componentHidden

componentHidden is a property found in various graphical user interface toolkits, particularly those based on Java Swing. When applied to a component, it dictates whether that component should be rendered and participate in layout calculations. A component with componentHidden set to true will not be displayed on the screen, and importantly, it will not occupy any space in its parent container's layout. This means that other components will be positioned as if the hidden component were not present at all.

This property is distinct from simply making a component invisible. A component that is invisible (e.g., using the setVisible(false) method in Swing) will not be displayed but will still occupy its allocated space in the layout. This can lead to gaps or altered spacing within the user interface. The componentHidden property, by contrast, effectively removes the component from both visual and spatial considerations.

The primary use case for componentHidden is in scenarios where a component might be conditionally included in a UI. For instance, a developer might have a set of potential UI elements that are only shown or hidden based on user preferences or application state. Using componentHidden allows these elements to be added to the container's component list during development or initialization, and then toggled on or off without affecting the layout of other persistent components. This can simplify layout management in complex or dynamic user interfaces.