Programming

language 2
Java GUI – part 1
Loredana STANCIU
[email protected]
Room B616
What is a user interface

 That part of a program that interacts with the user of the

program:
 simple command-line interfaces
 point-and-click graphical user interfaces
 A common set of tools for graphical user interface design
that work on a variety of platforms
 A user interface toolkit called the Abstract Windowing
Toolkit, or the AWT
Components and containers

 A graphical user interface is built of graphical elements

called components: buttons, scrollbars, and text fields
 Components do not stand alone, but rather are found
within containers.
 Contain and control the layout of components
Components and containers

 Components must fit completely within the

container
 Creates a tree of elements, starting with the
container at the root of the tree and expanding out
to the leaves
GUI – Graphical User interface
Types of components
Types of components
 Button

 Button()
 Creates a button

 Button(String label)
 Creates a labeled button

 void addActionListener(ActionListener l)
 Adds the specified action listener to receive
action events from this button.
 Button

 String getLabel()
 Gets the label of the current button.

 void setLabel(String label)

 Sets the button's label to be the specified string.
Button — example

 You can create a button by creating an

instance of the Button class:

Button buttonOne = new Button();

Button buttonOne = new Button("This is a
button");

 You can add a button to a frame by using the

add() method:
aFrame.add(buttonOne);
CheckBox

 A graphical component that can be in either an

"on" (true) or "off" (false) state.

 setLayout(new GridLayout(3, 1));

 add(new Checkbox("one", null, true));
 add(new Checkbox("two"));
 add(new Checkbox("three"));
CheckBox

 Checkbox()
 Creates a check box with no label
 Checkbox(String label)
 Creates a check box with the specified label
 Checkbox(String label, boolean state)
 Creates a check box with the specified label
and sets the specified state
 Checkbox(String label,
CheckboxGroup group, boolean state,)
 Creates a check box with the label, set to the
state, and in the check box group
CheckBox

 void addItemListener (ItemListener l)

 Adds the specified item listener to receive
item events from this check box.
 String getLabel()
 Gets the label of this check box.
 Boolean getState()
 Determines whether this check box is in the
"on" or "off" state
CheckBox

 void setCheckboxGroup(CheckboxGroup g)
 Sets this check box's group to be the
specified check box group.
 void setLabel(String label)
 Sets this check box's label to be the string
argument.
 void setState(boolean state)
 Sets the state of this check box to the specified
state.
CheckboxGroup

 Used to group together a set of Checkbox

buttons.
 Exactly one check box button in a
CheckboxGroup can be in the "on" state at any
given time
 Pushing any button sets its state to "on" and
forces any other button that is in the "on" state
into the "off" state
CheckboxGroup — Example

 setLayout(new GridLayout(3, 1));

 CheckboxGroup cbg = new CheckboxGroup();
 add(new Checkbox("one", cbg, true));
add(new Checkbox("two", cbg, false));
add(new Checkbox("three", cbg, false));
Chioce

 A pop-up menu of choices. The current choice is

displayed as the title of the menu.

 Choice ColorChooser = new Choice();

ColorChooser.add("Green");
ColorChooser.add("Red");
ColorChooser.add("Blue");
Chioce
 Choice()
 Creates a new choice menu.
 void add(String item)
 Adds an item to this Choice menu.
 void addItemListener(ItemListener l)
 Adds the specified item listener to receive
item events from this Choice menu.
 String getItem(int Index)
 Gets the string at the specified index in this
Choice menu.
Chioce

 int getItemCount()
 Returns the number of items in this Choice
menu.
 int getSelectedIndex()
 Returns the index of the currently selected
item.
 String getSelectedItem()
 Gets a representation of the current choice
as a string.
Chioce

 void insert(String item, int index)

 Inserts the item into this choice at the
specified position.
 void remove(int position)
 Removes an item from the choice menu at
the specified position.
 void remove(String item)
 Removes the first occurrence of item from the
Choice menu.
Chioce
 void removeAll()
 Removes all items from the choice menu.
 void select(int position)
 Sets the selected item in this Choice menu to
be the item at the specified position.
 void select(String str)
 Sets the selected item in this Choice menu to
be the item whose name is equal to the
specified string.
Label

 A component for placing text in a container.

 Displays a single line of read-only text.

 setLayout(new
FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 10, 10));
 add(new Label("Hi There!"));
 add(new Label("Another Label"));
Label

 Label(String text);
 Creates a new instance of Label
 String getText();
 Returns a label’s text
 void setText(String text);
 Sets a label’s text to the specified text
Scrollbar

 Provides a convenient means for allowing a user to

select from a range of values.

 redSlider=new
Scrollbar(Scrollbar.VERTICAL, 0, 1, 0,
255);
 add(redSlider);

 ranger = new
Scrollbar(Scrollbar.HORIZONTAL, 0, 60, 0,
300);
 add(ranger);
Scrollbar
 Scrollbar()
 Constructs a new vertical scroll bar.

 Scrollbar(int orientation)
 Constructs a new scroll bar with the specified
orientation.
Scrollbar

 Scrollbar(int orientation, int value,

int visible, int minimum, int maximum)
 Constructs a new scroll bar with the specified
orientation, initial value, visible amount, and
minimum and maximum values.
 void addAdjunstmentListener(Adjust
mentListener l)
 Adds the specified adjustment listener to receive
instances of AdjustmentEvent from this scroll
bar.
TextField

 A text component that allows for the editing of a

single line of text.

 TextField tf1, tf2, tf3, tf4;

 tf1 = new TextField();
 tf2 = new TextField("", 20);
 tf3 = new TextField("Hello!");
 tf4 = new TextField("Hello", 30);
TextField

 TextField()
 Creates a new instance of TextField
 TextField(String text)
 Creates a new instance of TextField with
the specified text
 void setColumns(int columns)
 Sets the number of columns in a textbox
 void setText(String text)
 Sets a textfield text to the specified text
List

 A scrolling list of text items. The list can be set up

so that the user can choose either one item or
multiple items.

 List lst = new List(4, false);

lst.add("Mercury"); lst.add("Venus");
lst.add("Earth"); lst.add("JavaSoft");
lst.add("Mars"); lst.add("Jupiter");
lst.add("Saturn"); lst.add("Uranus");
lst.add("Neptune"); lst.add("Pluto");
List

 List()
 Creates a new scrolling list.
 List(int row)
 Creates a new scrolling list initialized with the
specified number of visible lines.
 List(int rows, boolean multipleMode)
 Creates a new scrolling list initialized to display
the specified number of rows.
List

 void add(String item)

 Adds the specified item to the end of scrolling
list.
 void add(String item, int index)
 Adds the specified item to the the scrolling list
at the position indicated by the index.
 void addActionListener(ActionListener l)
 Adds the specified action listener to receive
action events from this list.
List

 void remove( int position)

 Removes the item at the specified position
from this scrolling list.
 void remove( String item)
 Removes the first occurrence of an item from
the list.
 void removeAll()
 Removes all items from this list.
List

 void replaceItem(String value, int

index)
 Replaces the item at the specified index in
the scrolling list with the new string.
 void select(int index)
 Selects the item at the specified index in the
scrolling list.
TextArea

 A multi-line region that displays text.

 It can be set to allow editing or to be read-only.
 new TextArea("Hello", 5, 40);
TextArea
 TextArea(int rows, int columns)
 Constructs a new text area with the specified
number of rows and columns and the empty
string as text.
 TextArea(String text)
 Constructs a new text area with the specified
text.
 TextArea(String text, int rows, int
columns)
 Constructs a new text area with the specified
text, and with the specified number of rows and
columns.
TextArea
 TextArea(String text, int rows, int
columns, int scrollbars)
 Constructs a new text area with the specified
text, and with the rows, columns, and scroll bar
visibility as specified.
 void append(String str)
 Appends the given text to the text area's
current text.
 void insert(String str, int position)
 Inserts the specified text at the specified
position in this text area.
Types of containers

 Window
 A top-level display surface (a window)
 An instance of the Window class has no border
and no title
 Frame
 A top-level display surface (a window) with a
border and title
 An instance of the Frame class may have a
menu bar
Types of containers
 Dialog
 A top-level display surface (a window) with a
border and title
 An instance of the Dialog class cannot exist
without an associated instance of the Frame
class.
 Panel
 A generic container for holding
components.
 An instance of the Panel class provides a
container to which to add components.
FRAMES

 A top-level window with a title and a border.

 It has minimize, maximize, and close buttons in its
top right corner and can be moved and resized
(by default)
 Frames are created using the Frame class
FRAMES

 Frame()
 Creates a new instance of Frame that is
initially invisible
 Frame(String title)
 Creates a new instance of Frame that is
initially invisible with the specified title

 NOTE: Initially, a frame will not be visible. You

have to set it to be visible using the
setVisible() method
FRAMES

 boolean isResizable()
 Returns a boolean value indicating whether a
frame is resizable or not
 void setResizable(boolean resizable)
 Sets whether or not a frame is resizable
 void isVisible(boolean isVisible)
 Sets whether or not a frame is visible
FRAMES

 String getTitle()
 Returns the title of a frame
 void setTitle(String title)
 Sets the title of a frame
 void setSize(int width, int height)
 Sets the size of a frame
 void setLocation(int xCoord, int
yCoord)
 Sets the location of the window
Frames

 Frames are capable of generating the following

types of WindowEvents:
 WINDOW_OPENED
 WINDOW_CLOSING
 WINDOW_CLOSED
 WINDOW_ICONIFIED
 WINDOW_DEICONIFIED
 WINDOW_ACTIVATED
 WINDOW_DEACTIVATED
 WINDOW_GAINED_FOCUS
 WINDOW_LOST_FOCUS
 WINDOW_STATE_CHANGED
Frames — Example

 You can create a frame creating an instance of

class Frame:

import java.awt.*;
class MyFrame {
public static void main(){
Frame frame = new Frame("My
title");
frame.setSize(200, 200);
frame.setVisible(true);
}}
Dialog

 A top-level window with a title and a border that

is typically used to take some form of input from
the user.
 The size of the dialog includes any area
designated for the border.
 A dialog must have either a frame or another
dialog defined as its owner when it's constructed.
Dialog

 Dialog(Dialog owner)
 Constructs an initially invisible, non-modal
Dialog with an empty title and the specified
owner dialog.
 Dialog(Dialog owner, String title)
 Constructs an initially invisible, non-modal
Dialog with the specified owner dialog and
title.
 Dialog(Frame owner)
 Constructs an initially invisible, non-modal
Dialog with an empty title and the specified
owner frame.
Dialog

 Dialog(Frame owner, String title)

 Constructs an initially invisible, non-modal
Dialog with the specified owner frame and
title.
 String getTitle()
 Gets the title of the dialog.
 void hide()
 Hides the Dialog and then causes show() to
return if it is currently blocked.
Dialog

 void show()
 Makes the Dialog visible.
 void setResizable(boolean resizable)
 Sets whether this dialog is resizable by the
user.
 void setTitle(String title)
 Sets the title of the Dialog.
Panel

 The simplest container class

 Provides space in which an application can
attach any other component, including other
panels.
 The default layout manager for a panel is the
FlowLayout layout manager.
Panel

 Panel()
 Creates a new panel using the default layout
manager.
 Panel(LayoutManager layout)
 Creates a new panel with the specified
layout manager.
 void add(…)
 Add a component to the panel
 void remove(…)
 Remove a component from the panel
Java event handling

 Event handling in Java refers to executing some

code when specific actions occur such as a
window being minimized or a button being
clicked
 There are special interfaces for this purpose and
they are located in the java.awt.event package
Handling window events

 To handle window events, the WindowListener

interface is used
 The class that handle window events must
implement this interface
 The WindowListener interface has various
methods to handle window events
 These methods are presented on the following
slides
Methods of the
WindowListener interface
windowOpened(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a window first becomes visible
windowActivated(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a window has become active
(meaning it is able to accept input events)
windowDeactivated(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a window is deactivated
(meaning it has lost input focus)
Methods of the
WindowListener interface
windowIconified(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a window is iconified (minimized)
windowDeiconified(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a window has been restored from a
minimized state
windowClosing(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a user attempts to close a frame
windowClosed(WindowEvent e)
 Called when a window is closed
Handling action events

 To handle action events (such as the clicking of

a button), the ActionListener interface is used

 Method of the ActionListener interface:

actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
 Called when an action has occurred
Handling focus events

 To handle focus events (such as when an object

such as a textbox is awaiting user input), the
FocusListener interface is used

 Methods of the FocusListener interface:

focusGained(FocusEvent e)
 Called when an object gains focus
focusLost(FocusEvent e)
 Called when an object loses focus
Handling item events

 Item events are triggered by components that

allow for a selection of items such as
Checkboxes
 To handle item events, the ItemListener
interface is used

 Method of the ItemListener interface:

itemStateChanged(ItemEvent e)
 Called when the state of an item has
changed
Handling text events

 Text events are triggered by components whose

fields are editable such as textboxes
 To handle text events, the TextListener
interface is used

 Method of the TextListener interface:

textValueChanged(TextEvent e)
 Called when the data in a field of a
component has changed
Handling mouse events

 Mouse events are triggered by the computers

mouse
 Mouse events are actually handled by two
interfaces:
 MouseListener: used to detect the
clicking of mouse buttons or the moving of a
mouse into or out of a listener's area
 MouseMotionListener: used to detect the
movement of the mouse
Methods of the
MouseListener interface
mouseClicked(MouseEvent e)
 Called when a mouse button is clicked

mouseEntered(MouseEvent e)
 Called when the mouse enters a source
components area
Methods of the
MouseMotionListener interface

mouseMoved(MouseEvent e)
 Called when the mouse is moved while in a
components area

mouseDragged(MouseEvent e)
 Called when the mouse moves while a mouse
button is down while within a components area
Handling key events

 Key events are triggered by keyboard actions

 Key events are handled by the KeyListener
interface
 Methods of the KeyListener interface:
keyPressed(KeyEvent e)
 Called when a key is pressed down
keyReleased(KeyEvent e)
 Called when a key is released
keyTyped(KeyEvent e)
 Called when a key is typed
Making objects listen for
events
 Once you implement the necessary interfaces,
and define the implementation of their methods,
you need to make objects listen for events
 Example: if you implement the ActionListener
interface, and you define what its
actionPerformed() method does, and you
want the method to be called every time a
certain button is clicked, you need to make that
button listen for the event
Listen for action events
 For action events use the addActionListener()
method

 Example:
//create a button
Button aButton = new Button("This is a
button");
//specify that this button listens for
action events
aButton.addActionListener(this);
Listen for action events

 The class that contains the previous button must

implement the interface ActionListener, so it
will have a function
actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
 You can find the source of this event calling the
function e.getSource()
 This function will return an element of type
Object
Listen for focus events

 For focus events use the addFocusListener()

method
 Example:
//create a textbox
TextField aTextField = new TextField("This
is a textbox");
/*specify that this textbox listens for
focus events*/
aTextField.addFocusListener(this);
Listen for item events

 For item events use the addItemListener()

method
 Example:
//create a checkbox
CheckBox chkbox1 = new CheckBox("This is a
checkbox", false);
/*specify that this checkbox listens for
item events*/
chkbox1.addItemListener(this);
Listen for text events

 For text events use the addTextListener()

method
 Example:
//create a textbox
TextField aTextField = new TextField("This
is a textbox");
/*specify that this textbox listens for
text events*/
aTextField.addTextListener(this);
Listen for mouse events

 For mouse events use the addMouseListener()

method
 Example:
//create a frame
Frame aFrame = new Frame();
/*specify that this frame listens for
mouse events*/
aFrame.addMouseListener(this);
Listen for mouse motion
events
 For mouse motion events use the
addMouseMotionListener() method
 Example:
//create a frame
Frame aFrame = new Frame();
/*specify that this frame listens for
mouse motion events*/
aFrame.addMouseMotionListener(this);
Listen for key events

 For key events use the addKeyListener()

method
 Example:
//create a textbox
TextField aTextField = new TextField("This
is a textbox");
/*specify that this textbox listens for
key events*/
aTextField.addKeyListener(this);
References

 Todd Sundsted, Introduction to the AWT. A

description of Java’s user interface toolkit,
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-07-
1996/jw-07-awt.html