Creating and Enriching Graphical User Interfaces - Beginning Java 7 - page 630

attachedtothecomponentbyinvoking void setModel(ButtonModel model) ,
which JButton inherits from its javax.swing.AbstractButton superclass.
JButton is associated with a UI delegate that's described by the abstract
javax.swing.plaf.ButtonUI class, which extends the abstract
javax.swing.plaf.ComponentUI class. Swing attaches the UI delegate to the
component by invoking void setUI(ButtonUI ui) , which JButton inherits
from AbstractButton .
Pluggable Look and Feels
A look and feel is a set of UI delegates with one UI delegate per component. For ex-
ample, Swing provides a look and feel for making a Swing GUI look like a Windows
XP GUI. It also provides look and feels that make the GUI look and feel the same re-
gardless of the underlying windowing system.
Swingalsoprovidesamechanismforselectingaspecificlookandfeel.Becausethis
mechanism is used to plug the look and feel into the GUI before the GUI is displayed
(orevenafteritisdisplayed),alookandfeelisalsoknownasa pluggable look and feel
(PLAF) .
The following PLAFs are supported:
• Basic is an abstract PLAF that serves as the foundation on which the other
PLAFs are based. It's located in the javax.swing.plaf.basic package
and its main class is BasicLookAndFeel .
• Metal is a cross-platform PLAF and is also the default. It's located in the
javax.swing.plaf.metal package and its main class is
MetalLookAndFeel .
• Multi is a multiplexing PLAF that combines PLAFs. It's located in the
javax.swing.plaf.multi package and its main class is
MultiLookAndFeel . (Each multiplexing UI delegate manages its child UI
delegates. Multi was created primarily for use with the Accessibility API.)
• Nimbus is a polished cross-platform PLAF that uses Java 2D-based vector
graphicstodrawtheGUIsothatitlookscrispatanyresolution.Nimbusisloc-
ated in the javax.swing.plaf.nimbus package; its main class is Nim-
busLookAndFeel .
• Synth is a skinnable PLAF that's based on an XML file. It's located in the
javax.swing.plaf.synth package and its main class is Syn-
thLookAndFeel .