Learning Java, 4th Edition

GridBagLayout

GridBagLayout is a very flexible layout manager that allows you to position components relative to one another using constraints. With GridBagLayout (and a fair amount of effort), you can create almost any imaginable layout. Components are arranged at logical coordinates on an abstract grid. We call them “logical” coordinates because they designate positions in the space of rows and columns formed by the set of components. Rows and columns of the grid stretch to different sizes, based on the sizes and constraints of the components they hold.

A row or column in a GridBagLayout expands to accommodate the dimensions and constraints of the largest component it contains. Individual components may also be told to span more than one row or column. Components that aren’t as large as their grid cell can be anchored (positioned to one side) within their cell. They can also be set to fill or expand their size in either dimension. Extra area in the grid rows and columns can be parceled out according to the weight constraints of the components. In this way, you can control how various components will grow and stretch when a window is resized.

GridBagLayout is much easier to use in a graphical WYSIWYG GUI builder environment. That’s because working with GridBag is kind of like messing with the old rabbit-ears antennae on your television. It’s not particularly difficult to get the results that you want through trial and error, but writing out hard and fast rules for how to go about ...