CHAPTER 4
: Release Notes
|
Visaj 2.4 will run on any system which supports the Java Development Kit (JDK) version 1.1 or The Java 2 Platform (formerly known as JDK 1.2).
Visaj has been developed and tested using JDK 1.1.6 and also tested against earlier and later versions of the JDK.
You should not run Visaj with JDK versions earlier than JDK 1.1.3, and we strongly recommend using JDK 1.1.4 or later.
Visaj 2.4 will run on JDK 1.2beta4, JDK 1.2RC1, JDK 1.2RC2 and JDK 1.2FCS (now known as The Java 2 Platform). Although it will also run with JDK 1.2beta3 we do not recommend this.
It also runs with JDK 1.3beta, but has not been extensively tested with it.
Note - The version of JDK 1.1.3 that ships with Solaris 2.6 is known to be unreliable. We strongly recommend you download a later version.
New Features
-
Visaj now includes SwingBridge technology for migrating Java WorkShop 2 GUI designs to Swing designs. To enable the SwingBridge features you need to start Visaj with the -Dvj.JWS=true flag. For details on the use of SwingBridge see the Visaj User's Guide (Issue 7 or later).
-
There is a new item in the "Palette" menu labelled "Change" that allows a user to switch between the AWT and the Swing palettes. Starting Visaj with the -swing flag means that Swing appears as the default palette.
-
A new item, "Translate", in the "File" menu, allows you to convert AWT designs to Swing.
Significant fixes
-
When you edit variable names in the beans page an error dialog is popped up if an invalid variable name has been entered. The original name can be recovered by pressing the 'Escape' key.
-
When setting X and Y locations in the property sheet, pressing 'Return' in either field will update both values.
-
If you change the superclass in the class properties dialog you no longer get a dialog asking if you want to apply the changes.
New Licensing
Visaj 2.3 has its version number for authentication purposes set to 2.3. It will therefore not run with a local authentication key issued for earlier versions of Visaj. If you are upgrading from an earlier version and you have been using local authentication you will need a new key. Please email your request to license@ist.co.uk.
New Features
-
Users can now set the following qualifiers on methods: abstract, synchronized, native, final and static.
-
Users can define exceptions thrown by methods.
-
When a class name is entered, Visaj will try to find a matching core Java class if a short name is entered. For example, if the user enters 'Frame' it will automatically be changed to 'java.awt.Frame'.
-
If a method has been declared abstract or native, the user is only allowed access to the method signature page.
-
The demonstration mode of Visaj now allows designs to be saved.
-
Users can now reset components in the dynamic display. This is available from a toolbar button, a menu item in the 'Object' menu and on the pop-up menu.
For further details on these features, please see the Visaj User's Guide.
New Features
-
A new way of setting parameter values has been added to the Event Binding Editor. The parameters page now has a "Method" configure type, as well as the "Property", "Value" and "Code expression" types previously available. Users can use this to bring up another dialog that allows the parameter's value to be obtained from a method call.
-
The Event Binding Editor has been enhanced to allow more keyboard navigation. The arrow keys can be used to move the selection up and down in lists. Characters can be typed at the keyboard to select the item beginning with that character (this is very useful when a component has a large number of methods). Tab characters will move the focus between lists. The "Enter" key can be used to move to the next page in the editor.
-
In the Event Binding Editor, methods of Swing and AWT components that are not useful for event binding (e.g. toString(), isVisible()) are no longer displayed.
-
In the "Event bindings" page of the Class Editor, bindings are grouped together according to the source component and the event type. Within each such group, the bindings can be re-ordered via use of the "Up" and "Down" buttons.
-
When a jar file is loaded onto the palette, its contents are displayed in alphabetical order.
-
When a palette file is merged, if none of the items in a group have an icon, then the group is presented as a column with the short class name as a label.
-
If you load a design that used components from a loaded jar file or a merged palette file, then the jar file or palette file will be automatically added to the palette. If Visaj is unable to find the palette file or jar file, then warnings will be output to the java console.
-
The "Collapse all composite components" toggle now defaults to true.
-
There is a new property "vj.cwd" that allows you to specify Visaj's working directory.
-
If event bindings are set up which call methods that throw exceptions, appropriate code is generated to handle them. The user can then add their own code to the generated code.
-
In the event binding editor, the parameter page shows properties that will be coerced to a String value in blue.
-
The standard property editors in the property sheet have been changed so that the property will be updated whenever the focus is lost. This means that you don't have to press "Enter" to update the property. (Note that 3rd party property editors may or may not have this behavior.)
-
The GridBag layout editor has had the "Apply" button removed. Instead the layout is updated as soon as "Enter" is pressed in a field, or the focus is moved.
-
If you use the Class Properties dialog to add an interface to the implements list of the class, then all the methods of the interface are added to the class.
-
A new property called "vj.CommonPalette.file" has been added. This can be used to merge a palette file onto both the AWT and Swing palettes.
-
If you use the Class Properties dialog to add an interface to the implements list of the class, then all the methods of the interface are added to the class.
-
The Event Binding Editor can now be used to change the value of a bean in the design. This is done via the "= [expression]" item at the top of the list of methods in the "Handler" pane of the editor.
For further details on these features, please see the Visaj User's Guide.
Significant Fixes
-
The "Palette -> Set Labels" item now works, and displays the label to the right of the icons.
-
If a method is switched from non-abstract to abstract, or vice-versa, the code generation is now handled correctly.
-
The folding of a hierarchy is unaffected by switching between the "Beans", "Event bindings" and "Signature" pages.
-
The Cut/Copy/Paste/Clear items in the "Edit" menu are only enabled when the "Beans" page is selected.
-
When you generate code, the directory selector now has an enabled "Update existing files" checkbox whenever a file exists that matches the name of the file that is going to be generated to.
Visaj 2.1 and later support the built-in version of Swing which comes with The Java 2 Platform (formerly known as JDK 1.2), as well as the stand-alone version of Swing, which can be downloaded from:
- http://www.javasoft.com/products/jfc
See the Configuring Visaj to use Swing section of the Installation Notes for more information on using Swing.
-
The Image Editor uses the Swing components for its user interface, and thus cannot be used if these components are not on your classpath.
-
Under X-Windows the following warning messages may appear at startup but can be ignored:
Warning: Name: VertScrollBar Class: XmScrollBar 2054-442 The
specified slider size is less than 1
-
To set a property value to a key which can be used to retrieve a value from a resource bundle you will have to type in the appropriate code expression.
-
During multiple selection, the property sheet is only active if all the selections are the same class.
-
The highlighting in the dynamic display that shows the currently selected component(s) doesn't highlight any of the AWT menu components, and goes wrong if you cut an AWT menubar from a frame (either an AWT Frame, or a Swing JFrame) and then paste it back in.
-
Invoking a Property Sheet for a ScrollPane that does not have a child results in an exception. This can be ignored.
-
Note that due to a problem with the KL Group's property editors, the following setting should be used when using KL Group components:
-Dvj.propertyEditorSearchPath=com.pacist.beans.editors:
sun.beans.editors:jclass.beans
-
Modal dialogs are only modal with regard to their parent frame. This is really an AWT issue rather than Visaj.
-
X-Designer bridge - String/Color/Font/Pixmap objects are not directly imported into Visaj, but are simply expanded to their literal values.
-
X-Designer bridge - XmForm layouts are not supported. All components whose layout is controlled by the com.pacist.mwt.FormLayoutManager are positioned absolutely using the "null" layout.
-
Swing: Layouts - Currently there is not a layout editor for LayeredPane, RootPane, and Viewport.
-
Swing: Redrawing - some redrawing imperfections have been observed in earlier versions of the Swing components. These will not hinder your use of Visaj in any way. Resetting the root of your hierarchy is a simple way to remove all drawing imperfections.
-
If a Swing component that is selected is not-opaque (i.e. its isOpaque method returns false, e.g. JLabel, JCheckBox), then it will not be highlighted in the dynamic display.
© Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 Imperial Sofwtare Technology Ltd. All Rights Reserved.