Java ME UI libraries

Question

I\'m developing a Java ME app & need pointers to some really good UI libraries. I did see a few such as Java ME Polish. Are there any more out there? For e.g. ebuddy\'s

Answer 1

eSWT would be available for MIDlets on the latest J9 VM, as used by the Series60 3rd Edition feature Pack 2 handsets (Nokia N78, 6210, N96...) but we're mainly talking about nicer looking UI controls. Basically, a MIDlet can look much more like a native application now.

Sun has recently open-sourced LWUIT.That could also be worth a look.

Nothing beats drawing your own images on a Canvas,though. Generic layout managers in any kind of library will only get you so far. You should only look at the available technologies once you have a good idea of how many different kind of screens your application should have and what they look like.

Answer 2

We have been trying lately on kuix.. So far so good and more light weight than LWUIT code.http://code.google.com/p/kuix

Answer 3

Polish has really nice set of UI components, which are skinable with css style comments. It also features a device database for compatibility purposes.

Some tipps if you decide to go with polish (as i did):

1. Use eclipse and the mepose plugin. The netbeans integration is really nerve wracking.
2. The bulletin board is dead, so by all means !use the mailing list!.
3. If you are not familiar with the ant building system, you better start now.
4. The J2ME Polish book is not worth its money. (My opinion). The documentation on their website and the sample coded are enough to give you a solid start.

Answer 4

I'm facing a similar dilemma right now. We're currently using the default, high-level LCDUI framework for the speed of development, but its severely limiting what we can do. I had thought our best option would be to use a third-party UI framework, but I'm now coninced that if we're serious about the application we should write our own. Its like anything in software, if its mission critical to your application you should write it yourself, even if it that means re-inventing the wheel.

Answer 5

You can use LWUIT for the UI development in J2ME framework.

Answer 6

Sun recently released and opensourced their solution to crappy looking lcdui. It is called LIghtweight UI Toolkit and can be found on lwuit.dev.java.net