This is the README file for flexilayout. it is in UNIX text format,
so you'll  have to open it under wordpad if you're using MS-windows.

DESCRIPTION
  flexilayout is medium complexity layout manager, that allows for much
  more freedom than most of the standard LayoutManagers, while hopefully
  being easier to understand than GridBagLayout

Drawbacks:
  If you want stuff to scale itself to fill a window as it is resized,
  this is not the appropriate LayoutManager for you
Advantages:
  If you want your windows to be able to grow/shrink based on the size of
  what is being displayed, this IS for you.
  [Just call Frame.pack() or whatever is aprropriate for your top level]


USAGE:

You have to first create one or more  "anchor" components
and position other objects relative to the initial one.

 ["anchor" is just descriptive. They are "anchored" by the fact that you
  call flexilayout.setLocation() on them explicitly]

You can then position yet more objects relative to the secondary objects.

Possible relationships:

  TileLeftOf, AlignLeft, AlignInsideLeft, Center
  TileRightOf, AlignRight, AlignInsideRight

eg: next to, in line with, or [inside, with a border].

 Substitute "UpOf" or "DownOf" for "LeftOf" or "RightOf", as required.

Sample snippet:

  mylayout=new com.bolthole.flexilayout();
  panel=new Panel(mylayout);
  Button one=new Button("A long button");
  Button two=new Button("centered");

  panel.add(one);
  mylayout.setLocation(one,0,0);
  mylayout.setConstraints(two,mylayout.Center,one,mylayout.TileDownOf,one);
  

 * *  * *  * *  * *  * *  * *  * *  * *  * *  * *  * * 

Misc Coding notes...
flexilayout is built around my "jlayout" class, that is actually
an abstraction of a layout manager. jlayout has no notion of AWT, or
any kind of windows.
jlayout is a very flexible layout class, that is probably going to get even
more flexible.

I'm writing the underlying "jlayout" because I want to avoid the overhead of
Swing. But I need more flexibility than the LayoutManagers in AWT [or Swing,
it seems] Plus, I want to be able to do stuff without ANY graphics context
sometimes.

