Question

So my situation is simple (IMHO):

I am trying to create web-esque Java application (it’s a sort of Point-Of-Sale application) that behaves much like a website, but is all in Java. Right now I have a semi-simple SWT application written in Eclipse and it displays a few options (sign in, price check, inventory check and employee timeclock). When any of these is pressed (or corresponding keyboard shortcuts are activated) a dialog box pops up prompting authentication. Assuming user is verified, I want the main application window to display a new set of functions (scan item, item lookup, etc.) seamlessly.

If this were HTML I would just make a new page, and if I were writing against the Android platform I would just create a new activity…but this is very new and I am having a very hard time finding any relevant information.

PS I’m not set on SWT if anybody thinks a different library/technology (such as Swing/AWT) is better.

Answer 1

In SWT, if you want to replace the content of a Composite, you first need to dispose the existing controls, next you create the new controls, and finally call the layout(...) method on the Composite:

// Retrieve existing composite
Composite composite = [retrieve existing composite]

// Remove exising children
for (Control child : composite.getChildren()) {
     child.dispose();
}

// Create new children
Label label = new Label(composite, SWT.NONE);

// Layout
// Maybe update the composite layout with composite.setLayout()
composite.layout(true, true);

Another solution is to use a Composite with a StackLayout if you want to display back and forth several predefined contents.