The Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT) is a new class library for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in Java. Created as part of the Eclipse project, SWT allows developers to build efficient, portable applications that directly access the user-interface facilities of the operating systems it is implemented on. This revolutionary technology makes it possible to create Java-based applications that are indistinguishable from a platform's native applications.

SWT: The Standard Widget Toolkit, Volume 1, will show you how to:

• Get SWT, install it, and invoke it from your programs.

• Understand widgets--the building blocks of GUI--and how they interact with users and compose a GUI.

• Use graphics routines to configure the appearance of native widgets and draw application-specific graphics.

• Apply best practices from real-world uses of SWT.

• Appreciate what makes a quality SWT program.

In this book--the first definitive guide to SWT--two of the technology's lead designers and implementers show you how to break the task of building a GUI-based application into components. They then show how these components are modeled in SWT and provide a series of graded examples. The result is a guided tour of the essential aspects of this exciting toolkit, ranging from mouse and keyboard handling to user-interface controls for native operating systems.

If you want to build modern GUI-based application, SWT: The Standard Widget Toolkit, Volume 1, will prove an invaluable guide and reference.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 7 Ratings

Best book for the details -- and you'll need them! - 2005-01-01
Reviewer Rating:
First, a caveat -- this book only covers SWT, the Standard Widget Toolkit, and not JFace. Presumably, JFace will be covered in a forthcoming book. That said, using JFace well requires a good knowledge of SWT, so it would be a mistake to avoid this book just because it doesn't include JFace topics.

This book was written by Steve Northover, one of the architects of SWT, and Northover's profound knowledge of SWT is evident on every page. He communicates clearly and efficiently the details that you need to know in order to be a good SWT programmer. Understanding event-driven programming is skill of a different order than "regular" programming. Operations aren't as neatly sequenced in the former and, as a result, both programming and debugging can be more difficult, especially for one not used to the programming style. Northover spends a lot of time covering the internals of SWT and making sure that things like the Display and Controls are clearly explained, rather than simply providing examples of how to write an address book in SWT, or something equally useless.

After finishing this book you'll have a solid knowledge of how SWT works and how to write SWT applications that are performant and reasonably defect-free. You'll have an understanding of how the SWT framework works and why certain design choices were made. This knowledge will help you write applications that naturally extend SWT, rather than bending it into a shape it wasn't meant to assume.

I've read Manning's "SWT/JFace in Action" and Apress' "The Definitive Guide to SWT and JFace" as well as this book. Additionally, I'm on a project where we're building a complicated Java client using SWT/JFace and I spend about 30 hours each week up to the elbows in GUI coding. I'm fortunate that I had the opportunity to read Northover's book. Unfortunately, it was the last book I read. If I had read it first, there are a lot of things I would have done differently. Well, there's always refactoring. :)

SWT Fundamentals - 2005-05-14
Reviewer Rating:
If you want to learn the SWT fundamentals, read this book. Remember that JFace, Eclipse IDE, Eclipse Rich Client Platform applications all use SWT at the bottom. While the book does not cover some advanced topics like custom widgets and layouts, it will build a solid foundation for understanding these advanced topics.

Comprehensive introduction to SWT - 2004-10-13
Reviewer Rating:
This is a straightforward, well written, book on SWT. It starts with installation and goes through the windowing model, the event model, and the entire toolkit in an introductory manner, covering each topic in depth with example code an illustrations. It's not a reference book, it's a walkthrough the toolkit.

The book is well organized, code isn't overused and illustrations are used effectively. The lack of a reference portion is the only fault that I can find with the book. Once you have read it you are done, there is no reason to return for a quick reference. Most similar books have a reference section in the appendix.

If you are looking to use the SWT, or you want to evaluate it, then this is a solid introduction to the toolkit.

Is this book out of print and why? - 2007-07-30
Reviewer Rating:
This book is probably the best book out there on the subject. There are some fairly good samples online, but this book covers the things that I really need to do (such as recursively check items in a tree triggered from a root node selection). I had to give this book back to a developer that left the company and if he hangs onto it long enough, it would appreciate in value enough for him to retire! Does anyone know if this book is for sale online as a pdf or anything?

Good for what it is - 2007-10-23
Reviewer Rating:
This is a great introduction and reference for SWT. I find myself reffering back to it fairly often. My only complaint is that it doesn't also cover JFace.

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
Internet/Online

Sub-Categories:
Internet/Online > Java