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How to stop a java swing timer

This application has 2 threads the one shown here calls a method that pauses an auto clicker method every 4 seconds(just for ease) to do some mouse movement. I want it to stop the timer when you click the gui stop button.
Right now when you hit stop and then start again it then has two timers that will execute the code; and so on.
Action Listener Stuff.
class MyButtonListener implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource().equals(view.getBtnStart()))
{
autoClick.unTerminate();
bool = true;
getInfo();
}
if (e.getSource().equals(view.getBtnExit()))
{
System.exit(0);
}
if (e.getSource().equals(view.getBtnStop()))
{
bool = false;
autoClick.terminate();
}
}//end of actionPerformed
}//end of inner class
Thread
Thread t2 = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
Timer timer = new Timer(4000, new ActionListener() {//301000 5minutes and 1second
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
autoClick.timeOverload();
}
});
//if (!bool){timer.stop();}
timer.setRepeats(true); //false only repeates once
timer.start();
}
});//end of t2
It calls the timeOverload method repeatedly.
Thanks for your time and helping a newbie out :).

Here is a quick sample of how to declare a instance outside of your thread and be able to control it outside of it.
public static void main(String[] args){
final Timer timer = new Timer(500, new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("tick");
}
});
timer.setRepeats(true);
Thread t = new Thread(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
timer.start();
}
});
t.start();
try {
Thread.sleep(2600);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
timer.stop();
}
Basicly, you need to set the instance final to be used in a anonymous class (the ActionListener implementation).
Here, I just start the thread then pause the process for a few seconds and stop the timer.
Note that here, the Thread don't do anything else so it ends directly. You will need to tweek this a bit to match your needs but you have a working example.
EDIT : (DevilsHnd, if you post your answer, notify me, I will remove this part)
Using a flag (here in a Class)
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args){
new Main();
}
boolean running = true;
public Main(){
final Timer timer = new Timer(500, new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(!running){
((Timer)e.getSource()).stop();
} else {
System.out.println("tick");
}
}
});
timer.setRepeats(true);
timer.start();
try {
Thread.sleep(2600);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
stop();
}
public void stop(){
running = false;
}
}
Calling the Main.stop() will set the flag to false, on each action performed, you check this flag, if it is false, you get the timer from the event (in the source) and stop it.

make jbutton to turn on and off

My goal is creating a function that waits half second, set the jbutton's background to red for one second, and after this second the jbutton will return to normal. Cant make this work..
This is my Function
private void paint(final int num){
Timer timer = new Timer(500, new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (num == 1){
btn.setBackground(Color.black);
}
}
});
timer.start();
}

Start a 500ms timer that will do two things when it goes off:
- change the color to red
- start a 1s timer that will change the color to normal, when it goes off

Well, this would do it (note, you would probably want to put the code from the first sleep onwards into a timer or it's own thread in a real application to avoid blocking the thread running the code):
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
final JFrame jf = new JFrame();
final JButton jButton = new JButton("Hello");
final Color originalBackground = jButton.getBackground();
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
jf.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
jf.getContentPane().add(jButton);
jf.pack();
jf.setVisible(true);
}
});
Thread.sleep(500);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
jButton.setBackground(Color.RED);
}
});
Thread.sleep(1000);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
jButton.setBackground(originalBackground);
}
});

How to have two timers for Java game applet

I require two timers. One to run the game e.g move objects, and perform checks and another as a countdown timer. I have tried the following:
Timer countdownTimer = new Timer(1000,this);
Timer gameTimer = new Timer(30,this);
public void init()
{
this.actionPerformed(this); //add action listener to content pane
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
if(e.getSource() == gameTimer)
{
// control the game
}
if(e.getSource() == countdownTimer)
{
//decremenet the timer
}
}
However this returns a Null pointer exception when I try to run the applet. How do I properly distinguish each timer from the other and perform the desired actions at each timer tick. Thanks

I'm assuming you're using the javax.swing.Timer class?
this.actionPerformed(this); does not seem right, as your applet is not an ActionEvent.
Besides, you should start the timers in the init() method:
public class GameApplet extends Appel implements ActionListener
public void init()
{
countdownTimer = new Timer(1000,this);
gameTimer = new Timer(30,this);
countdownTimer.start();
gameTimer.start();
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() == gameTimer) {
// control the game
}
if(e.getSource() == countdownTimer) {
//decremenet the timer
}
}
}
Check the Timer javadoc that also redirects to the Java tutorial about Timers.

Use ScheduledExecutorService. It is more efficient than timer. To see its effect run following code.
class GameControl {
private final ScheduledExecutorService scheduler =
Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
public void beepForGame() {
final Runnable beeper = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("Game");
}
};
final ScheduledFuture<?> beeperHandle =
scheduler.scheduleAtFixedRate(beeper, 30, 30, SECONDS);
scheduler.schedule(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
beeperHandle.cancel(true);
}
}, 60 * 60, SECONDS);
}
public void beepCountDown() {
final Runnable beeper = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("count down");
}
};
final ScheduledFuture<?> beeperHandle =
scheduler.scheduleAtFixedRate(beeper, 1, 1, SECONDS);
scheduler.schedule(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
beeperHandle.cancel(true);
}
}, 60 * 60, SECONDS);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
GameControl bc=new GameControl();
bc.beepCountDown();
bc.beepForGame();
}
}

Make method that returns when JButton is pressed

I need to make a method that returns only when a JButton is pressed. I have a custom JButton class
public class MyButton extends JButton {
public void waitForPress() {
//returns only when user presses this button
}
}
and I want to implement waitForPress. Basically, the method should only return when the user presses the button with their mouse. I have achieved similar behavior for JTextField (to return only when user presses Space):
public void waitForTriggerKey() {
final CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
KeyEventDispatcher dispatcher = new KeyEventDispatcher() {
public boolean dispatchKeyEvent(KeyEvent e) {
if (e.getID() == KeyEvent.KEY_PRESSED && e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_SPACE) {
System.out.println("presed!");
latch.countDown();
}
return false;
}
};
KeyboardFocusManager.getCurrentKeyboardFocusManager().addKeyEventDispatcher(dispatcher);
try {
//current thread waits here until countDown() is called (see a few lines above)
latch.await();
} catch (InterruptedException e1) {
e1.printStackTrace();
}
KeyboardFocusManager.getCurrentKeyboardFocusManager().removeKeyEventDispatcher(dispatcher);
}
but I would like to do the same thing with JButton.
In advance: Please, if you wish to comment saying that this is not a good idea and that one should simply wait for actionPerformed event on a JButton and then do some action, please realize I already know that and have a good reason for doing what I'm asking here. Please try to only help with what I've asked. Thanks!!
In advance: Please, also realize that implementing actionPerformed also will not directly solve the problem. Because the code will progress even without the button being pressed. I need the program to stop, and only return when the button has been pressed. Here is a terrible solution if I were to use actionPerformed:
public class MyButton extends JButton implements ActionPerformed {
private boolean keepGoing = true;
public MyButton(String s) {
super(s);
addActionListener(this);
}
public void waitForPress() {
while(keepGoing);
return;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
keepGoing = false;
}
}

For what it's worth, here is how you can do it with wait() and notify() but yet I feel that there is a deeper problem here. I would not consider this as a satisfying solution:
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
import java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class TestBlockingButton {
boolean clicked = false;
private Object toNotify;
private void initUI() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame(TestBlockingButton.class.getSimpleName());
JButton button = new JButton("Click me");
button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
clicked = true;
if (toNotify != null) {
synchronized (TestBlockingButton.this) {
toNotify.notify();
}
}
}
});
frame.add(button);
frame.setSize(400, 400);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public void waitForProcess() {
toNotify = this;
while (!clicked) {
synchronized (this) {
try {
wait();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
System.out.println("continuing work");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
final TestBlockingButton test = new TestBlockingButton();
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
test.initUI();
}
});
ScheduledExecutorService pool = Executors.newScheduledThreadPool(1);
pool.execute(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
System.out.println("I was doing something and now I will wait for button click");
test.waitForProcess();
System.out.println("User has now cliked the button and I can continue my work");
}
});
}
}

As you asked for an implementation with a mutex, here's what it would be like.
I'm using an ActionListener though, but there's no busy wait in it. If that isn't what you desire, you atleast saw what Burkhard meant ;)
public class MyButton extends JButton implements ActionListener
{
private Semaphore sem = new Semaphore(1);
public MyButton(String text) throws InterruptedException
{
super(text);
addActionListener(this);
sem.acquire();
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
sem.release();
}
public void waitForPress() throws InterruptedException {
sem.acquire();
//do your stuff
sem.acquire();
//or just
//waitForPress()
//if you dont want it to end.
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
MyButton m = new MyButton("test");
frame.add(m);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
m.waitForPress();
//another time, if you only want it to block twice
m.waitForPress();
}
}
But I don't think this is a clean approach, but it doesn't consume CPU-time like a while(isStatementTrue)-implementation.
An important thing here is: you're blocking the main thread with m.waitForPress() but as you wrote you're quite experienced and you know how to handle that.

Pausing a timerTask

I have hit another wall. After getting my key input working, I have been racking my brains for hours, i want to create a pause function, so that if the same key is pressed again the timertask stops running (i.e the game is paused)
JPanel component = (JPanel)frame.getContentPane();
component.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("SPACE"), "space");
component.getActionMap().put("space", (new AbstractAction(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
Timer timer = new Timer();
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask(){
public void run(){
grid.stepGame();
}
},250, 250);
}}));
}
The problem is i cant use a global boolean isRunning var and switch it each time the key is pressed because the timerTask method in a nested class (so the boolean isRunning would have to be declared final to be accessed...). Any ideas on how to detect if the key is pressed again or if the game is already running so i can pause/cancel my timerTask.
Many Thanks Sam

Since this is a Swing game, you should be using a javax.swing.Timer or Swing Timer and not a java.util.Timer. By using a Swing Timer, you guarantee that the code being called intermittently is called on the EDT, a key issue for Swing apps, and it also has a stop method that pauses the Timer. You can also give your anonymous AbstractAction class a private boolean field to check if the key is being pressed for the first time or not.
Also, kudos and 1+ for using Key Bindings instead of a KeyListener.
e.g.,
JPanel component = (JPanel) frame.getContentPane();
component.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("SPACE"), "space");
component.getActionMap().put("space", (new AbstractAction() {
private boolean firstPress = true;
private int timerDelay = 250;
private javax.swing.Timer keyTimer = new javax.swing.Timer(timerDelay , new ActionListener() {
// Swing Timer's actionPerformed
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
grid.stepGame();
}
});
// key binding AbstractAction's actionPerformed
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (firstPress) {
keyTimer.start();
} else {
keyTimer.stop();
}
firstPress = !firstPress;
}
}));
Another useful option is to perform a repeating task on key press and stop it on key release, and this can be done easily by getting the keystrokes for on press and on release:
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, true) // for key release
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, false) // for key press
For example:
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SwingTimerEg2 {
private JFrame frame;
private Grid2 grid = new Grid2(this);
private JTextArea textarea = new JTextArea(20, 20);
private int stepCount = 0;
public SwingTimerEg2() {
frame = new JFrame();
textarea.setEditable(false);
frame.add(new JScrollPane(textarea, JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS,
JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER));
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
setUpKeyBinding();
}
void setUpKeyBinding() {
final int timerDelay = 250;
final Timer keyTimer = new Timer(timerDelay, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
grid.stepGame();
}
});
JPanel component = (JPanel) frame.getContentPane();
final int condition = JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW;
final String spaceDown = "space down";
final String spaceUp = "space up";
component.getInputMap(condition).put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, false), spaceDown);
component.getActionMap().put(spaceDown, (new AbstractAction() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
keyTimer.start();
}
}));
component.getInputMap(condition).put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, true), spaceUp);
component.getActionMap().put(spaceUp, (new AbstractAction() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
keyTimer.stop();
}
}));
}
public void doSomething() {
textarea.append(String.format("Zap %d!!!%n", stepCount));
stepCount ++;
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
new SwingTimerEg2();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}
class Grid2 {
private SwingTimerEg2 stEg;
public Grid2(SwingTimerEg2 stEg) {
this.stEg = stEg;
}
void stepGame() {
stEg.doSomething();
}
}

Easiest and dirty solution:
final boolean[] isRunning = new boolean[1];
You don't want to do that—but it works assuming proper synchronization around.
What would be better is
final AtomicBoolean isRunning = new AtomicBoolean();
What would be even better is to review the design once again: global state usually means, "global problems"

The final qualifier requirement can easily be avoided -- replace your inner method (which has the final requirement) with a call to a class method.

No you got the wrong idea about WHY you need final for anonymous classes! Final is only needed for local variables (well more exactly any variable that might have a live time shorter than the given object).
Hence a static variable in a class is perfectly fine and will work perfectly!
Edit: example:
public class Main {
interface Test {
void call();
}
public static volatile boolean running = true;
public static void main(String[] args) {
Test t = new Test() {
#Override
public void call() {
System.out.println(Main.running);
}
};
t.call();
running = false;
t.call();
}
}

Keep a reference to the Timer somewhere, say in your game class.
When the game is paused cancel the Timer.
This will cancel any currently scheduled tasks.
Then when the game is unpaused schedule the timer again as you have done above.
public class Game {
private Timer timer;
public void pause() {
if (timer != null) {
timer.pause();
}
}
public void startOrResumeGame() {
if (timer == null) {
timer = new Timer();
} else {
// Just in case the game was already running.
timer.cancel();
}
timer.scheduleAtFixedRate(new TimerTask() {
public void run() {
grid.stepGame();
}
}, 250, 250);
}
}