Desktop Application Development
MOHAMMAD SALIM HAMDARD
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Lecture 10
ABSTRACT WINDOW TOOLKIT (AWT)
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
Graphical User Interface
AWT
Java GUI
AWT Components
Frame
Label
Button
Text Field
Password Field
Text Area
WHAT IS GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE
The previous command line systems were awkward to use
It was not user friendly
Difficult for end users to interact with
CONTD.
With the development of Home PCs the need for GUI has increased.
ABSTRACT WINDOW TOOLKIT(AWT)
Abstract Window Toolkit(AWT) is a built-in java package which contains
classes and methods for designing user-friendly Graphical User Interface
(UGI). AWT controls are available in ‘java.awt’ package. These controls are
heavyweight and platform dependent as they use the system recourses and
their display is operating system dependent.
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JAVA AWT CLASSES HIERARCHY
CONTD.
Components Class: In java all the elements like the button, textfiels,
scrollbar, etc are called components. In Java AWT, there are classes for each
component as shown in the above diagram but we need to add them to a
container in order to place them in a particular position on the screen.
Container Class: The Container class is sub-class of Component class. The
classes that extend Container class are known as containers such as Frame,
Dialog and Panel. It also contains components like Button, TextField, Label
etc.
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TYPES OF CONTAINER
Window: The Window is a subclass of Container class. The Window
container have no border and menu-bars. We must use Frame ,Dialog or
another window for creating a window.
Panel: The Panel is a subclass of container Class. It does not contain
border ,title bar and menu bars. It can hold other components such as
Button, Text Field, Label etc. We need to create an instance of Panel class
and then add component.
Frame: The Frame is a subclass of Window class. It may have border, title
bar and menu bar. It can include other components like Button,
TextField ,Label etc.
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The Dialog: The Dialog is pop-up windows. It has a border and title. It is
used to take some input from user. The Dialog class does not have minimize
and maximize buttons.
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METHODS OF CONTAINER CLASS
Method Description
public void add(Component c) Add a component to the container
public void setSize(int width,int height) Set the width and height of component
ex. Frame
Public void setLocation(int x,int y) Set location of the container or Frame on
the computer screen
public void setLayout(LayoutManager m) Set layout manager of the component
Public void setVisible(Boolean status) Uset to set visibility of component default
value is false
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AWT CONTROLS
The commonly used AWT controls are listed bellow:
Label
TextField
Button
CheckBox
CheckBox for creating radio button
TextArea
Choice
List(Scrolling List)
LABEL
Label is a control which display text on the window. This text can not be
edited by the user.
The commonly used constructor for label class are:
•Label()
•Label(String text)
•Label(String text, int align)
THE COMMONLY USED METHOD OF LABEL
CLASS
Method Description
getText() Gets the text of this Label
setText() Sets the text of Label
setFont() Sets the font
setBound(int x, int y, int width, int To sets the position and size of
height) component
setForeground(Color.red) To set foreground color
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CODE
package AWTpac; l1.setForeground(Color.PINK);
import java.awt.*; l1.setFont(new Font("Trebuchet
import java.applet.*; MS",Font.BOLD| Font.ITALIC, 25));
public class LabelEx2 extends Applet { l2.setForeground(new Color(0, 250,
public void init() 154));
{ l2.setFont(new Font("Trebuchet
Label l1,l2; MS",Font.BOLD| Font.ITALIC, 25));
l1=new Label(); add(l1);
l1.setText("Welcome"); add(l2);
l2=new Label("to the world of java"); resize(320,300); // to set size of
applet
}
}
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TEXTFIELD
TextField AWT control inherits TextComponent class. It is used to accept
input from the user in a single line. The various constructor to create
TextField control are as follows:
•TextField()
•TextField(int)
•TextField(String)
•TextField(String, int)
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SONE USEFUL TEXTFIELD CLASS METHOD
Method Description
String getText() Return the text inputted in the text field
Ex. String txt=txt1.getText();
setText() Sets the text of text field ex.
Txt1.setText(“Ahmad”);
setFont() Sets the font
setBound(int x, int y, int width, int To sets the position and size of text field
height)
setEchoChar(Char) To change the text field to password field
Ex. txt1.setEchoChar(‘*’)
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CODE
package AWTpack; lblName.setBounds(60, 70, 100, 30);
import java.awt.*; txtName.setBounds(170, 70, 140, 30);
public class TextFieldEx2{ lblPass.setBounds(60, 110, 100, 30);
Frame f; txtPass.setBounds(170, 110, 140, 30);
Label lblName,lblPass;
TextField txtName,txtPass; f.add(lblName);
TextFieldEx2() { f.add(txtName);
f=new Frame(); f.add(lblPass);
lblName=new Label("Enter Name"); f.add(txtPass);
blPass=new Label("Enter Password"); f.setSize(400,400);
f.setLocation(600,300);
txtName=new TextField(10); f.setLayout(null);
txtPass=new TextField(10); f.setVisible(true);
txtPass.setEchoChar('*'); }
public static void main(String args[])
{
new TextFieldEx2();
}
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}
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BUTTON
Buttons are the AWT controls which trigger some action when they are
clicked. Button are mainly used for handling events for example submitting
information to the database or validating information of a form.
The constructor used with button class are as follows:
•Button()
•Button(String)
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BUTTON
import java.awt.Button;
Button button=new Button(“Click Me”);
button.setBounds(x,y,w,h) Y
frame.add(button);
X
H
W
CODE
package AWTpack; f.add(b);
import java.awt.*; f.setSize(400,400);
f.setLocation(600, 300);
public class ButtonEx3 { f.setLayout(null);
Frame f; f.setVisible(true);
Button b; }
ButtonEx3(){ public static void main(String args[])
f = new Frame("AWT Frame"); {
b = new Button("Click Here!"); ButtonEx3 obj=new ButtonEx3();
}
b.setBounds(50,100,80,30); }
b.setSize(130, 50);
b.setBackground(Color.black);
b.setForeground(Color.white);
b.setFont(new Font("Arial",Font.BOLD|
Font.ITALIC, 15));
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CHECKBOX
Check boxes are used for making multiple selections to indicate optional
features in a form like hobbies. They have two states either on or off,
checked or unchecked, true or false.
The constructor used with Checkbox class are as follow:
•Checkbox()
•Checkbox(String)
•Checkbox(String ,boolean)
Ex. Checkbox chk=new Checkbox(“Label Text for Checkbox”, true);
add(chk);
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SONE USEFUL CHECKBOX CLASS METHODS
Method Description
setState(boolean) Sets the state of a check box
Ex. Chk1.setState(“true”);
boolean getState() Return or read checkbox state ex.
Boolean b1=chk1.getState();
setLabel(String) Sets label of checkbox ex.
chk1.setLabel(“Reading”);
String getLabel() Return or read label of checkbox ex.
String lbl=chk1.getLabel();
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CODE
package AWTpack; check1.setBounds(100, 100, 50, 50);
import java.awt.*; check2.setBounds(100, 150, 50,
50);
public class CheckBoxEx4 { f.add(lbl);
Frame f; f.add(check1);
Label lbl; f.add(check2);
Checkbox check1,check2; f.setSize(350,350);
CheckBoxEx4() f.setLayout(null);
{ f.setVisible(true);
f=new Frame();
lbl=new Label("Select Color!"); }
check1=new Checkbox("Red",true); public static void main(String args[])
check2=new Checkbox("Blue"); {
lbl.setFont(new Font("Tahoma", CheckBoxEx4 obj= new
Font.BOLD, 14)); CheckBoxEx4();
lbl.setBounds(100, 50, 150, 50); }
}
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CHECKBOX GROUP
Checkbox class is also used to create radio button in a form. Radio button is
used for making mutually exclusive selections. It means only one option can
be selected from a set of options.
So, first we need to create object of ChexkboxGroup class and then pass it to
Checkbox as bellow:
CheckboxGroup chkg=new CheckboxGroup();
Checkbox chk=new Checkbox(String,chkg,boolean);
add(chk);
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CODE package AWTpack;
import java.awt.*;
lbl=new Label("Select Course!");
lbl.setFont(new Font("Tahoma",
public class ChkGroupEx5 { Font.BOLD, 14));
Frame f; lbl.setBounds(30, 50, 150, 50);
CheckboxGroup chkg; chk1.setBounds(30, 100, 50, 50);
Checkbox chk1,chk2,chk3; chk2.setBounds(30, 150, 150, 50);
Label lbl; chk3.setBounds(30, 200, 200, 50);
ChkGroupEx5()
{ f.add(chk1);
f=new Frame(); f.add(chk2);
chkg=new CheckboxGroup(); f.add(chk3);
chk1=new f.add(lbl);
Checkbox("12th",chkg,false); f.setSize(350,350);
chk2=new f.setLayout(null);
Checkbox("Graduate",chkg,false); f.setVisible(true);
chk3=new Checkbox("Post }
Graduate",chkg,true); public static void main(String args[])
{
new ChkGroupEx5();
}}
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CHOICE
The AWT control Choice is used to display a drop-down menu of items from
which only one can be selected at a time. It has only one constructor given
bellow:
Choice chList=new Choice();
chList.add(“Graduate”);
chList.add(“Post Graduate”);
chList.add(“PHD”);
Add(chList);
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SOME USEFUL CHOICE CLASS METHODS
Method Description
add(String item) Add items to the Choice list
Ex. chList.add(“Graduate”);
String getItem(int index) Returns item at given index ex.
String res=chList.getItem(2);
String getSelectedItem() Returns the selected item ex.
String res=chList.getSelectedItem()
int getSelectedIndex() Returns the index of selected item
Ex. int ind=chList. getSelectedIndex()
remove(int index) Remove item at specific index
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CODE
package AWTpack; lbl=new Label("Select Course!");
import java.awt.*; lbl.setFont(new Font("Tahoma",
public class ChoiceEx6 { Font.BOLD, 14));
Frame f; lbl.setBounds(30, 50, 150, 50);
Label lbl;
Choice chList; f.add(lbl);
ChoiceEx6() f.add(chList);
{ f.setSize(350, 350);
f=new Frame(); f.setLayout(null);
chList=new Choice(); f.setVisible(true);
chList.setBounds(30, 100, 150, 50); }
chList.add("Graduate"); public static void main(String args[])
chList.add("Post Graduate"); {
chList.add("PHD"); ChoiceEx6 obj=new ChoiceEx6();
}
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CODE
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LIST
The AWT List control is similar to Choice control with two difference. In list
control user can select more than one items and selected items is not
displayed on the top of the list.
The following constructors are available in List class:
•List()
•List(int)
•List(int,boolean) // here Boolean specify that multiple selection is allowed or
not it can be true or false
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CODE
package AWTpack; lst=new List();
import java.awt.*; lst.setBounds(30, 100, 150, 50);
public class ListEx7 { lst.add("Red");
Frame f; lst.add("Blue");
List lst; lst.add("Pink");
Label lbl; lst.add("Black");
ListEx7()
{ f.add(lbl);
f=new Frame(); f.add(lst);
lbl=new Label("Select Color!"); f.setSize(350, 350);
lbl.setFont(new Font("Tahoma", f.setLayout(null);
Font.BOLD, 14)); f.setVisible(true);
lbl.setBounds(30, 50, 150, 50); }
public static void main(String args[])
{
ListEx7 obj=new ListEx7();
}
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THE END
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