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Java Programming. Chapter 10 Graphical User Interfaces. Objectives. In this chapter you will: Explore various types of user interfaces Develop a graphical user interface (GUI) Learn how the GUI classes in Java are organized and related
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Java Programming Chapter 10 Graphical User Interfaces
Objectives In this chapter you will: • Explore various types of user interfaces • Develop a graphical user interface (GUI) • Learn how the GUI classes in Java are organized and related • Add functionality to a GUI with event-driven programming • Improve a GUI’s layout
Creating User Interfaces • So far we have created console user interfaces and simple GUIs • In this chapter we will compare these user interfaces with more developed and functional GUIs • We will learn how to create advanced GUIs
A Console User Interface • The Scanner class is instantiated using System.in, which takes input from the keyboard • A text prompt is printed to the screen asking for information from the user • The Scanner object collects the user input • The input is processed • This type of UI is typical of UIs in the 1970s
A Simple GUI • Similar to the GUIs used so far in the book • A series of windows collects the required information • Program code is shorter and simpler than the console UI • Functionality is more or less the same
A More Complete GUI • The program produces one window which contains all the user information • Simpler for the user • Requires much more programming
Overview of a Java GUI • GUI components: Swing vs. AWT • A GUI class hierarchy • The Component class and layout manager classes • Containers of components • Components within components
GUI Components: Swing vs. AWT • A Java GUI consists of a window that contains components with which the user interacts • Components are objects such as buttons, labels, or text fields • Java classes that create GUI components are part of the javax.swing package • They are called Swing components • Earlier versions of Java used the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) • Classes in the package java.awt
GUI Components: Swing vs. AWT (continued) • The appearance of GUIs created with the AWT depends on the platform • The appearance of Swing components is platform independent • AWT components require the resources of the operating system, so they are heavyweight components • Swing components require only the Java runtime system, so they are lightweight components
A GUI Class Hierarchy • Recall that inheritance in Java means that subclasses have direct access to nonprivate members of superclasses • Objects created from subclasses have full access to nonprivate superclass members • This eliminates redundant code and promotes reuse
The Component Class and Layout Manager Classes • Creating GUIs involves a combination of Swing classes and AWT classes • All Java classes inherit from the Object class • A layout manager controls how components are arranged in a GUI window • An abstract class contains variables and methods but no objects can be created from it • The Component class is abstract • A concrete class is a class from which objects can be created
The Component Class and Layout Manager Classes (continued) • A Container object contains other components • add in the Container class adds components • The class Window creates a window without a border or menu bar • The class Frame creates a window with a border and title bar • The class JFrame is similar to Frame • Supports other lightweight components • getContentPane returns a window that fits within a JFrame and holds other components
The Component Class and Layout Manager Classes • The class JComponent is an abstract base class for all Swing components except JFrame • Contains fields and methods placed in a window • JComponent subdivides into abstract classes JTextComponent and AbstractButton • Lower level concrete classes JTextField, JButton, Jlabel, and JPanel create actual component objects
Developing a Java GUI • Step-by-step development of a GUI using AWT and Swing packages • The JFrame class • The JLabel class • The JTextField class • The JButton class
The JFrame Class • Produces a simple frame with no contents • Inherits the nonprivate members of JFrame publicclassBankAppGuiOneextendsJFrame • Constructor specifies how to create the GUI • Recall program execution starts with main • A JFrame object is created by calling the constructor JFrameaBankAppGuiOne= new BankAppGuiOne();
The JLabel Class • A JLabel object displays a single line of text • The Container object is formatted so that components are in a grid • JLabel objects are created and added to the Container object • Components are displayed in the order they are added • The main method creates the JFrame object, sets the window’s closing method, and makes the GUI visible
The JTextField Class • A JTextField allows a single line of text to be edited • Inherits from JTextComponent • getText obtains the text from the field • setText displays text in the field • The JTextField objects are added to the content pane, each following its label • The components are added to the grid left to right, top to bottom
The JButton Class • A button is a component the user clicks to trigger an event, such as calling a method in a program • Command buttons, check boxes, option buttons • Inherits from AbstractButton, which contains the method setEnabled • Activates and deactivates buttons as desired • The grid is adjusted to have 5 rows instead of 4 • The JButton objects are created and added to the content pane
Apply the Concept • Create a simple calculator using buttons and text fields • Design the appearance of the GUI using a mockup
Apply the Concept (continued) • The main method calls the calculator’s constructor to create the JFrame object • In the constructor, the GUI’s title and size are determined, and a content pane is created • The content pane has a grid layout with 5 rows and 2 columns • Labels, text fields, and buttons are created and added to the content pane • The frame is centered on the user’s screen
Apply the Concept (continued) • The JFrame object is created by calling the CalculatorGuiOne constructor • The constructor creates the GUI and calls centerFrame • The Dimension class is used to capture the dimensions of the user’s screen • The center of the user’s screen is calculated • The method setBounds from the Window class positions the GUI
Adding Functionality to a GUI • The banking GUI in Figure 10.14 has no functionality • The two buttons (Accept and Clear) do nothing when clicked • The desired function is to write the customer information entered by the user to a file
Event-Driven Programming • The process of writing programs in which sections of code are executed by events • An event is a change in state of a GUI component resulting from a user action • For example, a button being clicked or a key stroke • When the event happens, the application creates an event object and initiates functionality • Event-handling mechanisms have three parts • Event source, event object and event handler
Event-Driven Programming (continued) • The event source is the GUI component • The event object is created when an event occurs • The event handler is an object that responds to a particular event • When the event handler detects an event object, it calls the event handler method • The programmer registers the handler with the event object by associating them with program code
How to Implement Event Handling • Event handling is implemented in three steps • Create an inner class to handle a specific event • The class should be private and nonstatic • The class should implement the ActionListener interface • ActionListener has only the method actionPerformed • The functionality of the component is defined within the method actionPerformed
How to Implement Event Handling (continued) • Create the event handler object from the class privateAcceptButtonHandlerabHandler; abHandler=newAcceptButtonHandler(); • Register the event handler object with an event object (in this case the button acceptB) acceptB.addActionListener (abHandler); • The method addActionListener enables abHandler to listen for the user to click acceptB • When acceptB is clicked, the actionPerformed method is called
Apply the Concept • Continue to develop the calculator by adding functionality • Require four inner classes for the arithmetic buttons • Each inner class implements the method actionPerformed, which executes the arithmetic operation and displays the answer • The getText method of JTextField gets the user input and stores it in strings • An if structure prevents division by zero
Improving GUI Layout • More complex applications require more versatile GUIs • The Java AWT provides tools for controlling a GUI’s layout • Java Integrated Development Environment (IDE) such as NetBeans and JFrameBuilder provide graphical tools to design complex GUIs • The next section focuses on building GUIs directly from program code
The JPanel Class • The JPanel class creates panels that hold GUI components JPanel labelPanel = new JPanel(); • The panels can have a layout assigned such as a grid or a flow • Layouts organize how components are displayed within the panel
The FlowLayout Class • The FlowLayout class arranges components within a container’s directional flow • Left to right is the default • Can also flow right to left • Components are arranged in a continuous flow in the order they were added within the container’s fixed width • Example: A FlowLayout object, right-aligned FlowLayout fR = new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.RIGHT);
The BorderLayout Class • Arranges components into regions of the content pane: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, CENTER • Each region expands to hold its contents, constrained by container’s size and frame size • The NORTH and SOUTH components stretch horizontally • The EAST and WEST components stretch vertically • The CENTER component stretches both ways
The BorderLayout Class (continued) • BankAppGuiFive.java is improved with BorderLayout for the GUI • SwingConstants is an interface that contains only constants such as RIGHT and TOP • Create GridLayout for the data and FlowLayout for the buttons • Add the panels to NORTH and SOUTH regions in BorderLayout
Case Study: MusicWorld • Read CD data from a file and write sales transaction data to file • Improve by using an all-in-one GUI • GUI should allow the user to enter information about the number of CDs, the CD ID, and quantity • Display the item with information such as subtotal and total • Allow the user to manipulate the order display
Program Code for MusicWorldApp10.java • Complete code rewrite, with some reuse, and an increase in length of 60% • The class declaration extends JFrame • Variables and methods are declared in the class MusicWorldApp10 to make them accessible to inner classes • The constructor creates the GUI • The methods setEnabled and setEditable activate and deactivate components
Program Code for MusicWorldApp10.java • Most processing is done by the inner classes • The inner classes use mostly code from MusicWorldApp9.java • When the Confirm button is clicked, the arrays are loaded with item information • When the View button is clicked, a for loop displays item information arrays • When the Finish button is clicked, the actionPerformed method generates output