Layout Managers
Beyond these specialty panes with their
dedicated layout managers, the Swing package also includes some
general layout managers you can use with your own code. You can use
the new BoxLayout to make things like toolbars and
OverlayLayout to make things like layered labels.
The Box and BoxLayout Classes
The
BoxLayout
class is a
manager that gives you one row or column to put everything in.
It’s great for toolbars and button ribbons. It also comes with
its very own convenience container called Box. The
Box class is a lightweight container that requires
a BoxLayout manager. While you can certainly use
the BoxLayout class to control your own panel,
frame, or other container, the Box class provides
several shortcuts for dealing with components in a boxed layout.
You’ll often find using a Box is easier than
creating a panel or frame that you control with a
BoxLayout manager.
The Box Class
Let’s start with a look at the convenience container that puts
the BoxLayout manager to use. The
Box
class
is a lightweight container object whose primary purpose is to let you
add components to a horizontal or vertical box without having to
think about getting the constraints right. You use the normal
Container.add() method to place components in the
box. Components are placed left to right (or top to bottom) in the
order you add them.
Properties
Table 11.9 shows the properties of the
Box class. You are not allowed to change a
box’s layout manager, so the setLayout accessor always throws ...
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