🚀 go-pugleaf

Terry:

Metal is the CrossPlatform L&F.  You can use Metal anywhere.  From a
legal standpoint you cannot use Windows L&F on a non-Windows machine. 
The UIManager has different getters that let you get the platform
specific or generic L&F.  I think the same limitation technically
applies to the Mac.  I believe the license info or one of the readmes
for the JDK covers this.

What to do?  Well, you can use Metal if you like it.  It's probably
the cleanest and safest of the L&Fs just by dint of use by Javasoft. 
The other alternative is to write your own L&F.  That would give you
full UI control on your end and you'd run a lower risk of having your
apps change from the UI perspective just because the JDK was changed.

-Rich

Terry Diederich wrote:
> 
> We are about to start creating Java applications that will be running on
> Windows and Macs (more platforms possibly later).  I'm looking for
> suggestions on how to handle the "look and feel" with these applications.
> We will be using Swing.
> 
> It seems like Sun is positioning the Java Look and Feel (formerly called
> Metal) to be the "standard" look and feel for Java applications that will be
> cross platform.  How is it really being used?
> 
> Are applications using the look and feel of the platform they are running on
> (i.e. use Windows L&F if running on Windows, Motif L&F if running on Unix,
> Mac L&F if running on a Mac), or is Metal used no matter what the platform?
> 
> Is it normal to let the users decide which L&F to use through some sort of
> options or preference settings?   Is this a good idea?  Are there
> compatibility problems between one L&F and the next?
> 
> I remember hearing that there was some sort of lock on the Windows L&F to
> prevent it from running on other platforms.  Sun wasn't sure they had the
> rights to distribute the L&F and Microsoft wouldn't give their approval.  Is
> this true?
> 
> How are you dealing with L&F?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Terry Diederich

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Rich Wilkman
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer
Borland JBuilder Team

If you see something that looks like an opinion up there,
it's mine and mine alone.

Mail sent to me from the newsgroups won't bounce but will
be ignored.  If I have time, I'll respond, but you  have
a better chance if you confine your posts to the newsgroups
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