Databases and Java Forms

In this section, you'll create a form with buttons and text fields. The buttons will be used
to scroll forwards and backwards through the records in a database table. We'll also add
buttons to perform other common database tasks. The form you'll design will look
something like this:

Start a new project for this by clicking File > New Project from the NetBeans menu.
When the dialogue box appears, select Java > Java Application. On step one of the
dialogue box, type database_form as the Project Name. Uncheck the box at the bottom
for Create Main Class. Click the Finish button to create an empty project.

In the Project area on the left locate your database_form project, and right click the
entry. From the menu that appears select New > JFrame Form:
When the dialogue box appears, type Workers for the Class name, and Employees as
the package name. When you click Finish, you should see a blank form appear in the
main NetBeans window.

Add a Panel to your form. Then place four Text Fields on the panel. Delete the default
text for the Text Fields, leaving them all blank. Change the default variable names for
the Text Fields to the following:

textID
textFirstName
textLastName
textJobTitle

Add a label to your panel. Position it just to the left of the job title Text Field. Enter "Job
Title" as the text for the label. Arrange the Text Fields and the Label so that your form
looks something like this:
Now have a look at the Inspector area to the left of NetBeans. (If you can't see it,
click Window > Inspector from the NetBeans menu.) It should match ours:

What we want to do now is to have the first record from the database table appear in
the text fields when the form first loads. To do that, we can call a method from the form's
Constructor.

First, though, we can add Client Driver JAR file to the project, just like last time. This will
prevent any "Driver Not Found" errors. So, in the Projects area, right click the Libraries
entry for your project. From the menu that appears, select Add JAR/Folder. When the
dialogue box appears, locate the derbyclient.jar file. Then click Open to add it to your
project.

In the main NetBeans window, click the Source button at the top to get to your code.
Now add the following import statements near the top:

import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import java.sql.Statement;
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;

You've met all these before, the first five from the previous section. The last one,
JOptionPane, is so that we can display error messages.

Inside of the Class, add the following variable declarations:

Connection con;
Statement stmt;
ResultSet rs;

Just below the Workers Constructor, add the following method:

public void DoConnect( ) {

Now add a call to this method from the Constructor:

public Workers() {
initComponents();
DoConnect();
}

Your code window will then look like this: (Don't worry if you have underlines for the
import statements. Unless they're red underlines. In which case, you may have made a
typing error.)
What we've done here is to set up a Connection object called con, a Statement object
called stmt, and a ResultSet object called rs. We've set them up at the top because our
buttons will need access to these objects.

When the form loads, our DoConnect method will be called. We can add code here to
connect to the database, and display the first record in the text fields.

The code to add for the DoConnect method is almost identical to the code you wrote in
the previous section. It's this:
One line that you may not have met is this one:

String id = Integer.toString( id_col );

Because the ID column is an Integer, we need to convert it to a String for

the setText method of the Text Field. We need to do this because Text Field's don't
accept Integer values directly - you need to convert them to text.

All the other lines in the code should be familiar to you by now. Study the code to make
sure you know what's happening. Then add it your own DoConnect method.

You can run your programme now. First, though, make sure to start your Java DB
server from the Services window.

When you run your programme, you should see the first record displayed in the Text
Fields:
Now that we have the first record displayed, we can add some buttons to scroll through
the rest of the table data. We'll do that in the next lesson.

Database Scrolling Buttons

What we'll do now is to add four buttons to the form. The buttons will enable us to
move forward through the records, move back, move to the last record, and
move to the first record.

So add a new panel to your form. Enlarge it and then add for buttons to the
panel. Change the variable names of the buttons to the following:

btnNext
btnPrevious
btnLast
btnFirst
Change the text on each button the Next, Previous, Last, First. You form will then
look something like this:
Move to the Next Record
Double click your Next button to create a code stub.

You need to do two things with the Next button: first, check if there is a next
record to move to; and second, if there is a next record, display it in the Text
Fields. We can create an IF Statement for this. But it needs to be wrapped up in
a try … catch block. So add the following to your Next button code stub:

try {
if ( rs.next( ) ) {
}
else {
rs.previous( );
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(Workers.this, "End of File");
}
}
catch (SQLException err) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(Workers.this, err.getMessage());
}

The IF Statement moves the ResultSet on one record at a time. If there isn't a
next record then a value of false is returned. The Else part moves the ResultSet
back one record. That's because the Cursor will have moved past the last record.
In the curly brackets for the IF Statement we can add the code to display the
record in the Text Fields:

int id_col = rs.getInt("ID");

String id = Integer.toString(id_col);
String first = rs.getString("First_Name");
String last = rs.getString("Last_Name");
String job = rs.getString("Job_Title");
textID.setText(id);
textFirstName.setText(first);
textLastName.setText(last);
textJobTitle.setText(job);
This is the same code we have in our DoConnect method. (We could create a
new method, so as not to duplicate any code, but we'll keep it simple.)

The code for your Next button should now look like this:

When you've added your code, run your programme and test it out. Keep clicking
your next button and you'll scroll through all the records in the table. However,
there is a problem.
When you get to the last record, you should see an error message appear:

The problem is that we've added an rs.previous line. However, we've used the
default ResultSet type. As we explained in the last section, this gets you a
ResultSet that can only move forward. We can use the type suggested in the
error message.
Stop your programme and return to your coding window. In your DoConnect
method, locate the following line:

stmt = con.createStatement( );
Change it to this (yours need to go on one line):

stmt = con.createStatement( ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE,

ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE );
The ResultSet type will now allow us to scroll backwards as well as forwards.

Run your programme again. Click the Next button until you get to the last record.
You should see the error message from the try part of the try … catch block
appear:
 Move Back through a Java Database
The code for the Previous button is similar to the Next button. But instead of
using rs.Next, you use rs.Previous.

Return to the Design window and double click your Previous button to create a code
stub.

Instead of typing out all that code again, simply copy and paste the code from your Next
button. Then change the rs.Next, in the IF statement to rs.Previous. Change the
rs.Previous in the ELSE part to rs.Next. You can also change your error message text
from "End of File" to "Start of File".

Your code should look like this:

Run your programme again. You should be able to move backward and forward through
the database by clicking your two buttons.

Move to the First and Last Records

Moving to the first and last records of your database is a lot easier.

Double click your First button to create the code stub. Now add the following code:
We have no need of an IF ... ELSE Statement, now. The only thing we need to do is
move the Cursor to the first record with rs.First, then display the first record in the Text
Fields.

Similarly, add the following code for your Last button (you can copy and paste the code
for the First button):

The only change to make is the use of rs.Last on the first line in place of rs.First.

When you've added the code, run your programme again. You should now be able to
jump to the last record in your database, and jump to the first record.

In the next part, you'll learn how to update a record.

Updating a Record
The ResultSet has Update methods that allow you to update records not only in the
ResultSet itself, but in the underlying database. Let's see how it works.

Make your form a bit longer. Now add a new panel to the form. Add a new button to the
panel. Change the default variable name to btnUpdateRecord. Change the text on the
button to Update Record. We're also going to have buttons to create a new record in
the database, to save a record, cancel any updates, and to delete a record. So add four
more buttons to the panel. Make the following changes:

Button Variable Name: btnNewRecord

Button Text: New Record

Button Variable Name: btnDeleteRecord

Button Text: Delete Record

Button Variable Name: btnSaveRecord

Button Text: Save New Record

Button Variable Name: btnCancelNewRecord

Button Text: Cancel New Record

When you're done, your form should look something like this one (though feel free to
rearrange the buttons):

Double click your Update button to create a code stub.

The first thing to do is get the text from the Text Fields:

String first = textFirstName.getText( );

String last = textLastName.getText( );
String job = textJobTitle.getText( );
String ID = textID.getText( );

If we want to update an ID field, however, we need to convert the String to an Integer:

int newID = Integer.parseInt( ID );

The Integer object has a method called parseInt. In between the round brackets of
parseInt, you type the string that you're trying to convert.

Now that we have all the data from the Text Fields, we can call the relevant update
methods of the ResultSet object:

rs.updateString( "First_Name", first );

There are quite a few different update methods to choose from. The one above
uses updateString. But you need the field type from your database table here. We
have three strings (First_Name, Last_Name, Job_Title) and one integer value (ID). So
we need three updateStringmethods and one updateInt.

In between the round brackets of the update methods, you need the name of a column
from your database (though this can be its Index value instead). After a comma you
type the replacement data. So, in the example above, we want to update the
First_Name column and replace it with the value held in the variable called first.

The update methods just update the ResultSet, however. To commit the changes to the
database, you issue an updateRow command:

rs.updateRow( );

Here are all the lines of code to update the ResultSet and the database table:

try {
rs.updateInt( "ID", newID );
rs.updateString( "First_Name", first );
rs.updateString( "last_Name", last );
rs.updateString( "Job_Title", job );
rs.updateRow( );
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(Workers.this, "Updated");
}
catch (SQLException err) {
System.out.println(err.getMessage() );
}

Again, we need to wrap it all up in a try … catch statement, just in case something
goes wrong. Notice, too, that we've added a message box for a successful update.

Here's the entire code to add for your Update Button:

Run your programme and try it out. Change some data in a Text Field (Tommy to
Timmy, for example). Then click your Update button. Scroll past the record then go
back. The change should still be there. Now close down your programme and run it
again. You should find that the changes are permanent.

In the next lesson, you'll see how to add a new record

Add a New Record

We have three buttons that refer to new records: New Record, Save New Record, and Cancel
New Record. The New Record button will only clear the Text Fields, and ready them for new
data to be entered. We can also disable some other buttons, including the New Record button.
Another thing we can do is to make a note of which record is currently loaded. If a user changes
his or her mind, we can enable all the buttons again by clicking the Cancel button. Clicking the
Save New Record button will do the real work of saving the data to the database.
If that's all a little confusing, try the following. Click on your Save New Record button to select
it. In the Properties area on the right, locate the Enabled property:

Uncheck the box to the right of enabled. The Save New Record will be disabled. Do the same for
the Cancel New Record button. The Cancel New Record will be disabled. When your form
loads, it will look like this:
Even if you had code for these two buttons, nothing would happen if you clicked on either of
them.

When the New Record button is clicked, we can disable the following buttons:

First
Previous
Next
Last
Update Record
Delete Record
New Record

The Save and Cancel buttons, however, can be enabled. If the user clicks Cancel, we can switch
the buttons back on again.

Double click your New Record button to create a code stub. Add the following lines of code:

btnFirst.setEnabled( false );
btnPrevious.setEnabled( false ) ;
btnNext.setEnabled( false );
btnLast.setEnabled( false );
btnUpdateRecord.setEnabled( false );
btnDelete.setEnabled( false );
btnNewRecord.setEnabled( false );

btnSaveRecord.setEnabled( true );
btnCancelNewRecord.setEnabled( true );

So seven of the buttons get turned off using the setEnabled property. Two of the buttons get
turned on.

We can do the reverse for the Cancel button. Switch back to Design view. Double click your
Cancel New Record button to create a code stub. Add the following:

btnFirst.setEnabled( true );
btnPrevious.setEnabled( true ) ;
btnNext.setEnabled( true );
btnLast.setEnabled( true );
btnUpdateRecord.setEnabled( true );
btnDelete.setEnabled( true );
btnNewRecord.setEnabled( true );

btnSaveRecord.setEnabled( false );
btnCancelNewRecord.setEnabled( false );
Now run your programme and test it out. Click the New Record button and the form will look
like this:

Click the Cancel New Record button and the form will look like this:
Another thing we need to do is to record which row is currently loaded. In other words, which
row number is currently loaded in the Text Fields. We need to do this because the Text Fields are
going to be cleared. If the Cancel button is clicked, then we can reload the data that was erased.

Add the following Integer variable to the top of your code, just below your Connection,
Statement, and ResultSet lines:

int curRow = 0;

The top of your code should look like this:

Now go back to your New Record code.

To get which row the Cursor is currently pointing to there is a method called getRow. This
allows you to store the row number that the Cursor is currently on:

curRow = rs.getRow( );

We'll use this row number in the Cancel New Record code.

The only other thing we need to do for the New Record button is to clear the Text Fields. This is
quite simple:

textFirstName.setText("");
textLastName.setText("");
textJobTitle.setText("");
textID.setText("");

So we're just setting the Text property to a blank string.

Because we've used a method of the ResultSet, we need to wrap everything up in a try …
catchblock. Here's what the code should look like for your New Record button:
For the Cancel button, we need to get the row that was previously loaded and put the data back in
the Text Fields.

To move the Cursor back to the row it was previously pointing to, we can use the absolute
method:

rs.absolute( curRow );

The absolute method moves the Cursor to a fixed position in the ResultSet. We want to move it
the value that we stored in the variable curRow.

Now that Cursor is pointing at the correct row, we can load the data into the Text Fields:

textFirstName.setText( rs.getString("First_Name") );
textLastName.setText( rs.getString("Last_Name") );
textJobTitle.setText( rs.getString("Job_Title") );
textID.setText( Integer.toString( rs.getInt("ID" )) );

Wrapping it all in a try … catch block gives us the following code:

When you've finished adding the code for the New and Cancel buttons, run your programme and
try it out. Before clicking the New Record button, the form will look like this:

Click the New Record button to see the Text Fields cleared:
Clicking the Cancel button will reload the data:

Now that the New and Cancel buttons have been set up, we can go ahead and save any new data
entered into the Text Fields.
 Save a New Record

Before you can save a new record, you have to move the Cursor to something called
the Insert Row. This creates a blank record in the ResultSet. You then add the data to
the ResultSet:

rs.moveToInsertRow( );

rs.updateInt("ID", newID);
rs.updateString("First_Name", first);
rs.updateString("Last_Name", last);
rs.updateString("Job_Title", job);

rs.insertRow( );

After adding the data to the ResultSet, the final line inserts a new row.

However, to commit any changes to the database what we'll do is to close our
Statement object and our ResultSet object. We can then reload everything. If we don't
do this, there's a danger that the new record won't get added, either to the ResultSet or
the database. (This is due to the type of Driver we've used.)

To close a Statement or a ResultSet, you just issue the close command:

stmt.close( );
rs.close( );

The code to reload everything is the same as the code you wrote when the form first
loads:

stmt = con.createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE,
ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE);

String sql = "SELECT * FROM Workers";

rs = stmt.executeQuery(sql);

rs.next( );
int id_col = rs.getInt("ID");
String id = Integer.toString(id_col);
String first2 = rs.getString("First_Name");
 String last2 = rs.getString("Last_Name");
String job2 = rs.getString("Job_Title");

textID.setText(id);
textFirstName.setText(first2);
textLastName.setText(last2);
textJobTitle.setText(job2);

You're not doing anything different, here: just selecting all the records again and putting
the first one in the Text Fields.

Here's all the code that saves a new record to the database (Obviously, a lot of this
code could have went into a method of its own):
The code is a bit long, but you can copy and paste a lot of it from
your DoConnect method. (We've Photo-shopped the stmt line because it's too big to fit
on this page. Yours should go on one line).

(One other issue is that the ID column needs to be unique. Ideally, you'd write a routine
to get the last ID number, then add one to it. Other databases, like MySql, have an
AutoIncrement value to take care of these things. Just make sure that the ID value isn't
one you have used before, otherwise you'll get an error message. Or write a routine to
get a unique ID!)

Run your programme and test it out. You now be able to save new records to your
database.

In the next lesson, you learn about deleting records

Delete a Record

Deleting a row can be straightforward: Just use deleteRow method of the ResultSet:

rs.deleteRow( );

However, the Driver we are using, the ClientDriver, leaves a blank row in place of the
data that was deleted. If you try to move to that row using your Next or Previous
buttons, the ID Text Field will have a 0 in it, and all the others will be blank.

To solve this problem we'll first delete a row then, again, close the Statement object and
the ResultSet objects. We can then reload all the data in the Text Fields. That way, we
won't have any blank rows.

Here's the code to add for your Delete Record button:

Run your programme and test it out. You now be able to delete records from your
database.

And that's it - you now have the basic knowledge to write a database programme in
Java using a GUI. Congratulations, if you got this far!