A thought/question

[DavidKroukamp]

Why is there so many questions in this forum on really simple gui problems that can easly be solved by using an IDE such as netbeans and creating the gui from there .... I mean thats what is there for why still use the old way? beacuse you like to write? i just dont understand hey i use netbeans and honestly theres nothing that i cant do that i would be able to in just writing it by hand and not a nice drag and drop interface

[JamesCherrill]

Three personal opinions:
1. An IDE is a very useful tool for someone who knows what they are doing, but for a beginner (like most posters here) it leaves most of Swing, eg layout managers, listener classes etc as a mysterious black box. Most experienced users here recommend that beginners stay with a code editor until they have gained a good understanding of the basics.
2. If you're just creating a simple fixed layout the IDE GUI generation is fine, but as soon as you want to do anything more advanced, eg dynamic creation of controls based on runtime data, you run into a complete brick wall.
3. If you are targeting cross-platform then no GUI generator I've ever used handles GridBagLayout options well, It's easier just to code it yourself.

To continue JamesCherrill's list...

4. People in the IT field no longer work 20, 30, 40 years at the same job/company.
Five years at one job/company is considered long term.
Different companies use different tools (IDEs).
Do you know how to use ALL the tools (IDEs) out there?
You will ALWAYS have access to a Text Editor!

5. I want to perform a particular task in a certain way.
But, the tool is preventing me from doing it my way.
If I code it by hand, I can get it to perform as I intend.

6. The more intimate a programmer is with the code, the easier it is to debug and/or maintain.

I'm certain that there are more reasons!

[DavidKroukamp]

Three personal opinions:
1. An IDE is a very useful tool for someone who knows what they are doing, but for a beginner (like most posters here) it leaves most of Swing, eg layout managers, listener classes etc as a mysterious black box. Most experienced users here recommend that beginners stay with a code editor until they have gained a good understanding of the basics.
2. If you're just creating a simple fixed layout the IDE GUI generation is fine, but as soon as you want to do anything more advanced, eg dynamic creation of controls based on runtime data, you run into a complete brick wall.
3. If you are targeting cross-platform then no GUI generator I've ever used handles GridBagLayout options well, It's easier just to code it yourself.

Thanks for the reply, however i have created a fully functional database in java netbeans gui creator which had a lot of dynamic creation and as long as you know the name of your components all is fine. however i do agree an IDE gui has alot of 'hidden' properties a beginner might find hard to grasp..

[DavidKroukamp]

4. People in the IT field no longer work 20, 30, 40 years at the same job/company.
Five years at one job/company is considered long term.
Different companies use different tools (IDEs).
Do you know how to use ALL the tools (IDEs) out there?
You will ALWAYS have access to a Text Editor!
5. I want to perform a particular task in a certain way.
But, the tool is preventing me from doing it my way.
If I code it by hand, I can get it to perform as I intend.
6. The more intimate a programmer is with the code,
the easier it is to debug and/or maintain.
I'm certain that there are more reasons!

Thanks for the info, however i think its ignorant of companies to not allow the programmer to use their own IDE as long as the correct functionality and requirements are met for the generated code. Yes you might learn a bit more, but very rarely does IDE generated code throw errors...

It's not a matter of ignorance. It's a matter of licensing fees.
If you read the fineprint in (just about) any software, that you can download for free...
It is free for personal use. NOT for professional use.
Why would a company want to pay licensing fees for 5 products, to write Java code?

[stultuske]

Thanks for the reply, however i have created a fully functional database in java netbeans gui creator which had a lot of dynamic creation and as long as you know the name of your components all is fine. however i do agree an IDE gui has alot of 'hidden' properties a beginner might find hard to grasp..

you have created a fully functional database using just the NetBeans wysiwyg Swing editor?
either you mean something else, or you don't really know what a database is.

now, just to add another reason why not just to rely on such editors:

let's say you go hunting for a new job as (who knows ..) Senior Java Developer (sounds cool, doesn't it?)

what if they want to test your knowledge of .. I dunno .. Java? And they ask you to write down a small GUI in Swing . No computer, (which basically means: no IDE) just a sheet of paper and a pen. (This happened to me, so don't give me no b*llocks like "that'll never happen")
what are you going to tell them?
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm a senior developer with loads of experience, but I can only get it done if my IDE generates the code for me?"

wouldn't go and ask them for a raise, if I were you.