NetBeans 7.1 Swing Application Support discontinued

[Geertjan Wielenga]

On 12/01/2011 03:13 PM, Ramon Casha wrote:

[lvskiprof]

Thanks for the clarification about Swing.

I saw the new GUI builder for GirdBagLayout, but have not yet had a chance to try it.

Mike

[rcasha]

Actually I think that project proves my point. That's a LOT of extra baggage to support the NB Platform. In any case, how easy or difficult would it be to convert hundreds of existing forms to use this infrastructure?
Ramon Casha


On 1 December 2011 00:07, Fabrizio Giudici <address-removed ([email]address-removed[/email])> wrote:

[rcasha]

Mostly the forms designer seems to use two things: Resources (using ResourceMap instead of ResourceBundle), and actions via an @Action annotation coupled with resources in the same ResourceMap. This is reflected in changes in the .form file as well as the corresponding generated Java code.

Ramon Casha


On 1 December 2011 09:56, Fabrizio Giudici <address-removed ([email]address-removed[/email])> wrote:

[spmcneill]

Hi Geertjan.

I have several Swing Application Forms that I can't open up in Netbeans 7.1.

I'm only using the Application Framework to assign actions to buttons and things. Not too sophisticated. Is there some way I can purge the Swing Application Framework from a netbeans form without starting all over?

I am familiar with the Netbeans Platform, so I'm not worried about that part of it, I just don't want to have to rebuild all of my forms from scratch!

= Sean =

UPDATE:

I somehow missed the last page of this thread where you all discussed some techniques to do what I wanted to do.

I went back to 7.0 and was able to undo all of the SAF stuff there. Once I did that (removing the Action and replacing it with the traditional Event-->addActionListener) I was able to save the form, quit 7.0 and open the form under Netbeans 7.1.

I have a few forms to do this way, I may just do them by hand or use the new wowie zowie Inspect and Transform tool.

[linsley]

[prasadrvln]

Please can you help me. I am only a civil engineer, with an interest in programming. I have developed a few programs in my career to aid design and analysis of building structures, mostly maritime structures. I have actually started developing a program to work out wave loads on marine structures. I developed all the GUI stuff using the JSR-296 Swing Application Framework, and now in the process of writing the code for working out the wave parameters and then the actual loads. That was until I upgraded my home computer NetBeans to version 7.1 and it now refuses to open any of my forms. I need to convert all my stuff to NetBeans platform style. I have gone through the material available on the net, and I must admit it looks too big to understand. And my program is not that complicated. Two or may be three modules are all that are required (apart from probably two wrapper modules – one each for java-excel jar (jxl.jar) and for java3d). It’s only about 50 java files – only about 30 of them are gui forms. I am attaching all my code here. Please could you go through and advise how I should begin to port it into NetBeans Platform application. Thanks a lot in advance for your kind help.

[prasadrvln]

Ok. There’s been no response over the last week to my post. I can understand that. Probably because in my last post I did not explain what my program did. Here’s a simple explanation.

The program, when run, displays the main window. The main window has several menus and menu items. One menu item opens the structure file (this structure file is created in STAAD, a leading civil engineering structural analysis program). Once the STAAD file is opened, it displays the structure in a panel on the main window. Then, by clicking the other menu items, the users can enter wave parameters, such as wave height, period, direction, currents in the ocean etc. Clicking the menu items opens dialog boxes. There are several dialog boxes. These dialog boxes collect the required input from the users. All dialog boxes have getter methods. Once the data is collected by the dialog boxes, the main window retrieves the collected data using these said getter methods. After all the required data is collected, and upon pressing the run menu item (on the main window), the collected information is forwarded to an analyser class which works out what needs to be done.

As you can see, this is a very simple program. And in programming world, probably a light to intermediate application. I believe that using NetBeans Platform application to solve this programming is like using a machine gun to kill an ant. A simple light-weight framework would do, IMO (I could be wrong here). Somehow I still believe SAF framework was more than adequate for a lot of people like me. NetBeans Platform Application can of course give me many more features, but I don’t think I need any of them.

Further to my last post, I have created a new NetBeans Platform Application and created a few modules and ported a lot of the code to NB Platform Application (I have not yet removed SAF dependency from my forms, though – planning to do it this weekend). Where I am now stuck is

a) When a create a new action, NBP Application creates a new java file with actionPerformed method. I have made the method to display a dialog box to collect input information from user. This java class can retrieve the input entered via the getter methods in the dialog box. The problem is all the information entered through several dialog boxes will need to be sent to some central place, which can then be accessed by the analyser class. Where is this central place? Where is the java code for the default window displayed by NBP Application?
b) When I create a new action, I don’t want NB to create a new java file with an actionPerformed method. Because I have several action methods, each of which does different things. What an action method does sometimes depends upon the input collected by some other action method. Instead of creating a new java file with actionPerformed method, I would like NBP Application to create something like an actionPerformed method in some central location. How can I do this?
c) If I am able to convert all “@Action” s to actionPerformed methods, is it not similar to my doing all application plumbing? As per my understanding, NBP application recommends that I should not do this?

Please could someone respond?. Thanks a lot in advance.

[prasadrvln]

Please could someone respond. Badly need help. Thanks.

[grahamh]

[prasadrvln]

Hi guys. Please I need help.
After posting my last message, I have done the following works.
- Converted all forms to the new 7.1 std. forms. With no SAF. One problem (not major) is that in one of the forms, I have two button groups, each having at least five radio buttons. In SAF, I was able to define one @Action and then assign that to all the radio buttons. In the new one, when I create an actionListener event, it creates a private method and the actionListener calls the private method. So I have five private methods – one for each of the radio buttons. Then I need to call a separate method from these five to get the work done. This I don’t think is a correct programming technique.
- Went through most of the tutorials sections – especially the selection management stuff. What appears to me is that I should get rid of all of my dialog boxes (that collect essential input from user) and change them into top components. I don’t want to do this if I can avoid it. Second problem, as I explained in my earlier mail, is that the input dialog boxes are interdependent. The first box collects length units. If the user enters say “meters”, then that input needs to go into the other input dialog boxes. This is just an example. I haven’t been able to figure out how to do this.
- I have a five input dialog boxes – each of which is collecting some type of information that is different to the info collected by the other boxes. The issue is if I use lookup framework, then I need to have different types of objects looked up by a viewer java file (instead of multiple objects of the same class). It makes it bulky and cumbersome.
- One of the input dialog boxes is a dynamic one. It’s there when I need it and as many times as I need it. Specifically, I need input on wave conditions. If the user enters the conditions, then I need to have (a) a capability to display that window again for input of another wave condition, (b) a menu item added to the main menu and (c) assign an action to that newly created main menu. Don’t know how to implement that functionality into NBP Application.

Please help me. In case you need any of the structure files or others, I will be happy to provide.

Geertjan. Specific questions to you.

1. I tried to follow your porting basic html file. It’s got so many errors in it. If you strictly follow what is instructed, you won’t get anywhere. Please consider re-writing it.
2. I have spent at least 70 hours on trying to port to NetBeans and going through a lot of documentation regarding this on the net. I am sure there are a lot of people like me. Isn’t this a lot of waste of collective time?
3. OK. JSR-296 was dead. Java wouldn’t care to develop it and include in their SDK. I understand that much. But if the decision of NetBeans is to drop support for that, I think it was better to deprecate it first for about one or two NB releases, and then drop support altogether. That’s how Java does it (AFAIK). The earlier version of NB only said that the JSR was no longer being developed, but never said that NB was going to drop support for SAF.
4. SAF is dead. But BSAF is being developed. And it’s not a huge software. I really fail to understand why NB cannot support it or do a similar one. I know it’s free software and everything costs money. But what I am asking is, the support for SAF was already there. We are not asking you do develop something new for us. But only not remove what’s already there.
5. With due respect to you, I don’t think you have ever developed a small scale application using SAF. It works very well for smaller applications, which I believe most people are trying to develop. If you did, you would know why people are crying out for this support.
6. I have read many posts on the forums. I think one poster (don’t remember his name) said something similar to (if I understand correctly) “people who don’t contribute are the ones who cry the most”. I don’t want to be rude here, but is it necessary to contribute first before asking for something? Is faithfully sticking to NetBeans for over 8 years (that’s me) not a way of contributing? If many people move away, then what use is NetBeans?
7. If I use NBP Application with basic features (i.e., without the default NB window), and then stick my code into a method in the moduleinstall class, then what benefit am I going to get? Why can’t I just make the main class of my app to show itself up?
8. I think NBP Application is like the old time Linux (pre 1995). Only the developer could use it. Lesser mortals like me just couldn’t. Things improved after 1996/7. NBP Applications are like that. Only people like Geertjan can use it effectively. Not surely me. As I said in my previous mail, I am only a civil engineer with an interest in programming. I develop programs to do my office work, to do engineering calculations. All my colleagues use my programs as well. I give my programs to the others too. I keep adding features to my programs but I don’t sell them. I don’t code everday. All I need (for most programs I develop) is a mechanism where users can put in input, then let the program process it and give an output. I don’t need persistence, concurrency, stupidity or all that advanced magical stuff. I am sure there are many people like me. SAF worked for us.

[damaru]

I would just like to add my voice to the many who have been screwed by SAF support being discontinued.

Yes, I know that SAF itself isn't being developed, but the jars that were there worked fine for me and saved me a ton of time. NB 7.0 provided a wizard that made it quick and easy to get an app running. As long as the framework worked well enough, I had no concern that it wasn't getting enhanced.

I built a medium sized app on it, and just the other day tried to modify it in NB 7.1 when I was greeted by that awful 'can't open the form' message. Now I'm faced with a big rewrite - for no reason other than the NB team decided to yank out support.

No, I don't want to migrate to the NB platform. It's overkill for my app. I don't need users to undock windows or anything.

The NB team should have forseen that they would force a ton of developers to do a ton of migration work by removing that support.

Michael Davis
Ottawa

[Thomas Wolf]

I am curious as to why you're facing a rewrite. From what you describe, it's simply that the NB GUI editor is no longer supporting your SAF-based forms. If it's like other GUi-based "forms", you could simply remove the ".form" file and get rid of the "GEN" type comments from the generated Java file to get rid of that error message. Of course you'd have to hand-code any GUI changes from that point on, but that is pretty easy (provided you know Swing) once you have a screen all laid out and are just making minor tweaks (we did this to most of our screens: develop them using NB's GUI builder and, as they matured, replace the inefficient generated code with optimized hand-coding and removal of the ".form" files).

Best regards,
Tom


On Mar 12, 2012, at 11:38 AM, damaru wrote:

[Javier Ortiz]

Also saying that using the platform might be overkill is questionable. You can have it as slim as you need it to be. Also you can easily cut and past from the GUI designer into a TopComponent (on earlier versions of the IDE) and then upgrade to the later IDE. That's what I did.

Senior Software Quality Engineer
ArthroCare Corporation
7000 William Cannon Drive
Austin, TX 78735
Phone: 512-358-5996
email: address-removed

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Wolf [mailto:address-removed]
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 8:34 AM
To: address-removed
Subject: [nbusers] Re: NetBeans 7.1 Swing Application Support discontinued

I am curious as to why you're facing a rewrite. From what you describe, it's simply that the NB GUI editor is no longer supporting your SAF-based forms. If it's like other GUi-based "forms", you could simply remove the ".form" file and get rid of the "GEN" type comments from the generated Java file to get rid of that error message. Of course you'd have to hand-code any GUI changes from that point on, but that is pretty easy (provided you know Swing) once you have a screen all laid out and are just making minor tweaks (we did this to most of our screens: develop them using NB's GUI builder and, as they matured, replace the inefficient generated code with optimized hand-coding and removal of the ".form" files).

Best regards,
Tom


On Mar 12, 2012, at 11:38 AM, damaru wrote:

[rcasha]

Javier,

Would copying and pasting in this manner copy the properties, actions, bindings etc too? When copying to a plain Swing form it doesn't.


Ramon Casha


On 13 March 2012 14:48, Javier Ortiz <address-removed ([email]address-removed[/email])> wrote: