Re: Matisse with XML?

I can't say your idea is wrong; this is just the "eternal" problem of 
declarative UI which is still not solved in java in a standar way. Your 
suggestion is just about layout, which is a subset of the whole UI 
information, but the problem is the same - no standard.

We could certainly implement some XML layout storage, but the benefits don't 
seem to be positive enough to introduce a proprietary runtime mechanism that 
would be needed. We have hard time already now introducing the GroupLayout as 
a special library - but in this case we hope it finds its way to JDK, so it 
would become standard. It's not that clear for the possible XML form parser. 
Here we expect things to happen from the other side - i.e. JDK providing the 
declaratiev format we would use and support.

On another note, besides the possibility of reusing layout (which I can hardly 
imagine how it could be done in practise), does the current approach we use 
prevent you from doing something?

Regards,
Tomas


Christian Hessenbruch wrote:

> I suprises me that no one else see the potential in this feature request? Or has this mailinglist simply fallen asleep?
> 
> I don't see that component layout belongs in the application as java statements. As I see it, it would be much cleaner to keep the layout in xml (form) file and instantiate it whenever needed.
> 
> As mentioned earlier, it would make it possible to reuse layout and enable non-developers to alter the layout. Even more it would fit very well with patterns like "Presentation model" / "Model View Presenter". I'm aware that patterns can be applied to the view-class created by Matisse, but it would be simpler if the (requested) FormParser would just request components from my application. The components returned to the FormParser could allready be bound to the data object.
> 
> Do you disagree?
> 
> /Christian
> 
> It may be that the 'FormParser' is allready available, but I haven't been able to locate it in the source/javadocs?!
> 
> Links:
> http://www.martinfowler.com/eaaDev/ModelViewPresenter.html
> http://www.martinfowler.com/eaaDev/PresentationModel.html
> https://binding.dev.java.net/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wade Chandler [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: 29. oktober 2005 19:35
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [nbui] Matisse with XML?
> 
> 
> --- Christian Hessenbruch <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> 
>>I hope that some of the developers behind Matisse is
>>on this mailinglist, cause I've got a suggestion,
>>and im not sure where to send it?
>>
>>What I think would be *really* cool, where if
>>Matisse offered the possiblity to export the
>>generated layout to XML, and also provided a parser
>>to turn the XML back into a layout.
>>
>>To apply the layout on my application I would have
>>to use 'GroupLayoutParser' that would parse the XML
>>and ask my application for the components using some
>>interface.
>>
>>My application would implement something like:
>>
>>Interface GroupLayoutComponentSupplier {
>>  public Component getComponent(String name);
>>}
>>
>>And to populate the GUI I would call something like:
>>
>>File xmlfile = new File(mylayout.xml);
>>JPanel panel =
>>GroupLayoutParser.doLayoutPanel(xmlfile, this); //
>>this instanceof GroupLayoutComponentSupplier
>>
>>That way I would get rid of all the autogenerated
>>layout code, and be able to reuse a layout. Maybe I
>>could even allow the users of the application to
>>rearrange the gui as it no longer affects the code
>>(as long as components are not added).
>>
>>/Christian
>>
> 
> 
> I think java.beans.XMLEncoder may already do what you
> want to do.  It will take a panel or frame and write
> it out to XML in it's format and then you can
> reinstate it later.  It's a way to long term serialize
> beans and swing objects.
> 
> Wade
> 
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