Java Swing: Generating dynamic GUI forms from XML

Question

Hi,

I am writing this application in Java, where I have a JTree on the left of the JFrame, and the item selected in the JTree determines what appears on the right. This is similar to Edit --> Preferences in Thunderbird, and several other applications' preferences.

Anyhow the main difference is that in my app the stuff on the right is dynamic, and needs to be generated at run time using input from a file.

What I am after is various ways in which this can be accomplished, code snippets or existing frameworks / libraries if they exist.

The input file needs to be something higher level than the sort of XML generated during Serialization. No output capability is required.

Thanks

Answer 1

The JEasy Framework looks to do exactly what you're asking for.

But here's a whole list of similar projects: http://java-source.net/open-source/xml-user-interface-toolkits

There's a short description for each one and a link to their project page. You'll want to look at a handful of the ones that sound good to you, and then try one or two for yourself.

Answer 2

Perhaps it - http://www.soyatec.com/eface/ - XAML/WPF for Java.