Java GUI programming

Here you have a small compilation of links to different alternatives for Java GUI programming:

.- The official GUI programming trail: Of course the classical aproach to GUI programming is using Java's GUI APIs (AWT, SWING, JFC). While being able to put together UIs using Swing is enough for most developers, the real power comes from a deep understanding of its achitecture.

.- The Standard Widget Toolkit: Eclipse's GUI framework, originally developped by IBM.

.- JavaFX: This API is geared toward RIAs (Rich Internet Applications). However it may be worth a try.

.- Miglayout: Layout manager for Swing and SWT. The layout managers included in any JDK are cumbersome and its very difficult to get the GUI you want, and that it adapts properly to different resolutions. Miglayout come to take layout managers a step higher.

Seemingly, there are not many other tools widely adopted.

I may post more information in the following days, following my investigation on aternatives to Swing.

Enjoy!!

Pride and prejudice, by Jane Austen

In part because I forgot to include this book in my last post, and in part because I honestly believe it deserves its own one, here you have my views and feelings about it:

At the present time I expect everyone to be aware of the book's plot. Here we have a group of girls on heavy hormone doses, in the Victorian Great Britain. The books is not more that the tale of their flirting adventures, but what a tale!!

Every character is the book is so wittingly drawn, that after a few chapters we get to understand the way each one plays or accepts the rules of the Victorian world. The story itself is weak, but the way in which the society and its protocols is described is just astonishing.

On top of that, the book is full of emotions, and the connection between the characters and the reader is total. At some point I was feeling so anxious that my heart began to beat faster, and I had "that" feeling on my stomach.....

All in all, a very enjoyable book. Not for English beginners though. The language and the grammar used, can discourage many people and make the whole experience a nightmare.

Regards.

Mark Twain's biography + full works

Continuing my journey through the land of the classics of the universal literature, I have left the "old" continent, and set off for the "land of freedom".

I have already read Booker T. Washington's Up from Slavery, an inspiring autobiography, describing Mr. Washington's way from a slave's hut, to meeting the president in the White House. Mr. Booker praises himself for his humbleness, however it feels like he is too proud (though he has reasons to be so) of his achievements.

I have also read some of Edgar Poe's creations. What I really enjoyed about them was the simplicity of the language. There was no need to be constantly looking for words or idioms in a dictionary. A simple yet charmingly descriptive and effective style. I'm sure I will come back to him, in the following months.

The book that gives name to this post, is the one that occupies me at the moment. I'm still reading Mark Twain's autobiography and, though he was not a slave, his life conditions and level of education do not match at all my expectations when it comes to an author part of the history of literature. Seemingly he used a good deal of his own life into each of his creations (this is by no means a reproach).

I admit that modern literature must be supported and enjoyed, otherwise the classics in the future will be pretty much the same as today :). But, having so much fun reading what we consider classics today, I find it hard to direct my attention to modern creation. Maybe in about 70 years, when today's books pass to the public domain...

Enjoy life!!