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LayoutManagerShowdown

There's a need to compare and contrast various layout managers for their usability and appropriateness for certain UI design tasks. In an attempt to provide a way to compare those layout managers, I've created this page for you to place your notes, comparisons, and analysis.

So that we're comparing our layouts using a common goal, I've described an Address Book frame that we can use for our layout manager descriptions. The Address Book frame spec has been described here:

• http://weblogs.java.net/blog/joconner/archive/2006/10/more_informatio.html
• http://weblogs.java.net/blog/joconner/archive/2006/10/layout_manager.html

You are invited to refactor and prune this page as necessary to provide easy access to the information.

Some layout managers in the debate:

• AutoBuild
• MigLayout
• PageLayout
• GroupLayout
• TableLayout
• DesignGridLayout
• GridBagLayout
• painless-gridbag (another way to write GridBagLayout code)
• FormLayout
• FormLayout (more concise)
• Foam
• ZoneLayout
• ExplicitTableBuilder
• RCLayout
• JComponentBreadboard
• TransparentLayout
• etc.

(Should this list be arranged differently? I'm thinking by type. One distinction is like and unlike grid bag layout. Another is the use of resource files (e.g. FoamLayout^?). And maybe the last is constraints based vs order dependent construction. Ideas? -- josgood)