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How do I wait for the input from the GUI back to main?

I want to be able to pass user input from my GUI to one of my classes. However, the input is not passed over and immediately checks the if statement.
How do I get program to wait for the input and only checks after the button is clicked?
Main class
public class MainTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String weaponCategory;
//Create Java GUI
GUITest window = new GUITest();
if(window.getCategory() != "")
{
System.out.println("test");
}
}
}
GUITest class
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class GUITest implements ActionListener{
private JFrame frmInventorysystem;
private JPanel frameBottom;
private JComboBox equipList;
private String category = "";
private JButton confirmBtn, cancelBtn;
/**
* Create the application.
*/
public GUITest()
{
frmInventorysystem = new JFrame();
frmInventorysystem.setTitle("InventorySystem");
frmInventorysystem.setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
frmInventorysystem.getContentPane().setLayout(new BorderLayout(0, 0));
frmInventorysystem.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
/*JFrame inside another JFrame is not recommended. JPanels are used instead.
* Creating a flow layout for the bottom frame
*/
frameBottom = new JPanel();
frameBottom.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
//creates comboBox to find out which of the three items player is looking to insert
String[] weaponCategories = {"Weapon", "Armor", "Mod"};
equipList = new JComboBox(weaponCategories);
frmInventorysystem.getContentPane().add(equipList, BorderLayout.NORTH);
//Converting BorderLayout.south into a flow layout
frmInventorysystem.getContentPane().add(frameBottom, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
confirmBtn = new JButton("Confirm");
confirmBtn.addActionListener(this);
frameBottom.add(confirmBtn);
cancelBtn = new JButton("Cancel");
cancelBtn.addActionListener(this);
frameBottom.add(cancelBtn);
frmInventorysystem.setVisible(true);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
//creates new windows to sort equipment when confirmBtn is clicked
if(e.getSource() == confirmBtn)
{
if(equipList.getSelectedItem().equals("Weapon"))
{
//GUIWeaponCategory weapon = new GUIWeaponCategory();
category = equipList.getSelectedItem().toString();
}
}
//Exits when cancelBtn is clicked
if(e.getSource() == cancelBtn)
{
System.exit(0);
}
}
public String getCategory()
{
return category;
}
public void setCategory(String a)
{
category = a;
}
}
GUITest launches as expected.
However, the first println is missing.
How would I go about doing this?
What concepts or pieces of code am I missing?
EDIT1: Added a couple more details to make the program reproducible and complete.
EDIT2: Making the code more readable for easy understanding.

There are some changes to make on your program
Remove extends JFrame as stated in my comments above, see Extends JFrame vs. creating it inside the program
Place your program on the EDT, see point #3 on this answer and the main method for an example on how to do that.
You're confused about how the ActionListeners work, they wait until you perform certain action in your program (i.e. you press Confirm button) and then do something. "Something" in your program means: Print the selected item and check if it's a weapon then, do something else.
So, in this case, you don't need to return back to main to continue with your program, main only serves to initialize your application and nothing else. You need to think in the events and not in a sequential way. That's the tricky and most important part.
You need to change your programming paradigm from console applications and do-while that everything happens in a sequential manner rather than events that are triggered when the user does something with your application.
For example:
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class GUITest implements ActionListener {
private JFrame frmInventorysystem;
private JPanel frameBottom;
private JComboBox equipList;
private JButton confirmBtn, cancelBtn;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new GUITest()); //Java 8+ if using an earlier version check the point #2 in this answer and modify the code accordingly.
}
/**
* Create the application.
*/
public GUITest() {
frmInventorysystem = new JFrame();
frmInventorysystem.setTitle("InventorySystem");
frmInventorysystem.setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
frmInventorysystem.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frmInventorysystem.getContentPane().setLayout(new BorderLayout(0, 0));
/*
* JFrame inside another JFrame is not recommended. JPanels are used instead
* Creating a flow layout for the bottom frame
*/
frameBottom = new JPanel();
frameBottom.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
// creates comboBox to find out which of the three items player is looking to
// insert
String[] weaponCategories = { "Weapon", "Armor", "Mod" };
equipList = new JComboBox(weaponCategories);
frmInventorysystem.getContentPane().add(equipList, BorderLayout.NORTH);
// Converting BorderLayout.south into a flow layout
frmInventorysystem.getContentPane().add(frameBottom, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
confirmBtn = new JButton("Confirm");
confirmBtn.addActionListener(this);
frameBottom.add(confirmBtn);
cancelBtn = new JButton("Cancel");
cancelBtn.addActionListener(this);
frameBottom.add(cancelBtn);
frmInventorysystem.setVisible(true);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// creates new windows to sort equipment when confirmBtn is clicked
if (e.getSource() == confirmBtn) {
String category = equipList.getSelectedItem().toString(); //Get the selected category
doSomething(category); //Pass it as a parameter
}
// Exits when cancelBtn is clicked
if (e.getSource() == cancelBtn) {
frmInventorysystem.dispose();
}
}
// Do something with the category
private void doSomething(String selectedEquipment) {
System.out.println(selectedEquipment);
if (selectedEquipment.equals("Weapon")) {
System.out.println("It's a weapon!"); //You can open dialogs or do whatever you need here, not necessarily a print.
} else {
System.out.println("Not a weapon");
}
}
}
Notice that I removed inheritance, I'm not returning back to main and still printing the selected item and checking if it's a weapon or not.
I also exit the application in a safer way.
This is a sample output:
Weapon
It's a weapon!
Armor
Not a weapon

Using an Action Listener to change a JPanel's contents [duplicate]

This question is about Frames, Java and Processing.
This questions sounds pretty convoluted but its really not. I'll try keep this to a simple minimum. I'm creating a small ball in a maze game to get my head around physics and rendering. It's been a good experience so far but I've hit a bit of a brick wall.
The general layout I decided on was to contain PApplets within a AWT Frame and have the Frame close. The reason for this is because I was told that you should only have on instance of a Papplet at a time.
PApplet is the Applet class in Processing, a rendering library.
I have 3 classes here including the main
public class Menu extends PApplet
{
//images and buttons
PImage background, playbtn1, playbtn2, hsbtn1, hsbtn2, abbtn1, abbtn2, exbtn1, exbtn2;
FBox pBtn, hBtn, eBtn;
FWorld menu;
//simple constructor
public Menu()
{
}
public void setup()
{
size(600, 400);
smooth();
Fisica.init(this);
menu = new FWorld();
//loading and placing images
background = loadImage("MenuAlt.jpg");
System.out.println(background);
playbtn1 = loadImage("play1.gif");
playbtn2 = loadImage("play2.gif");
hsbtn1 = loadImage("high1.gif");
hsbtn2 = loadImage("high2.gif");
exbtn1 = loadImage("exit1.gif");
exbtn2 = loadImage("exit2.gif");
//loading and placing buttons
pBtn = new FBox(120, 150);
pBtn.setPosition(135, 215);
pBtn.setDrawable(false);
hBtn = new FBox(120, 150);
hBtn.setPosition(295, 215);
hBtn.setDrawable(false);
eBtn = new FBox(120, 150);
eBtn.setPosition(455, 215);
eBtn.setDrawable(false);
//add item to world
menu.add(pBtn);
menu.add(hBtn);
menu.add(eBtn);
}
public void draw()
{
image(background, 0, 0);
image(playbtn1, 80, 140);
image(hsbtn1, 237, 135);
image(exbtn1, 400, 140);
mouseOver();
menu.draw();
}
//close this frame an open a new level, high score or exit
//depending on what the use clicks
public void mousePressed()
{
FBody pressed = menu.getBody(mouseX, mouseY);
if (pressed == pBtn)
{
System.out.println("play game");
this.getParent().getParent().getParent().getParent().setVisible(false);
ExampleFrame x = new ExampleFrame(new Level("level1.txt"));
x.setLocation(this.getParent().getParent().getParent().getParent().getLocation());
}
if (pressed == hBtn)
{
System.out.println("high scores");
this.getParent().getParent().getParent().getParent().setVisible(false);
/* these are just for finding the parent
System.out.println(this.getName());
System.out.println(this.getParent().getName());
System.out.println(this.getParent().getParent().getName());
System.out.println(this.getParent().getParent().getParent().getName());
System.out.println(this.getParent().getParent().getParent().getParent().getName());
*/
ExampleFrame x = new ExampleFrame(new HighScores()); //for testing, you can change this to new menu()
x.setLocation(this.getParent().getParent().getParent().getParent().getLocation());
}
if (pressed == eBtn)
{
System.out.println("exit");
System.exit(0);
}
}
the exampleFrame class
public class ExampleFrame extends JFrame
{
PApplet app;
public ExampleFrame(PApplet emApp)
{
super("Ball Maze Game");
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setLocation(200, 200);
app = emApp;
setSize(615,438);
setVisible(true);
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(app, BorderLayout.CENTER);
app.init();
}
}
the main
public class Main
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
ExampleFrame x = new ExampleFrame(new Menu());
}
}
What needs to happen when mousePressed == ebtn is all the stuff in the Frame will be removed and a Highscores Screen will be loaded. highscores is almost the same as menu. There is no need to post code as there is enough here.
The second class is the one which acts as a frame and holds the PApplet
Bottom line, has anyone have any idea how to call the Frame methods from the PApplet or another way to remove all PApplets contents and load another PApplet in?

What needs to happen when mousePressed == ebtn is all the stuff in the Frame will be removed and a Highscores Screen will be loaded
The demo. below of a nested CardLayout adds an ActionListener instead of a MouseListener. It reacts to both mouse and keyboard input.
There are a multitude of other ways to include more than one GUI element in the same screen space. Off the top of my head, JTabbedPane, JSplitPane, JDesktopPane/JInternalFrame, popping the high scores in a JDialog or JOptionPane..
Screenshots
CardLayoutDemo.java
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
class CardLayoutDemo {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Runnable r = new Runnable () {
public void run() {
final JRadioButton game = new JRadioButton("Game", true);
JRadioButton highScores = new JRadioButton("High Scores");
ButtonGroup bg = new ButtonGroup();
bg.add( game );
bg.add( highScores );
JPanel buttons = new JPanel(new
FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 5, 5));
buttons.add( game );
buttons.add( highScores );
JPanel gui = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(5,5));
gui.add(buttons, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
final CardLayout cl = new CardLayout();
final JPanel cards = new JPanel(cl);
gui.add(cards);
cards.add(new JLabel("Level 1"), "game");
cards.add(new JLabel("High Scores"), "scores");
ActionListener al = new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
if (game.isSelected()) {
cl.show(cards, "game");
} else {
cl.show(cards, "scores");
}
}
};
game.addActionListener(al);
highScores.addActionListener(al);
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, gui);
}
};
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(r);
}
}

In order to answer How to call the Frame methods from the PApplet?, I have modified your code snippet to bare minimum. In this modified version when the user click mouse button a System.out is fired.
Now there are two ways in which you can access your Frame object. But before that let me state these two points:
When you create a PApplet like new ExampleFrame(new Menu()); and add it in your JFrame like this add(app, BorderLayout.CENTER); then a complex hierarchy of windows/panels are created.
Like this:
javax.swing.JPanel
javax.swing.JLayeredPane
javax.swing.JRootPane
test.ExampleFrame
PApplet provides a public field for setting and accessing your frame object. And amazingly it is called frame :). You can set it before calling app.init();
>>Code
** Checkout the comments in the code**
Modified ExampleFrame.java
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import processing.core.PApplet;
public class ExampleFrame extends JFrame
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 4792534036194728580L;
PApplet app;
public ExampleFrame(PApplet emApp)
{
super("Ball Maze Game");
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setLocation(200, 200);
app = emApp;
setSize(615,438);
setVisible(true);
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(app, BorderLayout.CENTER);
// Setting my frame object
app.frame = this;
app.init();
}
// Sample Method
public void sampleMethod(String msg)
{
System.out.println("I think '"+ msg +"' called me !!");
}
}
Modified Menu.java
import java.awt.Container;
import processing.core.PApplet;
import processing.core.PImage;
public class Menu extends PApplet
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = -6557167654705489372L;
PImage background;
static String tab = "";
//simple constructor
public Menu()
{
}
public void setup()
{
size(600, 400);
smooth();
background = loadImage("C:/temp/background.jpg");
}
public void draw()
{
image(background, 0, 0);
}
public void mousePressed()
{
Container p = getParent();
tab = "";
// FIRST WAY OF ACCESSING PARENT FRAME
while(p != null)
{
//printParentTree(p);
if(p instanceof ExampleFrame)
{
ExampleFrame myframe = (ExampleFrame)p;
myframe.sampleMethod("First Way");
break;
}
p = p.getParent();
}
// SECOND WAY OF ACCESSING PARENT FRAME
if(frame != null && (frame instanceof ExampleFrame))
{
ExampleFrame myframe = (ExampleFrame)p;
myframe.sampleMethod("Second Way");
}
}
void printParentTree(Container p)
{
System.out.println(tab+p.getClass().getName());
tab +='\t';
}
}
Checkout the public void mousePressed() method.
For completeness, I am also including Main.java.
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args){
new ExampleFrame(new Menu());
}
}
Now to answer Remove all PApplets contents and load another PApplet in
Well I have not tested it. But you can add a JPanel to your JApplet and do all your drawing on that i.e creating child controls etc. When feel like redrawing then call JPanel.removeAll(). Which as per javadoc:
Removes all the components from this
container. This method also notifies
the layout manager to remove the
components from this container's
layout via the removeLayoutComponent
method.
After this call repaint on the JPanel. Try it out, it might work :).

No idea how to run the graphics depending on a radio button?

So I have 1 class, with a radio button and 1 class, that will create an applet depending on the outcome of the Radio Button. I don't know how to make the graphics run depending on an if/else statement. All help will be greatly appreciated.
Radio Button Class:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class RadioButton extends JPanel {
static JFrame frame;
JLabel pic;
RadioListener myListener = null;
protected JRadioButton displacement;
protected JRadioButton accel;
protected JRadioButton time;
public RadioButton() {
// Create the radio buttons
displacement = new JRadioButton("Displacement");
displacement.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_N);
displacement.setSelected(true);
//Displacement Button, set to automatically be clicked
accel = new JRadioButton("Acceleration");
accel.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_A);
accel.setActionCommand("acceleration");
//Acceleration Button
time = new JRadioButton("Change in time");
time.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_S);
time.setActionCommand("deltaT");
//The change in time button
// Creates the group of buttons
ButtonGroup group = new ButtonGroup();
group.add(displacement);
group.add(accel);
group.add(time);
myListener = new RadioListener();
displacement.addActionListener(myListener);
accel.addActionListener(myListener);
time.addActionListener(myListener);
// Set up the picture label
pic = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(""+"numbers" + ".jpg")); //Set the Default Image
pic.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(177, 122));
// Puts the radio buttons down
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setLayout(new GridLayout(0, 1));
panel.add(displacement);
panel.add(accel);
panel.add(time);
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(panel, BorderLayout.WEST);
add(pic, BorderLayout.CENTER);
setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(40,40,40,40));
}
//Listening to the buttons
class RadioListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
pic.setIcon(new ImageIcon(""+e.getActionCommand()
+ ".jpg"));
}
}
public static void main(String s[]) {
frame = new JFrame("∆x = Vavg * time");
frame.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter() {
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e) {System.exit(0);}
});
frame.getContentPane().add(new RadioButton(), BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
If/Else Statements class:
import java.lang.Object;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.*;
public class RadioButtonMain extends RadioButton {
public static void main(String [ ] args) {
new RadioButtonMain().doMain();
}
public void doMain() {
if ( displacement.isSelected()) {
//option 1 for applet
}
if ( accel.isSelected()) {
//Option 2 for applet
}
else {
//Option 3 for applet
}
}
}
How would I get the graphics to run based on whether or not the variables accel and displacement are pressed? Thanks.

Remember, a GUI is an event driven environment, things don't run within a linear manner. Instead of trying run a method yourself, you need to use a callback or listener of some kind which will tell you when the state of the program/buttons change...
When the JRadioButton actionPerformed event is raised, you need to call another method which provides information about what has occurred. You can then override these methods in your RadioButtonMain class and take action when they are called
This is very similar to an Observer Pattern

using listeners with both list and button

Very new to Java, but I am slowly picking my way through things. So please be kind. I understand most things I've tried so far, and built a version of the following that uses console output, but now I'm trying to make a GUI. I tried the netbeans GUI maker, but it created so much new code that when I tried to pick through it, I got lost. I'm much better at learning by piecing new things together myself, not having an IDE generate a ton of code and then attempt to find where I want to work.
I am trying to build an window that has a list with three choices on the left side, a button in the middle that confirms your choice, and an answer output on the right. Once the button is pressed, the input from the list is read and is converted into a corresponding answer. As of right now, all I get is "We recommend... null" after selecting an option in the list. The button appears to do nothing at the moment.
I have used tutorials, hacked up others' code from online, and referenced a few books, but I'm stuck.
Here is what I have:
package diffguidegui;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
public class DiffGuideGUI extends JPanel implements ListSelectionListener {
private JList resultsTabList;
private DefaultListModel listModel;
private static final String recommendString = "Recommend a Option";
private JButton recommendButton;
private String recommendOutput;
final JLabel output = new JLabel("We recommend..." + recommendOutput);
//build list
public DiffGuideGUI () {
super(new BorderLayout());
listModel = new DefaultListModel();
listModel.addElement("A");
listModel.addElement("B");
//create the list and put it in the scroll pane
resultsTabList = new JList(listModel);
resultsTabList.setSelectionMode(ListSelectionModel.SINGLE_SELECTION);
resultsTabList.setSelectedIndex(0);
//listener for user input
resultsTabList.addListSelectionListener(this);
resultsTabList.setVisibleRowCount(2);
JScrollPane listScrollPane = new JScrollPane(resultsTabList);
//build the button at the bottom to fire overall behavior
recommendButton = new JButton(recommendString);
recommendButton.setActionCommand(recommendString);
recommendButton.addActionListener(new RecommendListener());
//create a panel that uses Boxlayout for the button
JPanel buttonPane = new JPanel();
buttonPane.setLayout(new BoxLayout(buttonPane, BoxLayout.LINE_AXIS));
buttonPane.add(recommendButton);
//create a panel that uses Boxlayout for the label
JPanel outputPane = new JPanel();
outputPane.setLayout(new BoxLayout(outputPane, BoxLayout.LINE_AXIS));
outputPane.add(output);
add(listScrollPane, BorderLayout.WEST);
add(buttonPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(outputPane, BorderLayout.EAST);
}
//build listener class
class RecommendListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//build in logic for choice made here
String resultsTabChoice;
resultsTabChoice = (String)resultsTabList.getSelectedValue();
if( resultsTabChoice.equals("A")) {
recommendOutput = "One";}
else {recommendOutput = "Two";}
}
}
public void valueChanged(ListSelectionEvent e) {
if(e.getValueIsAdjusting() == false) {
if(resultsTabList.getSelectedIndex() == -1) {
recommendButton.setEnabled(false);
} else {
recommendButton.setEnabled(true);
}
}
}
//Create GUI and show it
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Recommend Window");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//create and set up content pane
JComponent newContentPane = new DiffGuideGUI();
newContentPane.setOpaque(true);
frame.setContentPane(newContentPane);
//display the window
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}

The button appears to do nothing at the moment.
It does something. It calculates the value for your recommendOutput varable. But you never output this value.
try the following:
//build listener class
class RecommendListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
//build in logic for choice made here
String resultsTabChoice;
resultsTabChoice = (String)resultsTabList.getSelectedValue();
if( resultsTabChoice.equals("A")) {
recommendOutput = "One";}
else {recommendOutput = "Two";}
System.out.println(recommendOutput); // <-###################
}
}
This should print the value to stdout
To put the value into your label try this instead:
output.setText(recommendOutput);

where do you set the text for the JLabel? It says "We recommend NULL" because recommenedOutput is null when the object is created. I dont see
output.setText("We recommend "+value) anywhere. You probably need output.invalidate() also. Try putting setText(String text)/invalidate() in the RecommendListener.actionPerformed() method.
output.setText("We recommend A");
output.invalidate();

Java JTabbedPane, update others tab JLabel value?

I have 2 JTabbedPane. I am unable to refresh the data. PLease help, here is my code:
pane1:
//.. some codes...
// This is the ButtonListener
private class ButtonListener implements ActionListener
{
public void actionPerformed (ActionEvent event)
{
userInput = tf.getText(); // tf is JTextField
//System.out.println("the input is "+ finalInput);
pane2.updateData(userInput);
}
}
pane2:
public void updateData(String s){
System.out.println("Update data function is called");
labelUser.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 30));
labelUser.setText("Updated text here " + s);
}
Here is my main class:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Main {
public static Pane2 p2 = new Pane2();
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame f= new JFrame ("My Frame");
f.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame .EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JTabbedPane tp = new JTabbedPane();
p2 = new Pane2();
tp.addTab("Pane1", new PaneFirst(p2));
tp.addTab("Pane2", new PaneSecond());
f.add(tp);
f.pack();
f.setVisible(true);
}
}
The labelUser never updates, but I trace the updateData function, its being called. Why is the text in labelUser not being updated?
EDIT:
"labelUser" come from pane2.java class.

Note: Apparently this didn't fix the problem.
One thing to try would be:
public void updateData(String s){
System.out.println("Update data function is called");
labelUser.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 30));
labelUser.setText("Updated text here " + s);
repaint(); // add this line to tell your pane to repaint itself
}
There is a chance that your panel is just not getting repainted.

Might be a typo but - in actionPerformed() you store the content of the textfield in userInput but use finalInput to update pane2.