Chapter 12 GUI Basics
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Motivations
The design of the API for Java GUI
programming is an excellent example of how
the object-oriented principle is applied. In the
chapters that follow, you will learn the
framework of Java GUI API and use the GUI
components to develop user-friendly
interfaces for applications and applets.
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Objectives
To distinguish between Swing and AWT (12.2).
To describe the Java GUI API hierarchy (12.3).
To create user interfaces using frames, panels, and simple
GUI components (12.4).
To understand the role of layout managers (12.5).
To use the FlowLayout, GridLayout, and BorderLayout
managers to layout components in a container (12.5).
To use JPanel as subcontainers (12.7).
To specify colors and fonts using the Color and Font classes
(12.7-12.8).
To apply common features such as borders, tool tips, fonts,
and colors on Swing components (12.9).
To use borders to visually group user-interface components
(12.9).
To create image icons using the ImageIcon class (12.10).
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Creating GUI Objects
// Create a button with text OK
JButton jbtOK = new JButton("OK");
// Create a label with text "Enter your name: "
JLabel jlblName = new JLabel("Enter your name: ");
Label
Text
field
Check
Box
Radio
Button
Button
// Create a text field with text "Type Name Here"
JTextField jtfName = new JTextField("Type Name Here");
Combo
Box
// Create a check box with text bold
JCheckBox jchkBold = new JCheckBox("Bold");
// Create a radio button with text red
JRadioButton jrbRed = new JRadioButton("Red");
// Create a combo box with choices red, green, and blue
JComboBox jcboColor = new JComboBox(new String[]{"Red",
"Green", "Blue"});
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Swing vs. AWT
So why do the GUI component classes have a prefix J? Instead of JButton,
why not name it simply Button? In fact, there is a class already named Button
in the java.awt package.
When Java was introduced, the GUI classes were bundled in a library known
as the Abstract Windows Toolkit (AWT). For every platform on which Java
runs, the AWT components are automatically mapped to the platform-specific
components through their respective agents, known as peers. AWT is fine for
developing simple graphical user interfaces, but not for developing
comprehensive GUI projects. Besides, AWT is prone to platform-specific bugs
because its peer-based approach relies heavily on the underlying platform.
With the release of Java 2, the AWT user-interface components were replaced
by a more robust, versatile, and flexible library known as Swing components.
Swing components are painted directly on canvases using Java code, except
for components that are subclasses of java.awt.Window or java.awt.Panel,
which must be drawn using native GUI on a specific platform. Swing
components are less dependent on the target platform and use less of the
native GUI resource. For this reason, Swing components that dont rely on
native GUI are referred to as lightweight components, and AWT components
are referred to as heavyweight components.
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GUI Class Hierarchy (Swing)
Dimension
Font
Classes in the java.awt
package
LayoutManager
Heavyweight
FontMetrics
Object
Color
Panel
Applet
JApplet
Window
Frame
JFrame
Dialog
JDialog
Graphics
Component
Container
Swing Components
in the javax.swing package
JComponent
Lightweight
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Container Classes
Dimension
Classes in the java.awt
package
LayoutManager
Font
Heavyweight
FontMetrics
Object
Color
Panel
Applet
JApplet
Window
Frame
JFrame
Dialog
JDialog
Graphics
Component
Container
Container classes can
contain other GUI
components.
JComponent
JPanel
Swing Components
in the javax.swing package
Lightweight
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GUI Helper Classes
Dimension
Font
Classes in the java.awt
package
LayoutManager
Heavyweight
FontMetrics
Object
Color
Panel
Applet
JApplet
Window
Frame
JFrame
Dialog
JDialog
Graphics
Component
Container
The helper classes are not subclasses
of Component. They are used to
describe the properties of GUI
components such as graphics context,
colors, fonts, and dimension.
JComponent
JPanel
Swing Components
in the javax.swing package
Lightweight
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Swing GUI Components
JCheckBoxMenuItem
AbstractButton
JComponent
JMenuItem
JMenu
JButton
JRadioButtonMenuItem
JToggleButton
JCheckBox
JRadioButton
JEditorPane
JTextComponent
JTextField
JPasswordField
JTextArea
JLabel
JTabbedPane
JToolBar
JTree
JComboBox
JList
JSplitPane
JMenuBar
JTable
JPanel
JLayeredPane
JPopupMenu
JTableHeader
JOptionPane
JSeparator
JFileChooser
JInternalFrame
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JScrollBar
JSlider
JScrollPane
JRootPane
JColorChooser
JProgressBar
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JToolTip
JSpinner
Components Covered in the Brief
Version
JCheckBoxMenuItem
AbstractButton
JComponent
JMenuItem
JMenu
JButton
JRadioButtonMenuItem
JToggleButton
JCheckBox
JRadioButton
JEditorPane
JTextComponent
JTextField
JPasswordField
JTextArea
JLabel
JTabbedPane
JToolBar
JTree
JComboBox
JList
JSplitPane
JMenuBar
JTable
JPanel
JLayeredPane
JPopupMenu
JTableHeader
JOptionPane
JSeparator
JFileChooser
JInternalFrame
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JScrollBar
JSlider
JScrollPane
JRootPane
JColorChooser
JProgressBar
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JToolTip
JSpinner
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Components Covered in the Comprehensive
Version
JCheckBoxMenuItem
AbstractButton
JComponent
JMenuItem
JMenu
JButton
JRadioButtonMenuItem
JToggleButton
JCheckBox
JRadioButton
JEditorPane
JTextComponent
JTextField
JPasswordField
JTextArea
JLabel
JTabbedPane
JToolBar
JTree
JComboBox
JList
JSplitPane
JMenuBar
JTable
JPanel
JLayeredPane
JPopupMenu
JTableHeader
JOptionPane
JSeparator
JFileChooser
JInternalFrame
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JScrollBar
JSlider
JScrollPane
JRootPane
JColorChooser
JProgressBar
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JToolTip
JSpinner
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AWT (Optional)
AWTEvent
Font
FontMetrics
Object
Color
Graphics
Component
Container
Panel
Applet
Button
Window
Frame
Label
TextField
Dialog
FileDialog
TextComponent
List
TextArea
Choice
CheckBox
LayoutManager
CheckBoxGroup
Canvas
MenuComponent
Scrollbar
MenuItem
Menu
MenuBar
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Frames
Frame is a window that is not contained
inside another window. Frame is the basis
to contain other user interface components
in Java GUI applications.
The JFrame class can be used to create
windows.
For Swing GUI programs, use JFrame class
to create widows.
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Creating Frames
import javax.swing.*;
public class MyFrame {
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test Frame");
frame.setSize(400, 300);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(
JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
}
MyFrame
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Adding Components into a
Frame
Title bar
// Add a button into the frame
frame.getContentPane().add(
new JButton("OK"));
Content pane
MyFrameWithComponents
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Content Pane Delegation in JDK
1.5
// Add a button into the frame
frame.getContentPane().add(
new JButton("OK"));
Title bar
Content pane
// Add a button into the frame
frame.add(
new JButton("OK"));
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JFrame Class
javax.swing.JFrame
+JFrame()
Creates a default frame with no title.
+JFrame(title: String)
Creates a frame with the specified title.
+setSize(width: int, height: int): void
Specifies the size of the frame.
+setLocation(x: int, y: int): void
Specifies the upper-left corner location of the frame.
+setVisible(visible: boolean): void
Sets true to display the frame.
+setDefaultCloseOperation(mode: int): void
Specifies the operation when the frame is closed.
+setLocationRelativeTo(c: Component):
void
Sets the location of the frame relative to the specified component.
If the component is null, the frame is centered on the screen.
+pack(): void
Automatically sets the frame size to hold the components in the
frame.
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Layout Managers
Javas layout managers provide a level of
abstraction to automatically map your user
interface on all window systems.
The UI components are placed in containers.
Each container has a layout manager to arrange
the UI components within the container.
Layout managers are set in containers using the
setLayout(LayoutManager) method in a container.
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Kinds of Layout Managers
FlowLayout (Chapter 13)
GridLayout (Chapter 13)
BorderLayout (Chapter 13)
Several other layout managers will be
introduced in Chapter 33, Containers, Layout
Managers, and Borders
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FlowLayout Example
Write a program that
adds three labels and
text fields into the
content pane of a
frame with a
FlowLayout manager.
ShowFlowLayout
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The FlowLayout Class
The get and set methods for these data fields are provided in
the class, but omitted in the UML diagram for brevity.
java.awt.FlowLayout
-alignment: int
The alignment of this layout manager (default: CENTER).
-hgap: int
The horizontal gap of this layout manager (default: 5 pixels).
-vgap: int
The vertical gap of this layout manager (default: 5 pixels).
+FlowLayout()
Creates a default FlowLayout manager.
+FlowLayout(alignment: int)
Creates a FlowLayout manager with a specified alignment.
+FlowLayout(alignment: int, hgap:
int, vgap: int)
Creates a FlowLayout manager with a specified alignment,
horizontal gap, and vertical gap.
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GridLayout Example
Rewrite the program in
the preceding example
using a GridLayout
manager instead of a
FlowLayout manager
to display the labels
and text fields.
ShowGridLayout
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The GridLayout Class
java.awt.GridLayout
The get and set methods for these data fields are provided in
the class, but omitted in the UML diagram for brevity.
-rows: int
The number of rows in this layout manager (default: 1).
-columns: int
The number of columns in this layout manager (default: 1).
-hgap: int
The horizontal gap of this layout manager (default: 0).
-vgap: int
The vertical gap of this layout manager (default: 0).
+GridLayout()
Creates a default GridLayout manager.
+GridLayout(rows: int, columns: int) Creates a GridLayout with a specified number of rows and columns.
+GridLayout(rows: int, columns: int, Creates a GridLayout manager with a specified number of rows and
hgap: int, vgap: int)
columns, horizontal gap, and vertical gap.
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The BorderLayout Manager
The BorderLayout
manager divides the
container into five areas:
East, South, West, North,
and Center. Components
are added to a
BorderLayout by using
the add method.
add(Component,
constraint), where
constraint is
BorderLayout.EAST,
BorderLayout.SOUTH,
BorderLayout.WEST,
BorderLayout.NORTH, or
BorderLayout.CENTER.
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BorderLayout Example
ShowBorderLayout
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The BorderLayout Class
java.awt.BorderLayout
The get and set methods for these data fields are provided in
the class, but omitted in the UML diagram for brevity.
-hgap: int
The horizontal gap of this layout manager (default: 0).
-vgap: int
The vertical gap of this layout manager (default: 0).
+BorderLayout()
Creates a default BorderLayout manager.
+BorderLayout(hgap: int, vgap: int) Creates a BorderLayout manager with a specified number of
horizontal gap, and vertical gap.
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The Color Class
You can set colors for GUI components by using the
java.awt.Color class. Colors are made of red, green,
and blue components, each of which is represented
by a byte value that describes its intensity, ranging
from 0 (darkest shade) to 255 (lightest shade). This
is known as the RGB model.
Color c = new Color(r, g, b);
r, g, and b specify a color by its red, green, and
blue components.
Example:
Color c = new Color(228, 100, 255);
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Standard Colors
Thirteen standard colors (black, blue, cyan,
darkGray, gray, green, lightGray, magenta, orange,
pink, red, white, yellow) are defined as constants in
java.awt.Color.
The standard color names are constants, but they
are named as variables with lowercase for the first
word and uppercase for the first letters of subsequent
words. Thus the color names violate the Java naming
convention. Since JDK 1.4, you can also use the new
constants: BLACK, BLUE, CYAN, DARK_GRAY,
GRAY, GREEN, LIGHT_GRAY, MAGENTA,
ORANGE, PINK, RED, WHITE, and YELLOW.
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Setting Colors
You can use the following methods to set the
components background and foreground
colors:
setBackground(Color c)
setForeground(Color c)
Example:
jbt.setBackground(Color.yellow);
jbt.setForeground(Color.red);
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The Font Class
Font Names
Font Style
Standard font names
that are supported in
all platforms are:
SansSerif, Serif,
Monospaced, Dialog,
or DialogInput.
Font.PLAIN (0),
Font.BOLD (1),
Font.ITALIC (2), and
Font.BOLD +
Font.ITALIC (3)
Font myFont = new Font(name, style, size);
Example:
Font myFont = new Font("SansSerif ", Font.BOLD, 16);
Font myFont = new Font("Serif", Font.BOLD+Font.ITALIC, 12);
JButton jbtOK = new JButton("OK);
jbtOK.setFont(myFont);
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Finding All Available Font
Names
GraphicsEnvironment e =
GraphicsEnvironment.getLocalGraphicsEnvironment();
String[] fontnames =
e.getAvailableFontFamilyNames();
for (int i = 0; i < fontnames.length; i++)
System.out.println(fontnames[i]);
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Using Panels as SubContainers
Panels act as sub-containers for grouping user
interface components.
It is recommended that you place the user
interface components in panels and place the
panels in a frame. You can also place panels in a
panel.
To add a component to JFrame, you actually add
it to the content pane of JFrame. To add a
component to a panel, you add it directly to the
panel using the add method.
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Creating a JPanel
You can use new JPanel() to create a panel with a
default FlowLayout manager or new
JPanel(LayoutManager) to create a panel with the
specified layout manager. Use the add(Component)
method to add a component to the panel. For
example,
JPanel p = new JPanel();
p.add(new JButton("OK"));
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Testing Panels Example
This example uses panels to organize
components. The program creates a user
interface for a Microwave oven.
frame
A textfield
p2
A button
12
buttons
p1
TestPanels
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Common Features of Swing
Components
java.awt.Component
The get and set methods for these data fields are provided in
the class, but omitted in the UML diagram for brevity.
-font: java.awt.Font
The font of this component.
-background: java.awt.Color
The background color of this component.
-foreground: java.awt.Color
The foreground color of this component.
-preferredSize: Dimension
The preferred size of this component.
-visible: boolean
Indicates whether this component is visible.
+getWidth(): int
Returns the width of this component.
+getHeight(): int
Returns the height of this component.
+getX(): int
getX() and getY() return the coordinate of the components
upper-left corner within its parent component.
+getY(): int
java.awt.Container
+add(comp: Component): Component
Adds a component to the container.
+add(comp: Component, index: int): Component Adds a component to the container with the specified index.
Removes the component from the container.
+remove(comp: Component): void
+getLayout(): LayoutManager
Returns the layout manager for this container.
+setLayout(l: LayoutManager): void
Sets the layout manager for this container.
+paintComponents(g: Graphics): void
Paints each of the components in this container.
javax.swing.JComponent
The get and set methods for these data fields are provided in
the class, but omitted in the UML diagram for brevity.
-toolTipText: String
The tool tip text for this component. Tool tip text is displayed when
the mouse points on the component without clicking.
-border: javax.swing.border.Border
The border for this component.
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Borders
You can set a border on any object of the
JComponent class. Swing has several types
of borders. To create a titled border, use
new TitledBorder(String title).
To create a line border, use
new LineBorder(Color color, int width),
where width specifies the thickness of the
line. For example, the following code displays
a titled border on a panel:
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setBorder(new TitleBorder(My Panel));
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Test Swing Common Features
Component Properties JComponent
Properties
font
background
foreground
preferredSize
minimumSize
maximumSize
toolTipText
border
TestSwingCommonFeatures
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Image Icons
Java uses the javax.swing.ImageIcon class to
represent an icon. An icon is a fixed-size picture;
typically it is small and used to decorate
components. Images are normally stored in image
files. You can use new ImageIcon(filename) to
construct an image icon. For example, the following
statement creates an icon from an image file us.gif
in the image directory under the current class path:
ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon("image/us.gif");
TestImageIcon
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Splash Screen
A splash screen is an image that is displayed while
the application is starting up. If your program takes a
long time to load, you may display a splash screen to
alert the user. For example, the following command:
java splash:image/us.gf TestImageIcon
displays an image while the program TestImageIcon
is being loaded.
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