12 Lightweight UI Toolkit

12.1 LWUIT and the Java ME SDK

LWUIT is an open source project whose source is available at http://lwuit.java.net.

Java ME SDK 3.2 ships with the LWUIT 1.5 library, which is installed as a NetBeans package. For information on this release, see the product page at:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javame/javamobile/download/lwuit/index.html

The Lightweight UI Toolkit Developer's Guide is available in PDF and HTML formats:

PDF: http://download.oracle.com/javame/dev-tools/lwuit-1.5/LWUIT_Developer_Guide.pdf

HTML: http://download.oracle.com/javame/dev-tools/lwuit-1.5/devguide/toc.htm

As an open source project, LWUIT has an independent release schedule. The Java ME SDK Update Center updates LWUIT when an official binary is released.

It is possible that you might want to use a development version of the LWUIT library. You can add a newer version as described in Section 12.3, "Add a Different LWUIT Library".

12.2 LWUIT Resource Editor

The Resource Editor is an independent GUI tool for opening, creating, and editing resource packages for LWUIT.

To start the resource editor, go to the project view and select a project that uses the LWUIT library, then select Tools>Java ME > LWUIT Resource Editor.

The Resource Editor has its own help, and tutorials that are accessed from the Resource Editor's Help menu. These articles link back to the LWUIT blog. For traditional documentation, see the "Resources" chapter in the Developer's Guide mentioned in Section 12.1, "LWUIT and the Java ME SDK".

12.3 Add a Different LWUIT Library

The LWUIT library can be added to any CLDC/MIDP or CDC/PBP Project. A library has typically been installed as a NetBeans module.

1. Right-click on a project and select Properties.

2. In the Build category, select Libraries & Resources, and click the Add Library... button.

3. In the Add Libraries window, scroll down and select LWUIT and click Add Library.

   You can see the package under Libraries and Resources.

If you have a created a Zip or JAR from the unreleased LWUIT source you can add it in a similar fashion by pressing the Add Jar/Zip button.

12.4 LWUIT Demos

This release provides new and updated demos and sample code. Most of these demos are self-evident user interface samples.

• LWUITBrowser

  From the menu, select Help for an explanation of this demo.

• LWUITDemo

  This application has demos for many features. From the Menu choose About for a description of the demo. Choose a subdemo and press the Help soft button for an explanation.

• LWUITIODemo

  This application implements IO features. For example, type LWUIT in the Search box, choose blog from the Type menu, and press Go. Click the search results to load the page into your system's default browser.

• LWUITMakeover

  This demo features a search performed by distance, title, rating, or relevance. Search results can be mapped. To "makeover" the demo by choose a different theme from the Menu.

• LWUITSpeed

  This demo tests drawing speed for different components. Press the Start button to cycle through a series of animations. To change the performance you can edit the frame rate in SpeedMIDlet.java. You can also affect the performance by changing the emulator's heap size. In the Device Selector, right-click on the device, select Properties from the context menu, and change the Heapsize value.

• LWUITTimeZone

  This application shows a contacts list and provides date and time information for contacts displayed on the home page. Use + to add contacts and - to remove them. Press the sun symbol to toggle the time format between 24 hour time and civilian time.

• LWUITTipster

  The demo is a simple tip calculator. The default service is restaurant staff. To change the service type, click the up arrow to highlight the service types. Use the right or left arrows to highlight a service type, then click the select button.