Because the structure and behavior of fiswidget applications are
constrained by their class inheritance, they can be easily incorporated
as elements in larger GUI environments or tools. In fact, the code written
for the "standalone" fiswidget applications does not need to be changed or
even recompiled in order to include a fiswidget application as part of
a larger GUI application.
Four such larger GUI tools (meta-fiswidgets) are included with the fiswidgets-1.4
release: Desktop, TabbedPane, ToolChest, Workbench, and Wizard.
The Desktop meta-fiswidget is designed to give the user a batch processing
capability.
The Desktop meta-fiswidget creates a virtual desktop with a menubar
from which the user selects any combination of fiswidget applications
to dynamically create a "batch" processing job.
When the RUN button on the virtual desktop is invoked, the set of fiswidgets
will be executed, in serial, one after the other.
In addition, there a looping capablility called foreach. The foreach loop allows
for the "batch" job to run with different parameter values for each iteration.
To create a Desktop meta-fiswidget, the programmer writes the
individual, standalone fiswidget applications, and then incorporates
the standalone classes, unchanged, in a Desktop class such as this
example Desktop application.
Screen shot:
The TabbedPane meta-fiswidget is designed to give the user easy access to a
set of fiswidget applications.
The TabbedPane create a frame with tabs on it. Each tab corresponds to a different
fiswidget.
To create a TabbedPane meta-fiswidget, the programmer writes the
individual, standalone fiswidget applications, and then incorporates
the standalone classes, unchanged, in a TabbedPane class such as this
example TabbedPane application.
Screen shot:
The ToolChest meta-fiswidget is designed to give the user easy access to
a set of fiswidget applications.
The ToolChest meta-fiswidget creates a small, vertical toolbar from which
the user may select an application by clicking on its name. When selected,
the application will run just as in standalone mode.
To create a ToolChest meta-fiswidget, the programmer writes the
individual, standalone fiswidget applications, and then incorporates
the standalone classes, unchanged, in a ToolChest class such as this
example ToolChest application.
Screen shot:
The Workbench meta-fiswidget is designed to give the user easy access to
a set of fiswidget applications.
The Workbench meta-fiswidget creates a small, horiziontal toolbar from which
the user may select an application by first clicking on the button that corresponds to the
ToolChest that can run the application.
To create a Workbench meta-fiswidget, the programmer writes the
individual, standalone fiswidget applications, and then incorporates
the standalone classes, unchanged, in a Workbench class such as this
example Workbench application.
Screen shot:
The Wizard meta-fiswidget is designed to give the user easy access to
a set of fiswidget applications.
The Wizard meta-fiswidget creates a set of FisWidgets that can be run through
one by one by pressing the next button on the Wizard. After all of the FisWidget
information has been filed out then the finish button can be pressed and all of the
FisWidgets will be executed one after the other.
To create a Wizard meta-fiswidget, the programmer writes the
individual, standalone fiswidget applications, and then incorporates
the standalone classes, unchanged, in a Wizard class such as this
example Wizard application.
Screen shot:
