1. Java Look-and-Feel Design Guidelines
Eileen Kraemer
University of Georgia
CSCI 4800/600

2. An online book …
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

3. Focus of the book ….
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.

4. What is the “Java Look and Feel”?
First of all, what is a “look-and-feel”?
The appearance and behavior of a complete set of GUI components.
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.

5. Java look-and-feel Flush 3D style Drag texture Color model
surfaces appear to be in the same plane as the surrounding canvas
border has a bevel
Drag texture
Color model

7. Elements of the Java L&F
Style of use/appearance of:
Windows
Menus
Toolbars
editor panes
dialog boxes
alert boxes

8. Java L&F Windows
Platform-specific borders, title bar, and window controls
“Metal” look and feel window contents – menu bar, toolbar, editor pane, etc.
Here’s the code

9. Menus, the Menu Bar
Provide access to and info about application’s primary functions
Later: guidelines for creation of such menus

10. Drop-down menus 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..

11. Keyboard shortcuts
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.

12. 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

13. Guidelines for shortcuts …
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.

14. Java L&F Toolbar
displays command and toggle buttons that offer immediate access to the functions of many menu items.
divided into functional areas
Flush 3D style

15. Java L&F Editor Pane
Editor pane inside a scroll pane

16. Java L&F Dialog Boxes
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

17. Java L&F Alert boxes
Windows, Mac, CDE

18. Java Foundation Classes
An extension to the original Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT),
Includes:
the Swing classes, which define a complete set of GUI components for JFC applications
pluggable look and feel designs
the Java Accessibility API,
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:
windows and frames, panels and panes, dialog boxes, menus and toolbars, buttons, sliders, combo boxes, text components, tables, list components, and trees.

19. The Java 2 SDK contains the AWT, Contains a JFC that also includes
the class library that provides the standard application programming interfaces for building GUIs for Java programs.
Contains a JFC that also includes
the Java 2D API
drag and drop
other enhancements

20. Support for Accessibility
features of the Java 2 SDK that support people with special needs:
the Java Accessibility API
provides “hooks” for an assistive technology to interact and communicate with JFC components ( screen readers and screen magnifiers.)
the Java Accessibility Utilities
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

21. Accessibility, continued
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.

22. Support for Internationalization
J2SDK provides internationalized text handling and resource bundles.
support for the bidirectional display of text lines
J2SDK provides
resource bundles
locale-sensitive sorting
support for localized numbers, dates, times, and messages.

23. 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
a model (the data structure)
a user interface (the presentation and behavior of the component)

25. Major JFC UI Components
See table of components

26. Java L&F - Recommendations
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.
Available Look and Feel Designs:
Metal
Windows
CDE/Motif