I came from c++ and I wanted to see how challenging GUI programming is in Java. I did not do my best I just sortof put it together and explored swing a bit. please chew it up and spit it in my face to disgrace my honor as a padwan learner.
#Review my first gui
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upbeat graniteBOT
<@&987246883653156906> please have a look, thanks.
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@somber ocean
somber ocean
decomposing is important. right now, everything is added to 1 panel, which is added to the frame
you should decompose it into multiple panels. have a numberPanel, a operatorPanel, etc..
null layout (absolute positioning) is something you wanna stray away from
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break it into smaller more manageable parts
somber ocean
although it may look nice on your machine, it may look funky on others
instead, rely on actual layouts, which have dynamic sizing & positioning
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i assume your a win 11 user ?
somber ocean
that way the UI looks good on all machines
i never ran it
just looking based on the code
ill run when i get home
but its not just platform, its screen resolution too
could be on the same platform, with a different resolution, and get different visual results
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well yeah I think it would be a fun learning experiment just to see how different it looks
somber ocean
null layout is only good for a few things
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that on my ubuntu 24.04 gnome
somber ocean
what you should do is use a GridLayout
or GridBagLayout if you want more control
cause thats what you got: grids
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i broke up your UI into 3 sections
just to make it easier to work on ?
somber ocean
3 panels, each with some vertical space between
yup
easier to scale, easier to maintain
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agreed 100%
somber ocean
break it into smaller more manageable parts
this, for all code, not just GUI
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in the hour it took me to write this I kindof got all googly eyed for swing
shes a pretty gal isnt she
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what ?
somber ocean
its only included with the Standard Library cause Oracle wanted some kind of GUI toolkit included
the main problem with Swing, beyond performance, is its design
ever used a Window Builder?
people dont usually write GUIs by hand anymore. they use a drag-and-drop Window Builder
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right
somber ocean
you can design your GUI like painting a picture
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which does nothing to help me learn java
somber ocean
you still gotta code the actions
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just like people dont "write" games anymore
somber ocean
you still gotta understand design
it helps you focus on the more important parts of software dev
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yeah you click it together and script the events with some type of event handler
somber ocean
just like people dont "write" games anymore
just like we dont really write assembly anymore
would be wild trying to write a GUI with assembly these days. the time it would take, just to get something less than basic
somber ocean
idk, you wind up learning about a lot of "how to wire swing stuff", which isnt that important these days
while neglecting the important stuff, like layouts & such
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ok
somber ocean
which still play a huge role
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so my goal is to become a profitable programmer
somber ocean
which means you cant spend time doing silly stuff
somber ocean
first step would be straying away from null layout
somber ocean
Although it is possible to do without a layout manager, you should use a layout manager if at all possible. A layout manager makes it easier to adjust to look-and-feel-dependent component appearances, to different font sizes, to a container's changing size, and to different locales. Layout managers also can be reused easily by other containers, as well as other programs.
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well if you say swing is done then i dont even want to hear her beautiful slutty name anymore
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dang
somber ocean
Scene Builder, better performance
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yeah yeah I read the synopsis.... ahrdware accelerated blah blah
somber ocean
you thing wxWidgets is good? psh
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ill look up her dress soon
somber ocean
imagine what FX has
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no no no
i think wxWidgets is absolute nightmare garbage
the fat girl thats happy with a dry martini
somber ocean
Swing uses the LAF system (Look and Feel) for its vibe
and that is the biggest pain to deal with
most people ignore it & just create custom components by extending JComponent and overriding paintComponent
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I need to take a step back and build a ladder to my goal
right now im stabbing in the dark
somber ocean
with JavaFX? CSS
somber ocean
I need to take a step back and build a ladder to my goal
id say start by migrating away from null layout
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I mean to get from a basic understanding of syntax to being a freelance coder
somber ocean
thats the start of the path
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I dont care what api or library I use
somber ocean
it aint about just syntax though
this GUI design stuff aint just Java either
there are 2 parts of programming
you have the code, then you have the "problem domain"
the problem domain is the knowledge that you need for software, but isnt really code/syntax related
to make a network system, you gotta understand sockets and protocols
ports, hosts
none of that is really code related, its just knowledge
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mmmmm sockets.cpp
somber ocean
you gotta understand the problem domain
and in this case (GUI), layouts are a big one
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gets pencil and paper and starts writing notes and keywords from chat
somber ocean
you are basically giving layouts the finger by using null layout
especially if you plan on being a freelancer, gotta make sure your stuff works on many systems
different from having to target a single system within an in-house dev environment
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absolutely no arguments
I completely get what you are saying I did it in a shit way, slapped it together in an hour with no experience and did what it would take me a week to do in c++ lol
absolutely not giving layouts the finger
am going to do a DEEEEEP dive into layouts on my next study session
maybe not a week
maybe 2.5 days
the point stands
I really appreciate your input
drop swing
learn JavaFX
but most importantly get a grasp of the problem domain and forget about null layout
what else can I add to my notes for my next study session ?
somber ocean
what else can I add to my notes for my next study session ?
just post when you're on the next session
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just post when you're on the next session
ill see you in six hours 🙂
somber ocean
the layout thing should keep you busy for a bit
if youre still using null layout by the next session, ima just say the same
cause thats priority with this
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the mother of my children are taking the kids for a week starting tomorrow. I plan to cram for 7 days straight
somber ocean
you found the right place
somber ocean
baby mama drama is never fun, lets keep that under wrap. we are here for software
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because I honestly barely know what you are talking about. But I know enough to know that I dont know
somber ocean
id recommend opening a new project, and playing around with GridLayout
from there, try adding another panel, maybe under or above (or next to) the panel with the grid
get some experience with layouts
from what i see, you have 3 panels
top panel contains the text field, doesnt really matter which layout it uses (FlowLayout is default)
middle panel, obviously a GridPanel
same with bottom
now you got 3 panels, how do you wire them up?
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now you got 3 panels, how do you wire them up?
GLOBALS!
somber ocean
they'd all exist in a parent panel, which uses BorderLayout
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lol jk