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List:       openjdk-openjfx-dev
Subject:    Re: JavaFX Content Rendering & Resizing and Font Bugs In Linux
From:       "Siddhesh Rane" <siddheshrane () disroot ! org>
Date:       2019-01-18 18:13:40
Message-ID: d6aebc8d4b506590727351530fb43246 () disroot ! org
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January 18, 2019 2:48 PM, "Ty Young" <youngty1997@gmail.com> wrote:

> The documentation on the sizing says that they override the computed size.

Computed size refers to Region.USE_COMPUTED_SIZE which causes a node to compute its \
intrinsic or default size if given infinite space. Basically, you want a button with \
4 characters of text to have smaller default size (min/pref/max width) than a button \
with say 20 chars. If anything is overridden, it is this "default" size, not the \
final laid out size, which is determined by the parent layout pane.

> > On your second point, it is only an issue if you use it in the wrong way, without \
> > understanding.
> 
> Excuse me? There is no documentation AFAIK stating that this would ever be an issue \
> nor would anyone look at the UI and think that a GridPane is necessary to achieve \
> such a basic layout. The use of GridPane seems more like a hacky workaround for \
> something JavaFX seemingly has no other way to achieve with more appropriate layout \
> management nodes(VBox, HBox, etc) without side affects. 
> I wanted to place the buttons and Scrollpane in a horizontal fashion, so I used an \
> HBox. I wanted to dynamically size the nodes based on a percentage of the window's \
> total width/height, so I used property bindings to force content to the desired \
> correct. If that causes issues then maybe all controls should get a supported \
> percentage based way to set the width/height like GridPane's columns with \
> appropriate layout nodes so people don't try doing this sort of thing.

There is also no documentation that uses Bindings for layout. All layout panes have \
been properly documented. Using GridPane is not a hack because percentage sizing is \
another type of layout in itself. The only reason percentage feels basic and \
"seemingly simple" is because the Web has normalized it. But that is because the Web \
doesn't have layouts. It simply tries to fit everything to the width of the parent \
and then calculates the height from reflow. What is a hack is using percentage based \
grids to create the illusion of having a layout. Percentage works because there is \
only one way in which size information flows: from main window down to child \
elements. Parent widths are known before hand (not heights, try setting height:100% \
to a div inside its height:auto parent). In JavaFX, parent sizes and the entire size \
of the window can be "computed" from the child elements, because child size hints are \
independant on their own. Introducing percentages for controls or any other nodes \
breaks that property. Read the -fx-min-width entry on the last row of Region docs at \
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/9/docs/api/javafx/scene/doc-files/cssref.html#region

> > > SceneBuilder's lack of UI snapping compared to Netbean's Swing builder makes it \
> > > incredibly difficult to get anything remotely pixel perfect without banging \
> > > your head against a wall. Separate controller classes and FXML annotations \
> > > everywhere isn't really desirable either. I originally entertained the idea of \
> > > doing it all in FXML only to quickly discard the idea.
> > 
> > If you are talking about snapping like in aligning to other UI elements, then its \
> > there and you dont need it with the rought layout. If you mean snapping to \
> > pixels, JavaFX has it inbuilt and on by default.
> 
> It is but it is incomplete. Try resizing a Button in both SceneBuilder and \
> Netbean's Swing builder to the bottom right after first snapping to the top left. \
> The button will snap perfectly to both in the Swing builder but not SceneBuilder.

If you need snapping in your design, then you are not doing layouts, you are drawing \
your UI. For the equivalent, add a button to an AnchorPane in SceneBuilder and right \
click the button to "Fit to parent". Watch AnchorPane Constraints in Layout tab to \
the right. Alternatively, add button to stack pane and set button max{width,height} \
to max value.

From personal experience I can say that a lot of your frustrations with JavaFX are \
                caused due to 2 things:
- You are using your learned knowledge and concepts from Swing/HTML-CSS and applying \
                them to JavaFX
- You have briefly walked through the JFX tutorials and then directly jumped into \
making one big app, instead of spending more time exploring with smaller examples.

When I was migrating from Swing to JFX, I was myself very confused and frustrated \
because sizing and layout didnt really work as I expected them to work. I was hand \
coding everything, essentially replicating what I had done in Swing. But JavaFX is \
different from platforms out there. Eventually I learned a lot from experimenting in \
Scene Builder and patiently reading the docs. I would recommend you to spend more \
time in SceneBuilder, at least for learning.

Regards
Siddhesh


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