Re: Java claims WORA
John B. Matthews wrote:
Roedy Green wrote:
John B. Matthews wrote, quoted or indirectly quoted someone who said :
I'll second the need for testing, but I've found that using layouts
properly and respecting a component's preferred size greatly reduces
the number of cross-platform problems. There's a recent example
here:
one of the big problems is when you substitute a font, the characters
are not the same size. I would like to normalize fonts to their true
size so that when you substitute fonts, the actual real estate
consumed varies only a little.
I must demur: a typical JComponent, such as JLabel, goes to considerable
lengths to calculate its preferred size using the metrics of the
selected Font. As long as you
- don't veto the calculation,
- don't preclude resizing,
- do use a LayoutManager, and
- do pack() the enclosing Container
the chosen Font is irrelevant. If the Font must be changed dynamically,
revalidate() and repaint() should suffice.
Another would be a guaranteed to render all glyphs, even if it means
substituting from some other font. Failing that at telling the
truth. Java claims to render a glyph when all it does in render some
generic glyph.
Font substitution shouldn't cause a problem. Missing glyphs and
mendacious canDisplay() are annoying, but the metrics are typically
reliable.
Depends on what problem you care about, and what constitutes relevance.
You might not be happy with a screen that doubles its width to accommodate a
font, for design reasons.
Sure, Swing handles the technical details of resizing, and layouts do wonders
to work around variances in fonts and so forth, but that's all technical
problems and solutions and relevance.
Design problems and solutions and relevance revolve around what looks right
and works for the program's purpose, i.e., the user's purpose. Roedy's wish
for fonts that squish instead of windows that widen is not uncommon nor
unreasonable, from a design perspective. You might prefer the data entry box
not get smaller to make room for a longer prompt.
So technical dimension, no problem, design dimension, eh, depends on the
design and what changes it can withstand.
--
Lew
Honi soit qui mal y pense.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Friz.jpg