Download Java Look-and-Feel Design Guidelines

Java Look-and-Feel
Design Guidelines
Eileen Kraemer
University of Georgia
CSCI 4800/600
An online book …
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The Java Look-and-Feel Design Guidelines,
Second Edition are available online
Target audience:
 the
designer who chooses the interface elements,
lays them out in a set of components, and designs the
user interaction model for an application
Focus of the book ….
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design guidelines for software that uses the Swing
classes together with the Java look and feel.
on creating cross-platform GUI (graphical user interface)
applications and applets in the JavaTM programming
language.
on design issues and human-computer interaction in the
context of the Java look and feel.
guidelines are appropriate for GUI applications and
applets on PCs and network computers; doesn’t address
the problem of S/W that runs on consumer electronic
devices.
What is the “Java Look and Feel”?
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First of all, what is a “look-and-feel”?
 The
appearance and behavior of a complete set of
GUI components.
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Why do we need a Java look-and-feel?
 Want
to have Java applications that have a consistent
look and behavior across multiple platforms
 The goal of the Java look-and-feel is to provide a
distinctive platform-independent appearance and
standard behavior.
Java look-and-feel
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Flush 3D style
 surfaces
appear to be
in the same plane as
the surrounding
canvas
 border has a bevel
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Drag texture
Color model
Elements of the Java L&F
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Style of use/appearance of:
 Windows
 Menus
 Toolbars
 editor
panes
 dialog boxes
 alert boxes
Java L&F Windows
Platform-specific borders, title bar, and
window controls
 “Metal” look and feel window contents –
menu bar, toolbar, editor pane, etc.
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Here’s the code
Menus, the Menu Bar
Provide access to and info about
application’s primary functions
 Later: guidelines for creation of such
menus
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Drop-down menus
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Menu separators divide
choices into logical
groupings
Titles highlighted in blue
(default Java look and
feel theme)
Can use keyboard
shortcuts instead of the
mouse.
Mnemonics – another
way to access menu
items..
Keyboard shortcuts
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keystroke combinations that activate a menu
item from the keyboard even if the menu for that
command is not currently displayed.
usually consist of a modifier key and a character
key, like Control-Z, plus a few special keys such
as F1 and Delete.
Don’t post menus; rather, perform the indicated
actions directly.
Mnemonic
an underlined alphanumeric character in a
menu title, menu item, or other interface
component.
 reminds the user how to activate the
equivalent command by simultaneously
pressing the Alt key and the character key
that corresponds to the underlined letter or
numeral.
 See example code for both shortcuts and
mnemonics
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Guidelines for shortcuts …
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Specify keyboard shortcuts for frequently used menu
items; don’t need a shortcut for every command
Display shortcuts using the standard abbreviations for
key names (such as Ctrl for the Control key), separated
by hyphens.
Know the common shortcuts across platforms; use them.
Don’t use the Meta key (the Command key on the
Macintosh platform) for a shortcut, except as an
alternate for Control. It isn’t available on some target
platforms.
Java L&F Toolbar
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displays command and toggle buttons that offer
immediate access to the functions of many menu items.
divided into functional areas
Flush 3D style
Java L&F Editor Pane
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Editor pane inside a scroll pane
Java L&F Dialog Boxes
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use the
borders and
title bars of
the platform
they are
running on
dialog box
contents
have the
Java look
and feel
Windows,
Mac, CDE
Java L&F Alert boxes
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Windows,
Mac, CDE
Java Foundation Classes
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An extension to the original Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT),
Includes:
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the Swing classes, which define a complete set of GUI components for
JFC applications
 pluggable look and feel designs
 the Java Accessibility API,
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all implemented without native code (code that refers to the
functions of a specific operating system or is compiled for a specific
processor).
components include:
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windows and frames, panels and panes, dialog boxes, menus and
toolbars, buttons, sliders, combo boxes, text components, tables, list
components, and trees.
The Java 2 SDK
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contains the AWT,
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the class library that provides the standard
application programming interfaces for
building GUIs for Java programs.
Contains a JFC that also includes
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the Java 2D API
 drag and drop
 other enhancements
Support for Accessibility
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features of the Java 2 SDK that support people with
special needs:
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the Java Accessibility API
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the Java Accessibility Utilities
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provides “hooks” for an assistive technology to interact and
communicate with JFC components ( screen readers and screen
magnifiers.)
provides support in locating the objects that implement the Java
Accessibility API. (These utilities are necessary for developers who
develop only assistive technologies, not mainstream applications.)
keyboard navigation, mnemonics, keyboard shortcuts (also
called "accelerators"), customizable colors and fonts, and
dynamic GUI layout.
A “pluggable” look and feel architecture that can be used to build
both visual and nonvisual designs, such as audio and tactile UIs
Accessibility, continued
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Keyboard navigation

enables users to use the keyboard to move
between components, open menus, highlight
text, and so on.
 makes an application accessible to people
who find it difficult or impossible to use a
mouse.
Support for Internationalization
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J2SDK provides internationalized text handling
and resource bundles.
 support
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for the bidirectional display of text lines
J2SDK provides
 resource
bundles
 locale-sensitive sorting
 support for localized numbers, dates, times, and
messages.
User Interface Components of
the JFC
Swing, a complete set of user interface
components, including windows, dialog
boxes, alert boxes, panels and panes, and
basic controls.
 Each JFC component contains
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a
model (the data structure)
 a user interface (the presentation and
behavior of the component)
Major JFC UI Components
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See table of components
Java L&F - Recommendations
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Don’t specify look and feel explicity.
 cross-platform
l&f allows app to appear and perform
the same everywhere
 simplifies the app's development and doc
 Java look and feel is used by default.
 If error occurs while specifying name of any l&f, the
Java l&f is used by default.
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Available Look and Feel Designs:
 Metal
 Windows
 CDE/Motif