Fair comment. I was one of those who had a moan about Swing in this
thread, but I still think Java is the best development tool I have ever seen.
I guess we all got used to this luxury already!
Nick
Rudi Streif wrote:
> Pretty interesting discussion. Basically you are talking about the dilemma
> everyone has to face if he wants to develop a framework that is meant to be
> used by others. If he makes it too generic then there will be a bunch of
> people who complain that it is hard to use, that the turnaround times are
> too long etc. If he makes it too specific then there will be lots of people
> who complain that it doesn't fit their needs, that they cannot adjust it
> etc. So what to do?
>
> In my opinion Sun did and still does a very good job with the whole Java
> API, not only the Swing toolkit. They provide all the necessary features
> usually missing in other toolkits but still leave it flexible enough to make
> your own changes. And they also leave enough room for third party suppliers
> who then can provide more specific add-ons to the API that may be easier to
> use. I agree, the Java API is not easy to use. It implements all the aspects
> of object-oriented analysis and design. It utilizes object patterns like
> factories, iterators, singletons etc. Understanding all these concepts
> really helps you to get most out of the JAVA API.
>
> Sun's developers are really knowledgeable people. They turned theoretic and
> abstract concepts discussed by system analysis and software experts for
> years now into a highly usable real world product. If have been searching
> for something like this for years. Finally I have found it. And the best
> thing: it's for free.
>
> Rudy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brad Pepers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Saturday, July 10, 1999 12:47 AM
> Subject: Re: Has Sun Overstretch Themselves With So Many APIs?
>
> >Rachit Siamwalla wrote:
> >>
> >> > Agreed, Swing JFC is one of the best API design ever. Java 2D/ DnD is
> excellent
> >> > and JMF appears to be well though out. I await Java Sound with baited
> breath.
> >> >
> >>
> >> I don't 100% agree with the comment about JFC. Some things in JFC are
> >> well written like the JTree and the JTable and the Text components. But
> >> the rest seem slapped together and hard to customize without creating
> >> your own components. Another thing is it is scary how slow they seem to
> >> fix problems. I heard from someone who went to JavaOne last year that
> >> they have 10 people devoted to Swing. How long has JFC came out? A lot
> >> of repeatable problems have not been fixed. This is amazingly bad. What
> >> have they been doing? The interface hasn't changed significantly. All
> >> there is to do is fix thier bugs. Oh well...
> >
> >I can't even go that far since JTable has its own problems. Like you
> >mentioned its hard to customize without creating your own component and
> >its also almost useless for data entry. In general the whole thing is
> >missing so much basical functionality that you end up spending all your
> >time subclassing their components. Little things like the simplest of
> >data validation (limiting the number of characters entered for instance)
> >require you to write code when it should be basic functionality of the
> >component.
> >
> >I think they've had to spend *way* too much time on getting the whole
> >switchable look and feel working and in doing so have left out basic
> >functionality. Its also so complicated its hard to subclass and get
> >control of the behaviour when you need to (and I also suspect this is
> >the source of the bugs and why they can't fix them). They should have
> >just worked on a light weight set of components with a rich set of
> >functionality and a nice look and feel. AWT is bad because it relies
> >on the underlying graphics lib which creates subtle differences in
> >functionality between operating systems but JFC seems to be just as bad
> >by trying to cater to everyone they have made a system not very good
> >for anyone.
> >
> >If its not obvious, I've been working with Swing for a while now and had
> >nothing but frustration. 8^)
> >
> >Rant mode off.
> >
> >Are there other options out there?
> >
> >--
> >Brad Pepers
> >Linux Canada Inc. Home of Linux products in Canada!
> >http://www.linuxcanada.com Proud supporter of Cyclades, Red
> >[EMAIL PROTECTED] Hat, and Caldera.
> >
> >
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> >
>
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