:: Tips & Tricks ::

Consistency

To design consistently over panels, team members, projects and platforms:

Favor factories over builders
Favor builders over a pure FormLayout use
Favor logical sizes over constant sizes
Avoid pixel-sizes
Make your layouts stable - use bounded sizes
Follow a layout style guide

Good Design Practices

Group columns where appropriate
Group component rows
Balance your design
Consider to use symmetry
Favor white space over separators
Favor separators over TitledBorders
Remove visual clutter
Reduce your design to its essence
Add white space where appropriate
Use aesthetic aspect ratios

Good Implementation Practices

Favor factories over builders
Favor specialized over general builders
Favor a panel border over border cols/rows
Favor a logical border over constant borders
Use a simple grid; extract complex sublayouts
Make your layout easy to read:
- favor string col/row specifications over object specs
- format your layout specification
- format your builder code to reflect the layout grid
- specify columns statically
Make simple layouts easy to understand:
- specify rows statically if there are only a couple of rows
- favor row numbers over row variables
- favor static cell constraints over tricky builder cursor commands
- You should have more components than builder commands
Make larger layouts easy to modify:
- favor row variables over row numbers
- favor the DefaultFormBuilder over PanelBuilder
Favor using and vending JPanels over extending JPanel

Precise Layout

Favor non-pixel sizes over pixel-sizes
Favor Forms builders over the FormLayout
Favor a single layout over nested layouts
Group component rows
Override a component's min/pref size methods judiciously
Avoid to set a component's min/pref (pixel) size
Use look&feels that provide a precise micro-design

General Advice on Builders

Write layout code that is easy to understand! Explicit row specifications and cell constraints make your layout easier to understand - but harder to maintain. It is temptive to use the DefaultFormBuilder all the time and to let it add rows automatically. Use a simpler style if it increases the code readability.

If the predefined builders don't fit your needs, write your own!

The given code is meant to assist you, but it should in no way stiffle your creativity. The Forms implementation just reflects the current state of my findings about good design and implementation practices. If you've found something other useful, don't hesitate to extend the Forms. I would appreciate if you send me your extension.