A GUI editor for Java that can manage objects in RUNTIME

Question

I am looking for an editor or Java GUI library with the following exotic property: GUI can be manipulated at runtime . That is, a working frame can include special controls, for example, right-clicking, which allows users to add buttons and other widgets to it.

Alternatively, I can use a graphical editor that can interact with a running Java program. The program says: "please add a button," and the editor shows the user a palette with buttons. The user adds a button and presses it, and the program receives a "button click" event.

Is there such a thing that you can use finished, do not write it from scratch?

Answer 1

Any compatible JavaBean library will support development time> semantics. In short, a bean (component) refers to launching in a container. At design time, this container is the "canvas" of the editor and, at run time, is the root part (gui) of the container hierarchy. The bean author is expected to request this status flag and act accordingly, for example. change borders in design mode to enable drag handles for resizing, etc. And, of course, it is expected that the parent component (which is supposed to be a canvas of the sort of design) will take into account design changes, for example. change the layout to handle the changed component.

However, I do not believe that any of the proposed proposals allow you to simply switch between development time and execution time at your discretion.

Effectively, you need to (a) select a library and (b) assemble the necessary mechanisms to support development time with your running application, and (c) actually mask the design surface (canvas) as your runtime GUI. Of course, you will only need to support the design projects you are interested in, but on the bottom line you write the GUI editor.

What is the advantage of this approach? Well, you reuse the “components” and basically have to crack the container.

If I had to do something like this, I would seriously look at netbeans, I remember this STO question and from there from there.