METHOD FOR TRANSLATING GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI) RESOURCE DATA INTO NATIVE JAVA CODE

A graphical user interface layout is defined by a resource definition file having a set of resource directives associated therewith. A method of translating the layout to native Java source code begins by identifying each resource file directive associated with the window layout. For each resource file directive, or for each subdirective within a file directive or subdirective, the method generates a stub or "snippet" of Java code. The Java code snippets may be generated by direct code or by using a text-editable file interface, and the snippets are then combined to created a Java source file.