Class Box

Layout managers sometimes jam components together in a way that makes the layout look cramped. The class Box can help in this situation. A Box object is a container similar to a panel, but lacking some features. The default layout manager of Box is BoxLayout. The previous example programs could be re-written using Box in place of JPanel. This would slightly simplify the code since it would rely on the default BoxLayout manager rather than specifically setting it.

However, the most useful features of class Box are its methods that create invisible components. These components correspond to rectangular areas of the screen. They are used as spacers to separate the visible components. If you have ever set type you know how useful spacers are in creating an attractive page. To create a fixed-sized invisible component use the method:

Box.createRigidArea( new Dimension( int width, int height ) )

The parameter to createRigidArea()is a Dimension object, which does little more than hold a width and a height.