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Notify PropertyChangeListener faster

So I'm creating a JProgressBar that displays the progress of a CSV manipulation, where every line is read and checked if there are no null values in obligatory (NOT NULL) columns. For that, I've created a SwingWorker Task that handles converting the number of lines in the file to 100% on the maximum progress value, and adding up on the progress on the correct rate.
That's the SwingWorker:
public static class Task extends SwingWorker<String, Object> {
private int counter;
private double rate;
public Task(int max) {
// Adds the PropertyChangeListener to the ProgressBar
addPropertyChangeListener(
ViewHandler.getExportDialog().getProgressBar());
rate = (float)100/max;
setProgress(0);
counter = 0;
}
/** Increments the progress in 1 times the rate based on maximum */
public void step() {
counter++;
setProgress((int)Math.round(counter*rate));
}
#Override
public String doInBackground() throws IOException {
return null;
}
#Override
public void done() {
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().beep();
System.out.println("Progress done.");
}
}
My PropertyChangeListener, which is implemented by the JProgressBar wrapper:
#Override
public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
if ("progress".equals(evt.getPropertyName())) {
progressBar.setIndeterminate(false);
progressBar.setValue((Integer) evt.getNewValue());
}
}
Then, where I actually use it, I override the doInBackground() method with the processing I need, calling step() on every iteration.
Task read = new Task(lines) {
#Override
public String doInBackground() throws IOException {
while(content.hasNextValue()) {
step();
// Processing
}
return output.toString();
}
};
read.execute();
return read.get();
So what is happening: the processing works and succeeds, then done() is called, and just after that the propertyChange() registers two 'state' events and one 'progress' event, setting the ProgressBar's progress from 0% to 100%.
What is happening What I thought was happening (check Hovercraft's answer for clarification) is described in the JavaDocs:
Because PropertyChangeListeners are notified asynchronously on the Event Dispatch Thread multiple invocations to the setProgress method might occur before any PropertyChangeListeners are invoked. For performance purposes all these invocations are coalesced into one invocation with the last invocation argument only.
So, after all that, my question is: am I doing something wrong? If not, is there a way for me to make the Event Dispatch Thread notify the PropertyChangeListeners as the onProgress() happens, or at least from time to time?
Obs.: the processing I'm testing takes from 3~5s.

Your problem is here:
read.execute();
return read.get();
get() is a blocking call, and so calling it from the event thread immediately after executing your worker will block the event thread and your GUI.
Instead, it should be called from a call-back method such as the done() method or from the property change listener after the worker has changed its state property to SwingWorker.StateValue.DONE.
For example
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeEvent;
import java.beans.PropertyChangeListener;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class TestSwingWorkerGui extends JPanel {
private JProgressBar progressBar = new JProgressBar(0, 100);
private Action myAction = new MyAction("Do It!");
public TestSwingWorkerGui() {
progressBar.setStringPainted(true);
add(progressBar);
add(new JButton(myAction));
}
private class MyAction extends AbstractAction {
public MyAction(String name) {
super(name);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
myAction.setEnabled(false);
Task read = new Task(30) {
#Override
public String doInBackground() throws Exception {
int counter = getCounter();
int max = getMax();
while (counter < max) {
counter = getCounter();
step();
TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS.sleep(200);
}
return "Worker is Done";
}
};
read.addPropertyChangeListener(new MyPropListener());
read.execute();
}
}
private class MyPropListener implements PropertyChangeListener {
#Override
public void propertyChange(PropertyChangeEvent evt) {
String name = evt.getPropertyName();
if ("progress".equals(name)) {
progressBar.setIndeterminate(false);
progressBar.setValue((Integer) evt.getNewValue());
} else if ("state".equals(name)) {
if (evt.getNewValue() == SwingWorker.StateValue.DONE) {
myAction.setEnabled(true);
#SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
SwingWorker<String, Void> worker = (SwingWorker<String, Void>) evt.getSource();
try {
String text = worker.get();
System.out.println("worker returns: " + text);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (ExecutionException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
}
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
TestSwingWorkerGui mainPanel = new TestSwingWorkerGui();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("GUI");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowGui());
}
}
class Task extends SwingWorker<String, Void> {
private int counter;
// private double rate;
private int max;
public Task(int max) {
// Adds the PropertyChangeListener to the ProgressBar
// addPropertyChangeListener(gui);
// !!rate = (float)100/max;
this.max = max;
setProgress(0);
counter = 0;
}
/** Increments the progress in 1 times the rate based on maximum */
public void step() {
counter++;
int progress = (100 * counter) / max;
progress = Math.min(100, progress);
setProgress(progress);
// setProgress((int)Math.round(counter*rate));
}
public int getCounter() {
return counter;
}
public int getMax() {
return max;
}
#Override
public String doInBackground() throws Exception {
return null;
}
#Override
public void done() {
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().beep();
System.out.println("Progress done.");
}
}

Using a thread loop to update a JFrame

ive done some extensive searching on using threads in a loop and whilst I understand the concept how how seperate threads work, I still cant seem to grasp how to implement it in my simple application.
My application consists of a form with a text box. This textbox needs to be updated once ever iteration of a loop. It starts with the press of a button but the loop should also finish with the press of a stop button. Ive used a boolean value to track if its been pressed.
Here is my form code:
package threadtester;
public class MainForm extends javax.swing.JFrame {
public MainForm() {
initComponents();
}
private void RunButtonActionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {
ThreadTester.setRunnable(true);
ThreadTester example = new ThreadTester(2,this);
example.run();
}
private void StopButtonActionPerformed(java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt) {
ThreadTester.setRunnable(false);
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new MainForm().setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public void setTextBox(String myString){
MainTextbox.setText(myString);
}
}
As you can see I have a button that is pressed. When the button is pressed this executes the code thats in a different class called ThreadTester. Here is the code for that class:
package threadtester;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
public class ThreadTester implements Runnable
{
int thisThread;
MainForm myMainForm;
private static boolean runnable;
// constructor
public ThreadTester (int number,MainForm mainForm)
{
thisThread = number;
myMainForm = mainForm;
}
public void run ()
{
for (int i =0;i< 20; i++) {
if(runnable==false){
break;
}
System.out.println("I'm in thread " + thisThread + " line " + i);
myMainForm.setTextBox(i + "counter");
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(ThreadTester.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
} }
public static void setRunnable(Boolean myValue){
runnable = myValue;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MainForm.main(args);
}
}
as you can see the loop has been created on a seperate thread... but the textbox only updates after the loop has finished. Now as far as im aware in my MainForm I created a seperate thread to run the loop on, so I dont understand why its not running? Any guidence would be much appreciated, ive tried looking at examples on stack exchange but I cant seem to get them to fit into my implemntation.
With the recommendation suggested by Tassos my run method now looks like this:
public void run ()
{
for (int i =0;i< 20; i++) {
if(runnable==false){
break;
}
System.out.println("I'm in thread " + thisThread + " line " + i);
final String var = i + "counter";
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
myMainForm.setTextBox(var);
}
});
try {
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(ThreadTester.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
} }

In order for Tassos' answer to work, you actually have to create an new thread, which you did not do. Simply calling
ThreadTester example = new ThreadTester(2,this);
example.run();
is not enough, sice that just calls the run method from EDT. You need to do the following:
Thread t = new Thread(new ThreadTester(2,this));
t.start();
Please refer to Defining and Starting a Thread.
Also, you want modify the same field from two different threads (runnable), which is a bug. You should read more about java concurrency.

Change this line
myMainForm.setTextBox(i + "counter");
into
final String var = i + "counter";
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
myMainForm.setTextBox(var);
}
});
}
Why? Because you can't do UI work in non-UI threads.

The problem is that you are blocking the EDT (Event Dispatching Thread), preventing the UI to refresh until your loop is finished.
The solutions to these issues is always the same, use a Swing Timer or use a SwingWorker.
Here is an example of the usage of a SwingWorker:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.SwingWorker;
public class TestSwingWorker {
private JTextField progressTextField;
protected void initUI() {
final JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setTitle(TestSwingWorker.class.getSimpleName());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JButton button = new JButton("Clik me to start work");
button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
doWork();
}
});
progressTextField = new JTextField(25);
progressTextField.setEditable(false);
frame.add(progressTextField, BorderLayout.NORTH);
frame.add(button, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
protected void doWork() {
SwingWorker<Void, Integer> worker = new SwingWorker<Void, Integer>() {
#Override
protected Void doInBackground() throws Exception {
// Here not in the EDT
for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
// Simulates work
Thread.sleep(10);
publish(i); // published values are passed to the #process(List) method
}
return null;
}
#Override
protected void process(List<Integer> chunks) {
// chunks are values retrieved from #publish()
// Here we are on the EDT and can safely update the UI
progressTextField.setText(chunks.get(chunks.size() - 1).toString());
}
#Override
protected void done() {
// Invoked when the SwingWorker has finished
// We are on the EDT, we can safely update the UI
progressTextField.setText("Done");
}
};
worker.execute();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new TestSwingWorker().initUI();
}
});
}
}

JTextField Doesn't Update With Thread.sleep()

I'm trying to figure out why the text field isn't updating. I'm aware that using SwingWorker will probably fix this problem, but I can't understand why it doesn't work in the first place.
public class waitExample {
private JFrame frame;
private JTextField txtLeadingText;
private String one = "update string 1";
private String two = "update string 2";
private String three = "update string 3";
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
waitExample window = new waitExample();
window.frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
public waitExample() {
initialize();
}
private void initialize() {
frame = new JFrame();
frame.setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
txtLeadingText = new JTextField();
txtLeadingText.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
txtLeadingText.setText("leading text");
frame.getContentPane().add(txtLeadingText, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
txtLeadingText.setColumns(10);
JButton btnClickMeTo = new JButton("CLICK ME TO UPDATE TEXT");
btnClickMeTo.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent arg0) {
try {
updateOne();
Thread.sleep(1000);
updateTwo();
Thread.sleep(1000);
updateThree();
Thread.sleep(1000);
updateLast();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
frame.getContentPane().add(btnClickMeTo, BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
private void updateOne() {
txtLeadingText.setText(one);
}
private void updateTwo() {
txtLeadingText.setText(two);
}
private void updateThree() {
txtLeadingText.setText(three);
}
private void updateLast() {
txtLeadingText.setText("default text");
}
}
From what I understand, the default Thread will prevent any GUI updates. That shouldn't matter because I am setting the textField BEFORE the Thread.sleep.
Why doesn't the text field update? Shouldn't the text be set, then the Thread wait?
EDIT: As per the answers, the above code has been updated.

You are invoking Thread.sleep(1000); on EDT. This means that when your method will end - only then the repaint() will fire (at some point in time later).
Until then your GUI is freezed.
Consider that this is going on one thread (so processing is straightforward):
txtLeadingText.setText(one);
Thread.sleep(1000);
txtLeadingText.setText(two);
Thread.sleep(1000);
txtLeadingText.setText(three);
Thread.sleep(1000);
...
<returning from updateText()>
<processing other events on button click>
...
// some time later
<Swing finds out that GUI needs repaint: calls rapaint()>
This is what you should do (I didn't compile or test it):
public class MyRunnable implements Runnable {
private List<String> strsToSet;
public MyRunnable(List<String> strsToSet) {
this.strsToSet = strsToSet;
}
#Override
public void run() {
try {
if(strsToSet.size() > 0) {
final String str = strsToSet.get(0);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
txtLeadingText.setText(str);
}
});
Thread.sleep(1000);
List<String> newList = new LinkedList<String>(strsToSet);
newList.remove(0);
new Thread(new MyRunnable(newList)).start();
}
}
catch(InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
new Thread(new MyRunnable(Arrays.asList(one, two, three))).start();
It is hard to do in Swing but in contrast in dynamically languages (like Groovy) it would go as simple as that (you'll get a better grasp of what is going on):
edt {
textField.setText(one)
doOutside {
Thread.sleep(1000);
edt {
textField.setText(two)
doOutside {
Thread.sleep(1000);
edt {
textField.setText(three)
}
}
}
}
}

The GUI event loop updates the screen, but it can't update the screen until you return.
I suggest you avoid doing any blocking operations in the GUI event thread.

Cannot update Swing component under a heavy process

I am running a very heavy process under an anonymous SwingWorker thread. In the meantime, I'm reporting progress to the GUI using a progress bar. However, Swing threading is doing me in. It's simply not updating anything in time. I'm not sure how to do it, as I've tried updating the GUI from the SwingWorker thread, and outside, and both refuse to work.
How can I reliably update the Swing UI while a heavy worker thread is running?
Things I've tried
This does not work (with or without wrapping in the invokeLater command).
new LocalCompressor(compressor).execute();
while (!compressionDone) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
int percent = compressor.getPercentDone();
progressBar.setValue(percent);
statusLabel.setText(percent);
}
});
}
Additionally, attempting to update the UI from a concurrent measuring thread does not work:
class LocalCompressor extends SwingWorker<Void, Void> {
// [...]
public LocalCompressor(Compressor compressor) {
this.compressor = compressor;
// [...]
}
#Override
protected Void doInBackground() {
final Thread t1 = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run(){
compressor.compress();
}
});
final Thread t2 = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
t1.start();
while (t1.isAlive()) {
updateUI(compressor.getPercentDone());
}
}
});
t2.start();
return null;
}
// [...]
}

You're not really using your SwingWorker. The worker already is a Thread for itself. If you have the possibility to put your long running code into the doInBackground(), put it there. Then just call publish(Integer) with your actual progress and process the chunks you get in the process(List<Integer>)-method. In process() you can update the gui, it's on the EDT.
EDIT:
Actually, what you're doing right now is polling in several-while loops, this is kinda power-consuming. That's why I think its better to you events in your algorithm, everytime you got a percent or everytime the loop starts a new round or something like that.

Did you try the very simple and basic way of using a SwingWorker? Like #Zhedar previously said, a SwingWorker already is a Thread for itself. So remove both your inner threads (t1, t2) and just use your time-consuming compress() method in doInBackground().
Something very basic like the following:
class LocalCompressor extends SwingWorker<Void, Integer> {
// .....
// Your constructor here
// .....
#Override
protected Void doInBackground() throws Exception {
compress();
return null;
}
#Override
protected void process(List<Integer> chunks) {
for (Integer chunk : chunks) {
progressBar.setValue(chunk);
statusLabel.setText(chunk);
}
}
}
Now this compress() method should be moved inside the SwingWorker and it must have somewhere a publish(), in your case it might be publish(getPercentDone()) or whatever.
private void compress() {
// .....
publish(getPercentDone());
// .....
}
This is how things are usually done with a SwingWorker.

Expanding on the answers and advice provided here already, here is one way to code it. I'm assuming the compressor itself has no ability to do callbacks but you can ask it for the percent done.
Within the swingworker thread (doInBackground) we start the real compression thread. Then start a polling loop in the background thread, to update the UI a few times a second. To notify the UI thread, call publish. This will cause the overridden method process to be called periodially in the event thread. From here we can safely update the progress bar and status label.
public class LocalCompressor extends SwingWorker<Void, Integer>
{
private Compressor compressor;
public LocalCompressor(Compressor compressor)
{
this.compressor = compressor;
// [...]
}
#Override
protected void done()
{
System.out.println("Compression is done. Going to do something with it...");
}
#Override
protected void process(List<Integer> chunks)
{
for (Integer percent : chunks)
{
progressBar.setValue(percent);
statusLabel.setText(percent);
}
}
#Override
protected Void doInBackground() throws Exception
{
final Thread t1 = new Thread(new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run()
{
compressor.compress();
}
});
t1.start();
while (t1.isAlive())
{
int percentDone = compressor.getPercentDone();
publish(percentDone);
Thread.sleep(200);
}
return null;
}
}

You could employee a producer/consumer pattern...
Here's a really basic concept...
public class ProducerComsumer {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new ProducerComsumer();
}
public ProducerComsumer() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(12, 12, 12, 12));
JProgressBar progressBar = new JProgressBar();
panel.add(progressBar);
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(panel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
Producer producer = new Producer();
producer.start();
Consumer consumer = new Consumer(producer, progressBar);
consumer.start();
}
});
}
public class Producer extends Thread {
private volatile float progress;
private volatile boolean done;
public Producer() {
setPriority(NORM_PRIORITY - 1);
setDaemon(true);
}
public float getProgress() {
return progress;
}
public boolean isDone() {
return done;
}
#Override
public void run() {
done = false;
for (int index = 0; index < Integer.MAX_VALUE; index++) {
progress = (float) index / (float) Integer.MAX_VALUE;
}
done = true;
System.out.println("All done...");
}
}
public class Consumer extends Thread {
private Producer producer;
private JProgressBar progressBar;
public Consumer(Producer producer, JProgressBar progressBar) {
setDaemon(true);
setPriority(NORM_PRIORITY - 1);
this.producer = producer;
this.progressBar = progressBar;
}
public JProgressBar getProgressBar() {
return progressBar;
}
public Producer getProducer() {
return producer;
}
#Override
public void run() {
while (!producer.isDone()) {
updateProgress();
try {
sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(ProducerComsumer.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
updateProgress();
}
protected void updateProgress() {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
int progress = Math.round(getProducer().getProgress() * 100f);
System.out.println("Update progress to " + progress);
getProgressBar().setValue(progress);
}
});
}
}
}
Have a play around with the Thread.setPriority values and see if it makes any difference

I'm assuming (ya know how that goes) that the call to LocalCompressor.execute() is blocking. If that's the case, your while loop won't run until it's all done, and then you're defeating the purpose of getting a steady stream of updates on your UI.
Give this, or something similar, a shot:
LocalCompressor comp = new LocalCompressor(compressor);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
while (!compressionDone) {
int percent = compressor.getPercentDone();
progressBar.setValue(percent);
statusLabel.setText(percent);
}
}
});
comp.execute();
}

how to show busy/working/loading dialog with dynamic message

i want to show modal dialog, which will block my main window and i want to control it from outside by methods showLoadingDialog(), hideLoadingDialog() and setLoadingMessage(String message) - i tried this code, but its not working - Loading dialog is visible, but without message
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JDialog;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
public class LoadingExample {
private static class LoadingDialog extends JDialog {
private JLabel label = new JLabel("working");
public LoadingDialog(JFrame owner) {
super(owner, ModalityType.APPLICATION_MODAL);
setUndecorated(true);
add(label);
pack();
// move window to center of owner
int x = owner.getX()
+ (owner.getWidth() - getPreferredSize().width) / 2;
int y = owner.getY()
+ (owner.getHeight() - getPreferredSize().height) / 2;
setLocation(x, y);
repaint();
}
public void setMessage(String message) {
label.setText(message);
}
}
private static LoadingDialog loadingDialog;
public static void main(String[] args) {
final JFrame mainWindow = new JFrame("Main frame");
mainWindow.setLayout(new GridLayout(3, 3));
for (int i = 1; i <= 9; i++) {
final int workTime = i;
JButton workButton = new JButton("work for " + i + " second");
//action listener, which had to show loading dialog and countdown seconds before finish
workButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
showLoadingDialog(mainWindow);
for (int j = 0; j < workTime; j++)
try {
// ... do some work here
setLoadingMessage("remain " + (workTime - j)
+ " second(s)");
loadingDialog.repaint();
Thread.sleep(1000);
} catch (InterruptedException e1) {
e1.printStackTrace();
}
hideLoadingDialog();
}
});
mainWindow.add(workButton);
}
mainWindow.pack();
mainWindow.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
mainWindow.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
mainWindow.setVisible(true);
}
public static void showLoadingDialog(JFrame owner) {
if (loadingDialog != null)
loadingDialog.dispose();
loadingDialog = new LoadingDialog(owner);
new Thread() {
#Override
public void run() {
loadingDialog.setVisible(true);
};
}.start();
}
public static void setLoadingMessage(String message) {
loadingDialog.setMessage(message);
}
public static void hideLoadingDialog() {
if (loadingDialog != null) {
loadingDialog.setVisible(false);
loadingDialog.dispose();
loadingDialog = null;
}
}
}
thanks for any suggestions

You cannot make changes to the GUI from a different thread than the dispatcher thread associated to the control you are trying to change. To do this correctly you can use SwingUtilities.InvokeLater:
new Thread() {
#Override
public void run() {
SwingUtilities.InvokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
loadingDialog.setVisible(true);
}
});
};
}.start();

I wanted to write some sample code, but before firing up my IDE I did a small search in the excellent Swing concurrency tutorial and behold, it contains exactly the sample code you are looking for. What you have is a 'task that has interim results'. So when you have intermediate results, you call the SwingWorker#publish method. In the SwingWorker#process method, you update the modal dialog with the new message you just published. The SwingWorker#done method allows you to remove the modal dialog afterwards.
But I suggest you read that whole concurrency tutorial from start to finish as your sample code shows you lack some basic Swing threading knowledge.