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Append swing jbutton elements to array in java

I am working on a messaging application. The GUI is written in Java Swing. When the client starts, it asks my server for the chats a specific user is involved in. The server will send these in the form of an string array eg: {CHAT_PATH,CHAT_PATH}.
Once the client receives this it feeds it to my GUI class, which is supposed to display each chat name in the list (I will filter out the rest of the path) on screen listed downward. This is where my problem lies. I start by creating a JButton list:
JButton[] chat_names = {};
and then I loop through the list of chats (chat_data) and add to my chat_names list a new JButton for each chat name. Like this:
for (int x=0; x<chat_data.length-1; x++){
chat_names[x] = new JButton(chat_data[x]);
chat_names[x].setBounds(100,100,100,100);
}
for (int x=0; x<chat_names.length; x++){
frame.add(chat_names[x]);
}
When I do this I get the following syntax error:
Exception in thread "main"
java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 0 out of
bounds for length 0
at gui_main.menu_screen(gui_main.java:16)
at Main.main(Main.java:89)
Does anyone know if this is fixable or another way I could display a list of buttons each with a chat_name on them.

Here you created an array of JButtons with length 0
JButton[] chat_names = {};
You can either call
chat_names = new JButton[chat_data.length];
before the for-loops or create a
List<JButton> chatNames = new ArrayList<>();
to have a variable length list of buttons
As a tip use camelCase rather than snake_case for your variables and methods, as that's the convention.
And one more thing don't manually specify the bounds of each JButton, instead use a proper Layout Manager for example GridLayout or BoxLayout may work. If you insist on using setBounds and (more than surely) null-layout you may find yourself in a problem similar to this one when trying to run it on a different computer or a different monitor.
You can also merge these 2 loops:
for (int x=0; x<chat_data.length-1; x++){
chat_names[x] = new JButton(chat_data[x]);
chat_names[x].setBounds(100,100,100,100);
}
for (int x=0; x<chat_names.length; x++){
frame.add(chat_names[x]);
}
Into one, reducing one iteration over all the chats and thus improving performance:
for (int x=0; x<chat_data.length-1; x++){
chat_names[x] = new JButton(chat_data[x]);
chat_names[x].setBounds(100,100,100,100); //Use a layout manager!
frame.add(chat_names[x]);
}

How to make buttons on Java Swing Application when constantly redrawing frames

The simple version is that I'm drawing Graphics2D 60 times a second on a JPanel and it uses the drawstring method to create a bunch of labels. How would I go about making so I can click on those labels and have something happen?
Explanation: As it currently stands I have a system setup that says for every object in the world draw a string to the side (So I can see a list of all objects in the world). This is done with a for loop and the Graphics2D drawstring method.
The JPanel is being updated 60 times a second so this is being redrawn 60 times a second. I want to be able to click on these object labels so I can select the items, how would I go about turning them into buttons?
I messed around with JButton for awhile but it didn't seem to do me any good because whenever I added it the JPanel would go blank and only the button would render (Plus it didn't render to the right size).
More Details:
I use a
for(int I=0; I < sceneObjects.size(); I++) {
}
loop to grab every object in an object ArrayList. Each object has a String variable "Name". Before the loop class I sent an int called YPosition, and for every object the YPosition goes up by 20 so that the labels don't all stack on top of each other. I'm using the g2d.DrawString method to achieve this. But I need to be able to select the object labels.
I apologize if I forgot something in my question, let me know.
For those who are curious, the code looks exactly like this (Can't be compiled as is):
g2d.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.PLAIN, hierarchyWidth / 26));
g2d.setColor(Color.black);
int oYPos = 20;
// For every object in existence
for(int i=0; i < engine.sceneObjects.activeObjects.size(); i++) {
GameObject theObject = engine.sceneObjects.activeObjects.get(i);
// If the scrollbar is within range of the hierarchy
// (Based on HierarchyHeight so that it's resolution friendly)
if(oYPos >= hierarchyScroll && oYPos < hierarchyScroll + hierarchyHeight) {
// If the object has no parent
if(theObject.transform.parent == null) {
g2d.drawString(theObject.name, hierarchyPosition.x + 5, hierarchyPosition.y + oYPos);
} else { // If the object has a parent
}
}
oYPos += 20;
}
// Track the last oYPos so that the scrollbar can adjust itself accordingly
lastOYPos = oYPos;
My guess would be some sort of class create for each of these labels and a Boolean stored called isSelected, and then rendering the label according to the class, but this seems a bit more complicated than I'd like to do

Java GUI - Getting random value from array

So I have this 2d array of buttons and I have an array of images. I want to get the images on the buttons but I want the images to be on random buttons every time the program starts. Like this:What I want it to look like. Right now I can only get one color to be on all of the buttons by changing the value of icons when I make the new JButton. What I think I need to do is have Math.Random() set to a variable and to get a random value from the array of images and then put the variable in icons[] when i declare the new JButton but I don't know if this is right and don't know how to do it. I did some searching and tried using this:
var randomValue = icons[Math.floor(Math.random() * icons.length)];
but I get an error saying
possible loss of precision, required int, found double.
Help would be greatly appreciated. If you want me to post the entire code let me know.
// 2D Array of buttons
buttons = new JButton[8][8];
for(int row=0; row<8; row++)
{
for (int col=0; col<8; col++)
{
buttons[row][col] = new JButton(icons[0]);
buttons[row][col].setLocation(6+col*70, 6+row*70);
buttons[row][col].setSize(69,69);
getContentPane().add(buttons[row][col]);
}
}
// Array of images
public static ImageIcon[] icons = {new ImageIcon("RedButton.png"),
new ImageIcon("OrangeButton.png"),
new ImageIcon("YellowButton.png"),
new ImageIcon("GreenButton.png"),
new ImageIcon("BlueButton.png"),
new ImageIcon("LightGrayButton.png"),
new ImageIcon("DarkGrayButton.png")};

I'd simplify this greatly by putting all my ImageIcons in an ArrayList, calling java.util.Collections.shuffle(...) on the ArrayList, and then passing out the ImageIcons from the shuffled ArrayList in order. Or if your buttons allow for repeated icons, then use a java.util.Random variable, say called random and simply call random.nextInt(icons.length) to get a random index for my array.
As an aside, please for your own sake, don't use null layout and absolute positioning. Your grid of JButtons is begging to be held in a GridLayout-using JPanel. Begging.
As an aside, why are you posting questions on the same project but using different names? You've similar posts but different user names in both of your other posts here:
JButtons won't update on button click
My New Game JButton is not working?

Before you set the icons on the JButton use this shuffle function...
public ImageIcon[] shuffle(ImageIcon[] icons)
{
int index = 0;
ImageIcon temp = 0;
for(int i = icons.length -1; i > 0; i--)
{
index = r.nextInt(i + 1);
temp = icons[index];
icons[index] = icons[i];
icons[i] = temp;
}
return icons;
}

Gridbag layout or Grid layout?

I am a little new to swing. In order to learn to use the API correctly, I am designing the following project:
The project is a solving block puzzle solver sliding block puzzle similar to the rush-hour puzzles common in toy stores - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Hour_(board_game) except there is no escape for a special car.
By dragging the blocks from an off board area to the board, the user specifies the starting configuration of the puzzle. The user, in the same way, specifies an ending goal configuration which dictates where some (or all) of the blocks the user specified initially must be at the end of the puzzle - the ending configuration can be specified using only SOME of the blocks, making multiple legal ending configurations.
The algorithm for solving the puzzle is already complete - I just need to design the interface and I am getting stuck. For designing the tray, I used a grid layout. Since blocks need to be entered at certain positions, I need to be able to place blocks in specific cells in the grid and move them around.
A 'block' object has four attributes - its height, width, its top row, and its left most column (ie - each block is addressed by its top left corner).
I used the suggestion here ( https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2510159/can-i-add-a-component-to-a-specific-grid-cell-when-a-gridlayout-is-used ) for the grid layout.
Right now I have only programmed to the point where java reads the puzzle from a .txt file and is supposed to display it on the screen ( I have not designed any user interactablity yet ).
First, here is the code I have written so far.
public class SolverPuzzleGUI extends JFrame {
//Specs from the puzzle.
Board initBoard;
ArrayList<Block> goalBlocks;
LinkedList<Move> moveList;
JLayeredPane layeredpane;
JPanel Board;
Dimension boardsize = new Dimension(400, 500);
JPanel[][] panelHolder = new JPanel[5][4];
public SolverPuzzleGUI(Board startBoard, ArrayList<Block> startGoalBlocks,
LinkedList<Move> startMoveList) {
this.initBoard = startBoard;
this.goalBlocks = startGoalBlocks;
this.moveList = startMoveList;
} // end constructor.
//gives the actual simulation
public void runSimulation() {
// Initalizing the main window.
setSize(500, 600);
setName("Solution");
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setMinimumSize(getMinimumSize());
//Using layered pane
layeredpane = new JLayeredPane();
add(layeredpane);
layeredpane.setPreferredSize(boardsize);
layeredpane.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
layeredpane.setVisible(true);
// adding the game tray
Board = new JPanel();
layeredpane.add(Board, JLayeredPane.DEFAULT_LAYER);
Board.setLayout(new GridLayout(5, 4));
// centering the game tray.
Board.setPreferredSize(boardsize);
Board.setMinimumSize(boardsize);
Board.setMaximumSize(boardsize);
Box box = new Box(BoxLayout.Y_AXIS);
box.add(Box.createVerticalGlue());
box.add(Board);
box.add(Box.createVerticalGlue());
add(box);
//Adding placeholders to the board for creating blocks
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
panelHolder[i][j] = new JPanel();
panelHolder[i][j].setBackground(Color.DARK_GRAY);
Board.add(panelHolder[i][j]);
layeredpane.setLayer(panelHolder[i][j], JLayeredPane.DEFAULT_LAYER);
panelHolder[i][j].setVisible(false);
} // end 'j' for
} // end 'i' for
ArrayList<Block> initBlocks = initBoard.getBlocks();
//int count = 0; //DEBUG
for (Block block : initBlocks) {
this.drawBlock(block);
//count++;
//if(count > 4) { break; }
} // end 'for'
Board.setBackground(Color.DARK_GRAY);
Board.setVisible(true);
setVisible(true);
} // end 'run'
private void drawBlock(Block block) {
Dimension blockSize = new Dimension(block.getWidth()*100, block.getHeight()*100);
System.out.println(blockSize.width);
System.out.println(blockSize.height);
JPanel screenBlock = new JPanel();
screenBlock.setPreferredSize(blockSize);
screenBlock.setMinimumSize(blockSize);
screenBlock.setMaximumSize(blockSize);
screenBlock.setSize(blockSize);
screenBlock.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
screenBlock.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK));
layeredpane.setLayer(screenBlock, JLayeredPane.MODAL_LAYER);
int leftRow = block.getRow();
int leftCol = block.getColumn();
panelHolder[leftRow][leftCol].setSize(blockSize);
panelHolder[leftRow][leftCol].setVisible(true);
panelHolder[leftRow][leftCol].add(screenBlock);
layeredpane.setLayer(panelHolder[leftRow][leftCol], JLayeredPane.MODAL_LAYER);
screenBlock.setVisible(true);
}// end 'drawBlock'
public static void main(String[] args) {
String file = "C:\\Users\\Tim\\Desktop\\init.from.handout.txt";
String goal = "C:\\Users\\Tim\\Desktop\\goal.2.from.handout.txt";
/*
A SolverPuzzle object is the object which actually solves the algorithm -
when the class is constructed, it takes the file path of the inital
configuration as an input, as well as the file path of the goal
configuration. It has the following fields:
A 'board' object which specifies the inital configuration of the board.
It contains an ArrayList of Block objects(Remember block objects store
the height and width of the block, as well as the address of the
top left corner of block) which specify the starting
blocks, an ArrayList of EmptySpace objects which specify the empty
spaces on the board, an ArrayList of Move objects, which contain
the legal moves of the configuration, and the height and width of
the tray (in this application, the tray will always be 5 x 4).
An ArrayList of Block objects which specify the ending configuration.
A LinkedList of Move objects which specify the shortest possible
list of Moves which brings the configuration to a position which
satisfies the goal position. A Move object has three fields -
The block object being moved, and the row and column of the
top left corner of the block in the new position.
*/
SolverPuzzle test;
try { test = new SolverPuzzle(file, goal); }
catch (IOException ex) {
System.out.println("IOException");
return;
}
Board testBoard = test.getStartBoard();
ArrayList<Block> testGoalBlocks = test.getGoalBlocks();
LinkedList<Move> testMoveSolution = test.getMoveList();
// testing the gui
SolverPuzzleGUI testGUI = new SolverPuzzleGUI(testBoard, testGoalBlocks,
testMoveSolution);
testGUI.runSimulation();
}
} // end class 'SolverPuzzleGUI'
Here's the current output vs desired output.
http://imgur.com/a/ykXXP
So specifically, I have two questions:
1 - Why is the image only showing the top left corners of the blocks instead of the whole block?
2 - Is it better to continue using the GridLayout or switch to GridBagLayout?
Thanks

GridBagLayout would definitely be suitable for want you want to do. For example, you can expand components to envelop more than one column or row - just like what you want to do. Check out the java tutorials for how to use them.
A key point to remember when using GridBagLayoutis that you need to reset the Constraints after each component, assuming that they're unique to that particular component.
Also - I can't discern what you mean by only showing the top-left - it looks likes its showing the whole thing to me...

java swing repaint()

(second question in a few hours)
Kay so I'm making a chess variant in java, I have my console program working how I want it but now I'm trying to convert it to a swing GUI while STILL keeping the console things intact. So up to now I have my array of squares with pieces in them for the console, and a 2-dimensional array of JPanels with pieces in them for the GUI. I haven't implemented moving pieces in the GUI yet so I'm still doing it from the console but the actual GUI doesn't update after I've moved a piece...even though it does on the console (sorry if this is confusing).
The GUI consists of a constructor which calls some methods drawBoard() and drawSidebar() and sets sizes, titles etcetc...so this is what the main method looks like:
public static void main(String args[]) {
ChessGUI GUI = new ChessGUI();
Board console = new Board();
do {
console.printBoard();
console.getScore();
console.getMove();
GUI.boardPanel.revalidate();
GUI.sidePanel.revalidate();
GUI.repaint();
} while (true);
}
and drawBoard() incase it makes any difference:
public void drawBoard() {
LayoutManager layout = new GridLayout(NUMBER_OF_ROWS, NUMBER_OF_COLS);
boardPanel.setLayout(layout);
boardPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 450));
chessBoard = new JPanel[NUMBER_OF_ROWS][NUMBER_OF_COLS];
for (int i = 0; i < NUMBER_OF_ROWS; i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < NUMBER_OF_COLS; j++) {
chessBoard[i][j] = new JPanel();
chessBoard[i][j].setBackground(getColor(i,j));
int index = i * 4 + j;
if (!(boardArray.chessBoard[index].square.isEmpty())) {
Piece piece = (Piece) boardArray.chessBoard[index].square.firstElement();
chessBoard[i][j].add(new JLabel(piece.toString()));
}
boardPanel.add(chessBoard[i][j]);
}
}
}
the repaint and revalidate methods don't seem to be calling at all, even though the console is being updated :(

I don't really understand what you are doing. But it doesn't make sense to recreate the entire board panel every time a move is made. All Swing components can only have a single parent, to the easier solution is to just move the piece from one panel to the other. So the code would be something like:
previousPanel.remove( piece );
currentPanel.add( piece );
previousPanel.revalidate();
previousPanel.repaint();
currentPanel.revalidate();

It looks like you're never actually removing anything from 'boardPanel,' even though you are resetting its LayoutManager.
A safer approach might be to remove 'boardPanel' from its container, then create a new instance for 'boardPanel,' add that to the container, then add the other JPanel pieces to this new 'boardPanel.' Effectively, you would be reconstructing the entire JPanel hierarchy after every move.
As you've noticed, Swing can be quite finicky once you start trying to add/move/remove components after they've been added to containers. For games, often the best approach would be to have 1 JComponent/Component and use Java2D methods to draw on top of it. Swing is typically only used for forms-based applications.

Changing the layout doesn't do anything.
You need to call boardPanel.removeChildren()
However, this is going to be extremely slow.
Really, what you should be doing is have your own JPanel, overwrite paintComponent() and draw the images into the appropriate dimensions using Java Graphics.