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Class com.sun.java.swing.Box

java.lang.Object
   |
   +----java.awt.Component
           |
           +----java.awt.Container
                   |
                   +----com.sun.java.swing.Box

public class Box
extends Container
implements Accessible
A lightweight container that uses a BoxLayout object as its layout manager. Box provides several class methods that are useful for containers using BoxLayout -- even non-Box containers.

The Box class can create several kinds of invisible components that affect layout: glue, struts, and rigid areas. If all the components your Box contains have a fixed size, you might want to use a glue component (returned by createGlue) to control the components' positions. If you need a fixed amount of space between two components, try using a strut (createHorizontalStrut or createVerticalStrut). If you need an invisible component that always takes up the same amount of space, get it by invoking createRigidArea.

See Also:
BoxLayout

Variable Index

 o accessibleDescription
 o accessibleName

Constructor Index

 o Box(int)
Creates a Box that displays its components along the the specified axis.

Method Index

 o addAccessibleSelection(int)
Adds the nth selected item in the object to the object's selection.
 o clearAccessibleSelection()
Clears the selection in the object, so that nothing in the object is selected.
 o createGlue()
Creates an invisible "glue" component that can be useful in a Box whose visible components have a maximum width (for a horizontal box) or height (for a vertical box).
 o createHorizontalBox()
Creates a Box that displays its components from left to right.
 o createHorizontalGlue()
 o createHorizontalStrut(int)
Creates an invisible, fixed-width component.
 o createRigidArea(Dimension)
Creates an invisible component that's always the specified size.
 o createVerticalBox()
Creates a Box that displays its components from top to bottom.
 o createVerticalGlue()
 o createVerticalStrut(int)
Creates an invisible, fixed-height component.
 o doAccessibleAction(int)
Perform the nth Action on the object
 o getAccessibleActionCount()
Returns the number of Actions available in this object If there is more than one, the first one is the "default" action (if any action is considered "default").
 o getAccessibleActionDescription(int)
Return a description of the nth action of the object.
 o getAccessibleAt(Point)
Returns the Accessible child contained at the local coordinate Point, if one exists.
 o getAccessibleChild(int)
Return the nth Accessible child of the object.
 o getAccessibleChildrenCount()
Returns the number of accessible children in the object.
 o getAccessibleDescription()
Get the accessible description of this object.
 o getAccessibleName()
Get the accessible name of this object.
 o getAccessibleParent()
Get the Accessible parent of this object.
 o getAccessibleRole()
Get the role of this object.
 o getAccessibleSelection(int)
Returns an Accessible representing the nth selected item in the object.
 o getAccessibleSelectionCount()
Returns the number of items currently selected.
 o getAccessibleStateSet()
Get the state of this object.
 o getAccessibleText()
Gets the AccessibleText interface for the component.
 o getAccessibleValue()
Get the value of this object as a String.
 o getNextAccessibleSibling()
Get the next sibling of this Accessible, if a preferred one exists.
 o getPreviousAccessibleSibling()
Get the previous sibling of this Accessible, if a preferred one exists.
 o removeAccessibleSelection(int)
Removes the nth selected item in the object from the object's selection.
 o selectAllAccessibleSelection()
Causes every selected item in the object to be selected, if the object supports multiple selections (if getAccessibleStateSet returns a state that is MULTISELECTABLE).
 o setAccessibleDescription(String)
Set the accessible description of this object.
 o setAccessibleName(String)
Set the localized accessible name of this object.
 o setLayout(LayoutManager)
Throws an AWTError, since a Box can use only a BoxLayout.

Variables

 o accessibleName
 protected String accessibleName
 o accessibleDescription
 protected String accessibleDescription

Constructors

 o Box
 public Box(int axis)
Creates a Box that displays its components along the the specified axis.

Parameters:
axis - can be either BoxLayout.X_AXIS (to display components from left to right) or BoxLayout.Y_AXIS (to display them from top to bottom)
See Also:
createHorizontalBox, createVerticalBox

Methods

 o createHorizontalBox
 public static Box createHorizontalBox()
Creates a Box that displays its components from left to right.

 o createVerticalBox
 public static Box createVerticalBox()
Creates a Box that displays its components from top to bottom.

 o createRigidArea
 public static Component createRigidArea(Dimension d)
Creates an invisible component that's always the specified size.

Parameters:
d - the dimensions of the invisible component
See Also:
createGlue, createHorizontalStrut, createVerticalStrut
 o createHorizontalStrut
 public static Component createHorizontalStrut(int width)
Creates an invisible, fixed-width component. In a horizontal box, you typically use this method to force a certain amount of space between two components. In a vertical box, you might use this method to force the box to be at least the specified width. The invisible component has no height unless excess space is available, in which case it takes its share of available space, just like any other component that has no maximum height.

Parameters:
width - the width of the invisible component, in pixels
See Also:
createVerticalStrut, createGlue, createRigidArea
 o createVerticalStrut
 public static Component createVerticalStrut(int height)
Creates an invisible, fixed-height component. In a vertical box, you typically use this method to force a certain amount of space between two components. In a horizontal box, you might use this method to force the box to be at least the specified height. The invisible component has no width unless excess space is available, in which case it takes its share of available space, just like any other component that has no maximum width.

Parameters:
height - the height of the invisible component, in pixels
See Also:
createHorizontalStrut, createGlue, createRigidArea
 o createGlue
 public static Component createGlue()
Creates an invisible "glue" component that can be useful in a Box whose visible components have a maximum width (for a horizontal box) or height (for a vertical box). You can think of the glue component as being a gooey substance that expands as much as necessary to fill the space between its neighboring components.

For example, suppose you have a horizontal box that contains two fixed-size components. If the box gets extra space, the fixed-size components won't become larger, so where does the extra space go? Without glue, the extra space goes to the right of the second component. If you put glue between the fixed-size components, then the extra space goes there. If you put glue before the first fixed-size component, the extra space goes there, and the fixed-size components are shoved against the right edge of the box. If you put glue before the first fixed-size component and after the second fixed-size component, the fixed-size components are centered in the box.

To use glue, call Box.createGlue and add the returned component to a container. The glue component has no minimum or preferred size, so it takes no space unless excess space is available. If excess space is available, then the glue component takes its share of available horizontal or vertical space, just like any other component that has no maximum width or height.

 o createHorizontalGlue
 public static Component createHorizontalGlue()
 o createVerticalGlue
 public static Component createVerticalGlue()
 o setLayout
 public void setLayout(LayoutManager l)
Throws an AWTError, since a Box can use only a BoxLayout.

Overrides:
setLayout in class Container
 o getNextAccessibleSibling
 public Accessible getNextAccessibleSibling()
Get the next sibling of this Accessible, if a preferred one exists. This should generally return the next item in the tab order, if that item implements Accessible

Returns:
the next Accessible, if there is one
 o getPreviousAccessibleSibling
 public Accessible getPreviousAccessibleSibling()
Get the previous sibling of this Accessible, if a preferred one exists. This should generally return the previous item in the tab order, if that item implements Accessible

Returns:
the previous Accessible, if there is one
 o getAccessibleAt
 public Accessible getAccessibleAt(Point p)
Returns the Accessible child contained at the local coordinate Point, if one exists.

Returns:
the Accessible at the specified location, if it exists
 o getAccessibleName
 public String getAccessibleName()
Get the accessible name of this object. This should almost never return java.awt.Component.getName(), as that generally isn't a localized name, and doesn't have meaning for the user. If the object is fundamentally a text object (e.g. a menu item), the accessible name should be the text of the object (e.g. "save"). If the object has a tooltip, the tooltip text may also be an appropriate String to return.

Returns:
the localized name of the object -- can be null if this object does not have a name
See Also:
setAccessibleName
 o setAccessibleName
 public void setAccessibleName(String s)
Set the localized accessible name of this object.

Parameters:
s - the new localized name of the object.
See Also:
getAccessibleName
 o getAccessibleDescription
 public String getAccessibleDescription()
Get the accessible description of this object. This should be a concise, localized description of what this object is - what is it's meaning to the user. If the object has a tooltip, the tooltip text may be an appropriate string to return, assuming it contains a concise description of the object (instead of just the name of the object - e.g. a "Save" icon on a toolbar that had "save" as the tooltip text shouldn't return the tooltip text as the description, but something like "Saves the current text document" instead).

Returns:
the localized description of the object -- can be null if this object does not have a description
See Also:
setAccessibleDescription
 o setAccessibleDescription
 public void setAccessibleDescription(String s)
Set the accessible description of this object.

Parameters:
s - the new localized description of the object
See Also:
getAccessibleDescription
 o getAccessibleStateSet
 public AccessibleStateSet getAccessibleStateSet()
Get the state of this object.

Returns:
an instance of AccessibleStateSet containing the current state set of the object
See Also:
AccessibleState
 o getAccessibleRole
 public AccessibleRole getAccessibleRole()
Get the role of this object.

Returns:
an instance of AccessibleRole describing the role of the object
See Also:
AccessibleRole
 o getAccessibleValue
 public String getAccessibleValue()
Get the value of this object as a String. This should almost never return java.Object.toString(), as that is not a localized, human readable representation of the value of the object.

Returns:
human readable value of the object -- can be null if this object does not have a value
 o getAccessibleParent
 public Accessible getAccessibleParent()
Get the Accessible parent of this object. If the parent of this object implements Accessible, this method should simply return getParent().

Returns:
the Accessible parent of this object -- can be null if this object does not have an Accessible parent
 o getAccessibleChildrenCount
 public int getAccessibleChildrenCount()
Returns the number of accessible children in the object. If all of the children of this object implement Accessible, than this method should return the number of children of this object.

Returns:
the number of accessible children in the object.
 o getAccessibleChild
 public Accessible getAccessibleChild(int i)
Return the nth Accessible child of the object.

Parameters:
i - zero-based index of child
Returns:
the nth Accessible child of the object
 o getAccessibleActionCount
 public int getAccessibleActionCount()
Returns the number of Actions available in this object If there is more than one, the first one is the "default" action (if any action is considered "default").

Returns:
the number of Actions in this object
 o getAccessibleActionDescription
 public String getAccessibleActionDescription(int i)
Return a description of the nth action of the object. This description should be human-readable; by default it currently isn't...

Parameters:
i - zero-based index of the actions
Returns:
a description of the nth action
 o doAccessibleAction
 public boolean doAccessibleAction(int i)
Perform the nth Action on the object

Parameters:
i - zero-based index of actions
Returns:
whether the action was performed or not.
 o getAccessibleText
 public AccessibleText getAccessibleText()
Gets the AccessibleText interface for the component. If the component does not speak AccessibleText, or have a proxy which does, this method returns null.

Returns:
the AccessibleText of the object.
See Also:
AccessibleText
 o getAccessibleSelectionCount
 public int getAccessibleSelectionCount()
Returns the number of items currently selected. If no items are selected, the return value will be 0.

Returns:
the number of items currently selected.
 o getAccessibleSelection
 public Accessible getAccessibleSelection(int i)
Returns an Accessible representing the nth selected item in the object. If there isn't a selection, or there are fewer items selcted than the integer passed in, the return value will be null.

Parameters:
i - the zero-based index of selected items
Returns:
an Accessible containing the selected item
 o addAccessibleSelection
 public void addAccessibleSelection(int i)
Adds the nth selected item in the object to the object's selection. If the object supports multiple selections, (the method getAccessibleStateSet returns a state that is MULTISELECTABLE) the nth item is added to any existing selection, otherwse it replaces any existing selection in the objct. If the nth item is already selected, this method has no effect.

Parameters:
i - the zero-based index of selectable items
See Also:
getAccessibleStateSet
 o removeAccessibleSelection
 public void removeAccessibleSelection(int i)
Removes the nth selected item in the object from the object's selection. If the nth item isn't currently selected, this method has no effect.

Parameters:
i - the zero-based index of selectable items
 o clearAccessibleSelection
 public void clearAccessibleSelection()
Clears the selection in the object, so that nothing in the object is selected.

 o selectAllAccessibleSelection
 public void selectAllAccessibleSelection()
Causes every selected item in the object to be selected, if the object supports multiple selections (if getAccessibleStateSet returns a state that is MULTISELECTABLE).

See Also:
getAccessibleStateSet

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