posted 13 years ago
who said anything about one panel per component?
e.g.
put all your labels in a JPanel (perhaps GridLayout with only single column)
put all your textfields in a JPanel (again, perhaps GridLayout with only single column)
labelPanel in BorderLayout.EAST
textfieldPanel in BorderLayout.CENTER
now, if the frame is dragged wider/thinner, only the textfields will grow/shrink