no matter was O/S it runs on, use
> Swing. From personal experience, Swing is pretty easy to use. The
> Wikipedia article also claims that SWT doesn't have as much functionality
> as the Swing components, so that could also influence your decision.
>
> Sorry this wasn't a "these components are better and this is why," but was
> "it depends", but this is the way as most things in life...
Thanks! I knew it would be an "it depends" answer, but was looking for
"what does it depend on". So, let me expound a bit:
In my application, I'm somewhat resource limited, especially RAM, and
it's an industrial data collection application. So most of the time
nobody ever looks at it unless we need to do some troubleshooting (a
couple times per year typically, and some haven't been touched in 3 or 4
years). Therefore, looking the same across platforms is a non-issue, as
is "native" look-and-feel, while memory use could be an issue (I really
need to avoid disk swapping in normal operation). We can add more RAM
to new machines if needed, but would prefer not to, and can't
realistically add ram to machines that are already in the field when
deploy new software.
Thanks!
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| Re: GUI builder for new projects [message #270295 is a reply to message #270287] |
Tue, 14 April 2009 17:56 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: eclipse-news.rizzoweb.com
On 4/14/2009 1:36 PM, ns_dkerber@ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com wrote:
> In my application, I'm somewhat resource limited, especially RAM, and
> it's an industrial data collection application. So most of the time
> nobody ever looks at it unless we need to do some troubleshooting (a
> couple times per year typically, and some haven't been touched in 3 or 4
> years). Therefore, looking the same across platforms is a non-issue, as
> is "native" look-and-feel, while memory use could be an issue (I really
> need to avoid disk swapping in normal operation). We can add more RAM
> to new machines if needed, but would prefer not to, and can't
> realistically add ram to machines that are already in the field when
> deploy new software.
Because it is using native widgets most of the time, I'd say that SWT is
"lighter" than Swing. Long ago I accumulated several years of experience
developing Swing apps and I can tell you, at least back then, they were
anything but lightweight.
SWT, if used stand-alone without the Eclipse/RCP platform, is probably
not going to add much to your memory requirements. If it were me I'd do
some little prototype app and see how it behaves on your target
machines. Either VEP or WindowBuilder (free trial, remember) can help
throw together such a prototype; but as someone else mentioned it might
be faster to learn and hand-code a prototype. I depends on what kind of
learner you are...
Hope this helps,
Eric
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| Re: GUI builder for new projects [message #270314 is a reply to message #270295] |
Wed, 15 April 2009 10:36 |
| Eclipse User |
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Originally posted by: ns_dkerber.ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com
In article <gs30np$24v$1@build.eclipse.org>, eclipse-news@rizzoweb.com
says...
> On 4/14/2009 1:36 PM, ns_dkerber@ns_WarrenRogersAssociates.com wrote:
> > In my application, I'm somewhat resource limited, especially RAM, and
> > it's an industrial data collection application. So most of the time
> > nobody ever looks at it unless we need to do some troubleshooting (a
> > couple times per year typically, and some haven't been touched in 3 or 4
> > years). Therefore, looking the same across platforms is a non-issue, as
> > is "native" look-and-feel, while memory use could be an issue (I really
> > need to avoid disk swapping in normal operation). We can add more RAM
> > to new machines if needed, but would prefer not to, and can't
> > realistically add ram to machines that are already in the field when
> > deploy new software.
>
> Because it is using native widgets most of the time, I'd say that SWT is
> "lighter" than Swing. Long ago I accumulated several years of experience
> developing Swing apps and I can tell you, at least back then, they were
> anything but lightweight.
> SWT, if used stand-alone without the Eclipse/RCP platform, is probably
> not going to add much to your memory requirements. If it were me I'd do
> some little prototype app and see how it behaves on your target
> machines. Either VEP or WindowBuilder (free trial, remember) can help
> throw together such a prototype; but as someone else mentioned it might
> be faster to learn and hand-code a prototype. I depends on what kind of
> learner you are...
That's what I was looking for; thanks a lot!
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