Chapter 25

Introducing the AWT: Working with Windows, Graphics, and Text

Here, you will learn how to manage windows, work with fonts, output text, and utilize graphics. Java’s newest
GUI framework is JavaFX. It is anticipated that, at some point in the future, JavaFX will replace Swing as Java’s
most popular GUI.

1. AWT Classes

The AWT classes are contained in the java.awt package. Beginning with JDK 9, java.awt is part of the
java.desktop module.

Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
 2. Window Fundamentals

The AWT defines windows according to a class hierarchy that adds functionality and specificity with each level.
Arguably the two most important window-related classes are Frame and Panel. Frame encapsulates a top-level
window and it is typically used to create what would be thought of as a standard application window. Panel
provides a container to which other components can be added. Panel is also a superclass for Applet (deprecated
as of JDK 9).

 Component is an abstract class that encapsulates all of the attributes of a visual component ( Except for
menus). It defines over a hundred public methods that are responsible for managing events, such as mouse
and keyboard input, positioning and sizing the window, and repainting. A Component object is responsible
for remembering the current foreground and background colors and the currently selected text font.
 Container class is a subclass of Component. A container is responsible for laying out (that is, positioning)
any components that it contains. It does this through the use of various layout managers.
 Panel class is a concrete subclass of Container. Other components can be added to a Panel object by its
add( ) method. you can position and resize them manually using the setLocation( ), setSize( ), or
setBounds( ) methods defined by Component.
 Window class creates a top-level window. Generally, you won’t create Window objects directly. Instead,
you will use a subclass of Window called Frame.
 Frame is a subclass of Window and has a title bar, menu bar, borders, and resizing corners.
 Canvas is not part of the hierarchy for Panel or Frame. It is derived from Component, Canvas encapsulates
a blank window upon which you can draw.

Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
 3. Working with Frame Windows

It creates a standard-style, top-level window that has all of the features normally associated with an application
window, such as a close box and title. Here are two of Frame’s constructors:

Frame( ) throws HeadlessException -- creates a standard window that does not contain a title.

Frame(String title) throws HeadlessException--creates a window with the title specified by title.

You must set the size of the window after it has been created. A HeadlessException is thrown if an attempt is
made to create a Frame instance in an environment that does not support user interaction.

3.1 Setting the Window’s Dimensions

The setSize( ) method is used to set the dimensions of the window. It is shown here:

 void setSize(int newWidth, int newHeight)

 void setSize(Dimension newSize)

The new size of the window is specified by newWidth and newHeight, or by the width and height fields of the
Dimension object passed in newSize. The dimensions are specified in terms of pixels.

The getSize( ) method is used to obtain the current size of a window. One of its forms is shown here:

 Dimension getSize( )

3.2 Hiding and Showing a Window

 void setVisible(boolean visibleFlag)

The component is visible if the argument to this method is true. Otherwise, it is hidden.

3.3 Setting a Window’s Title

You can change the title in a frame window using setTitle( ), which has this general form:

 void setTitle(String newTitle)

Here, newTitle is the new title for the window.

3.4 Closing a Frame Window

For the main application window, you can simply terminate the program by calling System.exit( ). To intercept a
window-close event, you must implement the windowClosing( ) method of the WindowListener interface.

Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
3.5 The paint( ) Method

This method is defined by Component and overridden by Container and Window. Thus, it is available to instances
of Frame. The paint( ) method is called each time an AWT-based application’s output must be redrawn. This
situation can occur for several reasons. For example, the window may be minimized and then restored. paint( ) is
also called when the window is first displayed. Whatever the cause, whenever the window must redraw its output,
paint( ) is called. The paint( ) method is shown here:

 void paint(Graphics context)

3.6 Displaying a String

To output a string to a Frame, use drawString( ), which is a member of the Graphics class. This is the form we
will use:

 void drawString(String message, int x, int y)

Here, message is the string to be output beginning at x,y. In a Java window, the upper-left corner is location 0,0.
The drawString( ) method will not recognize newline characters. If you want to start a line of text on another
line, you must do so manually, specifying the precise X,Y location where you want the line to begin.

3.7 Setting the Foreground and Background Colors

To set the background color, use setBackground( ). To set the foreground color use setForeground( ). These
methods are defined by Component, and they have the following general forms:

 void setBackground(Color newColor)

 void setForeground(Color newColor)

Here, newColor specifies the new color. The class Color defines the constants shown here that can be used to
specify colors.

For example, the following sets the background color to green and the foreground color to red:

You can obtain the current settings for the background and foreground colors by calling getBackground( ) and
getForeground( ), respectively. They are also defined by Component and are shown here:

 Color getBackground( )
Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
  Color getForeground( )

3.8 Requesting Repainting

An application writes to its window only when its paint( ) method is called by the AWT. This raises an
interesting question: How can the program itself cause its window to be updated to display new output?
For example, if a program displays a moving banner, what mechanism does it use to update the window each time
the banner scrolls? Remember, one of the fundamental architectural constraints imposed on a GUI program
is that it must quickly return control to the run-time system. It cannot create a loop inside paint( ) that
repeatedly scrolls the banner, for example. This would prevent control from passing back to the AWT. Given this
constraint, it may seem that output to your window will be difficult at best.

Whenever your program needs to update the information displayed in its window, it simply calls repaint( ). The
repaint( ) method is defined by Component. As it relates to Frame, this method causes the AWT run-time system
to execute a call to the update( ) method (also defined by Component). However, the default implementation of
update( ) calls paint( ). Thus, to output to a window, simply store the output and then call repaint( ). The AWT
will then execute a call to paint( ), which can display the stored information. For example, if part of your program
needs to output a string, it can store this string in a String variable and then call repaint( ). Inside paint( ), you will
output the string using drawString( ). The repaint( ) method has four forms. Let’s look at each one in turn. The
simplest version of repaint( ) is shown here:

 void repaint( )

This version causes the entire window to be repainted. The following version specifies a region that will be
repainted:

 void repaint(int left, int top, int width, int height)

Here, the coordinates of the upper-left corner of the region are specified by left and top, and the width and height
of the region are passed in width and height. These dimensions are specified in pixels. You save time by specifying
a region to repaint. Window updates are costly in terms of time. If you need to update only a small portion of the
window, it is more efficient to repaint only that region. Calling repaint( ) is essentially a request that a window
be repainted sometime

soon. However, if your system is slow or busy, update( ) might not be called immediately. Multiple requests for
repainting that occur within a short time can be collapsed by the AWT in a manner such that update( ) is only

Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
called sporadically. This can be a problem in many situations, including animation, in which a consistent update
time is necessary. One solution to this problem is to use the following forms of repaint( ):

 void repaint(long maxDelay)

 void repaint(long maxDelay, int x, int y, int width, int height)

Here, maxDelay specifies the maximum number of milliseconds that can elapse before update( ) is called.

Reference--Schildt, H. (2018). Java: The Complete Reference. 10th edition. McGraw-Hill Education.