layout manager
Layout managers are software components used in widget toolkits which have the ability to lay out graphical control elements by their relative positions without using distance units. It is often more natural to define component layouts in this manner than to define their position in pixels or common distance units, so a number of popular widget toolkits include this ability by default. Widget toolkits that provide this function can generally be classified into two groups:
- Those where the layout behavior is coded in special graphic containers. This is the case in XUL and the .NET Framework widget toolkit (both in Windows Forms and in XAML).
- Those where the layout behavior is coded in layout managers, that can be applied to any graphic container. This is the case in the Swing widget toolkit that is part of the Java API.
Examples
Android have the {{Mono|ConstraintLayout}}.{{cite web |title=Build a responsive UI with ConstraintLayout {{!}} Views |url=https://developer.android.com/develop/ui/views/layout/constraint-layout |website=Android Developers |publisher=Google |access-date=17 December 2024 |language=en}}
GTK have the {{Mono|Box}}{{cite web |title=Gtk.Box |url=https://docs.gtk.org/gtk4/class.Box.html |website=docs.gtk.org |access-date=17 December 2024 |language=en}} and {{Mono|Grid}}{{cite web |title=Gtk.Grid |url=https://docs.gtk.org/gtk4/class.Grid.html |website=docs.gtk.org |access-date=17 December 2024 |language=en}} classes.
=XUL=
In XUL, like the [https://developer.mozilla.org/en/XUL_Tutorial/The_Box_Model vbox] container to stack components on top of each other.
xmlns="http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul">
This piece of code shows 3 buttons stacked on top of each other in a vertical box.
=XAML=
The [http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.controls.dockpanel.aspx DockPanel] container lays out children components according to their Dock properties.
WindowTitle="myDock Panel">
This code shows 4 text blocks on top of each other.
=Java=
The {{Javadoc:SE|java/awt|FlowLayout|module=java.desktop}} layout manager arranges components in a directional flow, much like lines of text in a paragraph. It arranges components horizontally until no more components fit on the same line, then it places them on another line. Other layout managers are GridLayout managers which arrange the components in grid form and BorderLayout managers which also arranges the component in five parts of the frame, thus: south, north, west, east and center.
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
public class Example {
private JFrame frame;
public Example() {
frame = new JFrame("FlowLayout Demo");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
frame.add((new JButton("Button 1")));
frame.add((new JButton("Button 2")));
frame.add((new JButton("Button 3")));
frame.add((new JButton("Long-Named Button 4")));
frame.add((new JButton("5")));
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Example ex = new Example();
}
}
This code shows 5 buttons alongside each other on the same line:
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/layout/index.html Layout tutorial on Oracle website]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071010021740/http://wiki.java.net/bin/view/Javadesktop/LayoutManagerShowdown Layout Manager Showdown on java.net]
{{Graphical control elements}}