SpringLayout.Constraints (Java 2 Platform SE 5.0) (original) (raw)

javax.swing

Class SpringLayout.Constraints

java.lang.Object extended by javax.swing.SpringLayout.Constraints

Enclosing class:

public static class SpringLayout.Constraints

A Constraints object holds the constraints that govern the way a component's size and position change in a container controlled by a SpringLayout. A Constraints object is like a Rectangle, in that it has x, y,width, and height properties. In the Constraints object, however, these properties haveSpring values instead of integers. In addition, a Constraints object can be manipulated as four edges -- north, south, east, and west -- using the constraint property.

The following formulas are always true for a Constraints object:

   west = x
  north = y
   east = x + width
  south = y + height

Note: In this document, operators represent methods in the Spring class. For example, "a + b" is equal toSpring.sum(a, b), and "a - b" is equal toSpring.sum(a, Spring.minus(b)). See the Spring API documentation for further details of spring arithmetic.

Because a Constraints object's properties -- representing its edges, size, and location -- can all be set independently and yet are interrelated, the object can become over-constrained. For example, if both the x and width properties are set and then the east edge is set, the object is over-constrained horizontally. When this happens, one of the values (in this case, the x property) automatically changes so that the formulas still hold.

The following table shows which value changes when a Constraints object is over-constrained horizontally.

Value Being Set(method used)	Result When Over-Constrained Horizontally (x, width, and the east edge are all non-null)
x or the west edge (setX or setConstraint)	width value is automatically set to east - x.
width(setWidth)	east edge's value is automatically set to x + width.
east edge(setConstraint)	x value is automatically set to east - width.

The rules for the vertical properties are similar:

Value Being Set(method used)	Result When Over-Constrained Vertically(y, height, and the south edge are all non-null)
y or the north edge(setY or setConstraint)	height value is automatically set to south - y.
height(setHeight)	south edge's value is automatically set to y + height.
south edge(setConstraint)	y value is automatically set to south - height.

Constructor Summary
SpringLayout.Constraints() Creates an empty Constraints object.
SpringLayout.Constraints(Component c) Creates a Constraints object with suitable x, y, width andheight springs for component, c.
[SpringLayout.Constraints](../../javax/swing/SpringLayout.Constraints.html#SpringLayout.Constraints%28javax.swing.Spring, javax.swing.Spring%29)(Spring x,Spring y) Creates a Constraints object with the specified values for itsx and y properties.
[SpringLayout.Constraints](../../javax/swing/SpringLayout.Constraints.html#SpringLayout.Constraints%28javax.swing.Spring, javax.swing.Spring, javax.swing.Spring, javax.swing.Spring%29)(Spring x,Spring y,Spring width,Spring height) Creates a Constraints object with the specified values for itsx, y, width, and height properties.

Method Summary
Spring	getConstraint(String edgeName) Returns the value of the specified edge.
Spring	getHeight() Returns the value of the height property.
Spring	getWidth() Returns the value of the width property.
Spring	getX() Returns the value of the x property.
Spring	getY() Returns the value of the y property.
void	[setConstraint](../../javax/swing/SpringLayout.Constraints.html#setConstraint%28java.lang.String, javax.swing.Spring%29)(String edgeName,Spring s) Sets the spring controlling the specified edge.
void	setHeight(Spring height) Sets the height property, which controls the height of a component.
void	setWidth(Spring width) Sets the width property, which controls the width of a component.
void	setX(Spring x) Sets the x property, which controls the x value of a component's location.
void	setY(Spring y) Sets the y property, which controls the y value of a component's location.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, [wait](../../java/lang/Object.html#wait%28long, int%29)

Constructor Detail

SpringLayout.Constraints

public SpringLayout.Constraints()

Creates an empty Constraints object.

SpringLayout.Constraints

public SpringLayout.Constraints(Spring x, Spring y)

Creates a Constraints object with the specified values for itsx and y properties. The height and width springs have null values.

Parameters:

x - the spring controlling the component's x value

y - the spring controlling the component's y value

SpringLayout.Constraints

public SpringLayout.Constraints(Spring x, Spring y, Spring width, Spring height)

Creates a Constraints object with the specified values for itsx, y, width, and height properties. Note: If the SpringLayout class encounters null values in theConstraints object of a given component, it replaces them with suitable defaults.

Parameters:

x - the spring value for the x property

y - the spring value for the y property

width - the spring value for the width property

height - the spring value for the height property

SpringLayout.Constraints

public SpringLayout.Constraints(Component c)

Creates a Constraints object with suitable x, y, width andheight springs for component, c. The x and y springs are constant springs initialised with the component's location at the time this method is called. The width andheight springs are special springs, created by the Spring.width() and Spring.height() methods, which track the size characteristics of the component when they change.

Parameters:

c - the component whose characteristics will be reflected by this Constraints object

Throws:

[NullPointerException](../../java/lang/NullPointerException.html "class in java.lang") - if c is null.

Since:

1.5

Method Detail

setX

public void setX(Spring x)

Sets the x property, which controls the x value of a component's location.

Parameters:

x - the spring controlling the x value of a component's location

See Also:

getX(), SpringLayout.Constraints

getX

public Spring getX()

Returns the value of the x property.

Returns:

the spring controlling the x value of a component's location

setY

public void setY(Spring y)

Sets the y property, which controls the y value of a component's location.

Parameters:

y - the spring controlling the y value of a component's location

See Also:

getY(), SpringLayout.Constraints

getY

public Spring getY()

Returns the value of the y property.

Returns:

the spring controlling the y value of a component's location

setWidth

public void setWidth(Spring width)

Sets the width property, which controls the width of a component.

Parameters:

width - the spring controlling the width of thisConstraints object

See Also:

getWidth(), SpringLayout.Constraints

getWidth

public Spring getWidth()

Returns the value of the width property.

Returns:

the spring controlling the width of a component

setHeight

public void setHeight(Spring height)

Sets the height property, which controls the height of a component.

Parameters:

height - the spring controlling the height of this Constraints object

See Also:

getHeight(), SpringLayout.Constraints

getHeight

public Spring getHeight()

Returns the value of the height property.

Returns:

the spring controlling the height of a component

setConstraint

public void setConstraint(String edgeName, Spring s)

Sets the spring controlling the specified edge. The edge must have one of the following values:SpringLayout.NORTH, SpringLayout.SOUTH,SpringLayout.EAST, SpringLayout.WEST.

Parameters:

edgeName - the edge to be set

s - the spring controlling the specified edge

getConstraint

public Spring getConstraint(String edgeName)

Returns the value of the specified edge. The edge must have one of the following values:SpringLayout.NORTH, SpringLayout.SOUTH,SpringLayout.EAST, SpringLayout.WEST.

Parameters:

edgeName - the edge whose value is to be returned

Returns:

the spring controlling the specified edge

See Also:

[setConstraint(java.lang.String, javax.swing.Spring)](../../javax/swing/SpringLayout.Constraints.html#setConstraint%28java.lang.String, javax.swing.Spring%29), SpringLayout.NORTH, SpringLayout.SOUTH, SpringLayout.EAST, SpringLayout.WEST, SpringLayout.Constraints

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For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.