We Keep Coding

class variable not updating after method call

I am quite new to Java and only after researching and googling and reading many answers, I am posting this. I am kinda lost. A little guidance would be of great help. The following is a method from a class that implements the "ActionListener" interface. What I am trying to do is this: There is a button which one clicked should open a new window with two options in the form of two Radio Buttons. I need to know the Radio Button which was selected for further use in my code. I declared, the "scoreOption" variable as a class variable and static, and then attempt to update it in the "actionPerformed" abstract method. But when I refer to it (after the method call), the value stays the same - null, or whatever I set it to initially. Here is the code:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.text.ParseException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Scanner;
import javax.swing.ButtonGroup;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JRadioButton;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeEvent;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeListener;
public class StartEvents implements ActionListener {
StartPanel startingPanel;
static String scoreOption;
public StartEvents(StartPanel startPanel) {
startingPanel = startPanel;
}
// Scoring System Window - 1
public void scoringSystem() {
startingPanel.scoringSystem.addActionListener(new ActionListener () {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
Panel scoringSystemPanel = new Panel();
JFrame scoreSystemFrame = scoringSystemPanel.frame(150, 250, "Scoring System", 2, true);
JPanel scoreSystemPanel = scoringSystemPanel.panel(Color.lightGray);
JButton confirmSelection = scoringSystemPanel.button(40, 20, "Confirm");
JRadioButton scoreSystem1 = scoringSystemPanel.radioButton("Option 1: Same Points Per Hit");
scoreSystem1.setActionCommand("Option 1");
JRadioButton scoreSystem2 = scoringSystemPanel.radioButton("Option 2: Unique Points Per Hit");
scoreSystem2.setActionCommand("Option 2");
ButtonGroup scoreSys = new ButtonGroup();
scoreSys.add(scoreSystem1);
scoreSys.add(scoreSystem2);
scoreSystemFrame.getContentPane().add(scoreSystemPanel);
scoreSystemPanel.add(scoreSystem1);
scoreSystemPanel.add(scoreSystem2);
scoreSystemPanel.add(confirmSelection);
// Get Selection Event
// Option 1
scoreSystem1.addActionListener(new ActionListener () {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (scoreSystem1.isSelected()) {
scoreOption = scoreSystem1.getActionCommand();
}
}
});
// Option 2
scoreSystem2.addActionListener(new ActionListener () {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (scoreSystem2.isSelected()) {
scoreOption = scoreSystem2.getActionCommand();
}
}
});
// Confirm Event
confirmSelection.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
scoreSystemFrame.dispose();
}
});
}
});
}
Main Game Class where the method scoringsystem is called.
import java.util.ArrayList;
public class Game {
public static void main(String[] args) {
StartPanel startingPanel = new StartPanel();
startingPanel.makeStartPanel();
StartEvents starter = new StartEvents(startingPanel);
starter.rulesButton();
starter.exitButton();
starter.highScoresButton();
ArrayList<Integer> dimensions = starter.boardSizeSelector();
// Problem Zone
System.out.println(StartEvents.scoreOption);
starter.scoringSystem();
System.out.println(StartEvents.scoreOption);
// The two values of scoreOption should be different
String[] playPanelDetails = {"970", "Player 1", "450"};
// Final Start of the Game
starter.startGameButton(playPanelDetails, dimensions);
}
}
Furthermore, could you please let me know regarding the following questions:
Implementing "ActionListener" within another "ActionListener" is recommended? Good Practice?
Can there only be one declaration of the "actionPerformed" method or can it be overloaded too?
Is it possible to get a return value from "actionPerformed" method?
I would be really grateful if even some hints could be provided. I really tried a lot and only then posting it here. Thank you very much in advance.
Small Edit: When I "System.out.println" the "actioncommand" there itself, it does work perfectly, printing in the console. But not when I try to update the class variable and then try to print it after the method call. Dunno if this helps.

JFrames are not modal -- you create one and display it, it does not block the code flow, and so you are extracting the value of scoreOption right as the JFrame is being displayed and before the user has had any chance to change it. You need to use a modal dialog such as a JDialog that is created as a modal dialog or use a JOptionPane (which is actually just a modal JDialog under the hood). This will block the flow of code so that you extract the data only after it has been changed by the user.
An example that proves the point:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class FooGui01 extends JPanel {
private String frameTest = "";
private String dialogTest = "";
private JFrame mainFrame = new JFrame("Main GUI");
private JFrame subFrame;
private JDialog dialog;
public FooGui01() {
JButton showFrameBtn = new JButton("Show JFrame");
showFrameBtn.addActionListener(e -> {
changeTest1WithJFrame();
System.out.println("frameTest: " + frameTest);
});
JButton showDialogBtn = new JButton("Show JDialog");
showDialogBtn.addActionListener(e -> {
changeTest2WithModalDialog();
System.out.println("dialogTest: " + dialogTest);
});
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(showDialogBtn);
panel.add(showFrameBtn);
mainFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
mainFrame.add(panel);
mainFrame.pack();
mainFrame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
mainFrame.setVisible(true);
}
public void changeTest1WithJFrame() {
if (subFrame == null) {
subFrame = new JFrame("Frame");
JButton button = new JButton("Press me");
button.addActionListener(e -> {
frameTest = "Hello World and frameTest";
subFrame.setVisible(false);
});
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(button);
subFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.HIDE_ON_CLOSE);
subFrame.add(panel);
subFrame.pack();
subFrame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
}
subFrame.setVisible(true);
}
public void changeTest2WithModalDialog() {
if (dialog == null) {
dialog = new JDialog(mainFrame, "Dialog", Dialog.ModalityType.APPLICATION_MODAL);
JButton button = new JButton("Press me");
button.addActionListener(e -> {
dialogTest = "Hello World and dialogTest";
dialog.setVisible(false);
});
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(button);
dialog.add(panel);
dialog.pack();
dialog.setLocationByPlatform(true);
}
dialog.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new FooGui01());
}
}
If you run the code, when you show the sub JFrame, the test text is displayed immediately in the console before the dialog has been dealt with. If you press the button to show the dialog, the test text display is delayed until after the button has been pushed, changing the text.
Pressing the frame button twice will finally show the correct text since the text was set by the first time it was displayed.

A JDialig is just like a JFrame. That is you add components to it like you do any frame.
The difference is that you can make a JDialog modal. This means that when you use:
dialog.setVisible(true);
System.out.println("here");
The code after the setVisible(...) statement will not be executed until the dialog is closed. It also means you can't click on the parent JFrame until the dialog is closed.
An easy way to create a modal JDialog is to use a JOptionPane. It has some predefined methods that make prompting for user input easy.
For example in your case you could do something like:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SSCCE extends JPanel
{
private int scoringOption = -1;
public SSCCE()
{
JButton button = new JButton("Change Points Option");
add(button);
button.addActionListener((e) -> displayOptionDialog());
}
private void displayOptionDialog()
{
Window window = SwingUtilities.windowForComponent( this );
// Custom button text
Object[] options = {"Option 1: Same Points Per Hit", "Option 2: Unique Points Per Hit"};
scoringOption = JOptionPane.showOptionDialog(
window,
"Select your scoring option:",
"Scoring Option",
JOptionPane.YES_NO_CANCEL_OPTION,
JOptionPane.QUESTION_MESSAGE,
null,
options,
null);
System.out.println( scoringOption );
}
private static void createAndShowGUI()
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("SSCCE");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new SSCCE());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform( true );
frame.setVisible( true );
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
{
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater( () -> createAndShowGUI() );
}
}
The above is also an example of an "MRE". The code is simple and contained in a single class that you can copy/paste/compile and test.
Read the section from the Swing tutorial on How to Use Dialogs for more examples of using a JOptionPane.
If you really want to use radio buttons, then you can create a panel with the radio buttons and display them on the option pane using the showConfirmDialog(...) method. When the dialog closes you would then need to get the action command from the ButtonModel of the ButtonGroup.
See: how to set & manage the layout of JOptionPane for a basic example of this approach to get you started.

Using Keybinding

I'm doing some very basic coding, just trying to learn the basic concepts behind keybinding. It all seems very straightforward but there's something wrong with my logic or structure that is keeping my code from executing the way I want it to.
Here is my code
public class Board {
ButtonListener buttonlistener;
EnterAction enterAction;
public Board(){
JFrame skeleton = new JFrame();
skeleton.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
skeleton.setVisible(true);
skeleton.setSize(400, 400);
buttonlistener = new ButtonListener();
enterAction = new EnterAction();
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
JButton button = new JButton("button");
button.addActionListener(buttonlistener);
panel.add(button);
skeleton.add(panel);
panel.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("s"), "doEnterAction");
panel.getActionMap().put("doEnterAction", enterAction);
}
public class ButtonListener implements ActionListener{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
System.out.println("button pressed");
}
}
public class EnterAction extends AbstractAction{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("enter pressed");
}
}
public static void main(String[] args){
new Board();
}
So, it should be pretty simple. As you can see I'm just trying to make it print out "enter pressed" whenever you press enter, but it isn't printing out anything (unless you click the button also shown in the code above). Also, in eclipse, the EnterAction class is underlined in yellow, I think it may not be being called right, but I don't know why it wouldn't be.
Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Change
panel.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("s"), "doEnterAction");
To
panel.getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW).put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("S"), "doEnterAction");
Also
skeleton.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
the parameter must be JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE or just put number 3.

The immediate issue I can see is with the following statement
panel.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("s"), "doEnterAction");
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("s") is going to return null. The requirements for the String passed to this method are very particular and not well documented (IMHO).
You could use KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("S") instead, but I prefer to use KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_S, 0) as there is no chance of ambiguity in the statement.
I would also recommend that you define the focus boundaries as well for the input map...
Instead of panel.getInputMap(), try using panel.getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW) to ensure that the key event will be triggered if the window is focused
Take a look at JComponent#getInputMap for more details.
If you haven't already done so, you should also take a look at How to use Key Bindings

I think Azad and MadProgrammer are correct, I only had to make one more simple change in addition to what they recommended to get the program running. I have numbered the three items for you as a comment in the code: (copy and paste and you are good to go).
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.Action;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
public class Board {
ButtonListener buttonlistener;
EnterAction enterAction;
public Board() {
JFrame skeleton = new JFrame();
//Change #1 below
skeleton.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
skeleton.setVisible(true);
skeleton.setSize(400, 400);
buttonlistener = new ButtonListener();
enterAction = new EnterAction();
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
JButton button = new JButton("button");
button.addActionListener(buttonlistener);
panel.add(button);
skeleton.add(panel);
//Change #2 below
panel.getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW).put(
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("S"), "doEnterAction");
panel.getActionMap().put("doEnterAction", (Action) enterAction);
}
public class ButtonListener implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
System.out.println("button pressed");
}
}
public class EnterAction extends AbstractAction {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("enter pressed");
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Board();
}
//Change #3 below
}
here is the screenshot:

java, apple default look and feel: How to set color of a button

i want to know how to set the color of a button (in example, but i will need to set every component color) with the apple look and feel.
I found an answer in stackoverflow that suggest to change to the standard look and feel, that works for me, but i prefer not to change because I like apple's one.
Is there any solution?
I know there is because I saw many apps written in java that have colored buttons and also that use particular styles or images as background.
Can you tell me a solution?

Extend the Jbutton class and in that override the repaint() method and call setBackground(COLOR.ORANGE), to change the button color.
Now use this class to create all your buttons. If you wish to change color of a specific button, call the setBackground(COLOR.ORANGE) method on that specific button. Hope this helps. Have a look at the code below
package solutions;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Frame;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.InputVerifier;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
public class VerifierTest extends JFrame {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
public VerifierTest() {
final JTextField tf = new JTextField("TextField1");
getContentPane().add(tf, BorderLayout.NORTH);
tf.setInputVerifier(new PassVerifier());
final JTextField tf2 = new JTextField("TextField2");
getContentPane().add(tf2, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
tf2.setInputVerifier(new PassVerifier());
final JButton b = new JButton("Button");
b.setBackground(Color.ORANGE);
b.setVerifyInputWhenFocusTarget(true);
getContentPane().add(b, BorderLayout.EAST);
b.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (!tf.getInputVerifier().verify(tf)) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(tf.getParent(), "illegal value: " + tf.getText(), "Illegal Value",
JOptionPane.ERROR_MESSAGE);
}
if (b.isFocusOwner()) {
System.out.println("Button clicked");
}
}
});
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Frame frame = new VerifierTest();
frame.setSize(400, 200);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
class PassVerifier extends InputVerifier {
#Override
public boolean verify(JComponent input) {
final JTextField tf = (JTextField) input;
String pass = tf.getText();
if (pass.equals("Manish")) {
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
}
}
}
Comment the line "b.setBackground(Color.ORANGE);" and see the difference.

processing text in jTextArea

I am trying to implement a Document Listener in my program. So far every time the user types in a new word, I am getting the whole text and saving it. What I want to do is to get only the new word/words typed in and process them. Can you give me suggestions how I can do that?

How about document at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/events/documentlistener.html ?
Basically, the parameter DocumentEvent from insertUpdate event contains the text. You will have to retrieve the texts from the object e.
My suggestion is to try out some code and we'll see how much you know about DocumentListener, ok?

Below is proposed code similar to yours above:
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentEvent;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;
import javax.swing.text.BadLocationException;
import javax.swing.text.Document;
//public class DocumentListener { // Fix: not a good name for the class since it is part of JVM
public class DocumentEventDemo extends JFrame { // easier than extends JPanel
JPanel txtPanel, centerPanel;
GridLayout grid;
JTextField txtField;
JTextArea txtArea;
JFrame frame;
JComponent newContentPane;
FlowLayout flow;
public DocumentEventDemo() {
txtArea = new JTextArea();
txtArea.getDocument().addDocumentListener(new MyDocumentListener());
txtArea.getDocument().putProperty("txtArea", "MyDocumentListener");
// txtField = new JTextField(10); // 10 chars max
// txtField.setText("12345");
centerPanel = new JPanel();
grid = new GridLayout(2,1,1,1);
txtPanel = new JPanel();
flow = new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER);
txtPanel.setLayout(flow);
//Adding control GUI fields to the only panel
// txtPanel.add(txtArea);
// txtPanel.add(txtField);
// Forming the center view with GUI controls
centerPanel.setLayout(grid);
// centerPanel.add(txtPanel);
centerPanel.add(txtArea);
// Add Panels to the Frame
getContentPane().add(centerPanel,"Center");
this.setSize(500,200);
this.validate();
this.setVisible(true);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// newContentPane = getRootPane();
// newContentPane.setOpaque(true);
// frame.setContentPane(newContentPane);
}
//MyEditor editor = new MyEditor(); // what is MyEditor?
//javax.swing.event.DocumentListener mydocumentListener = new javax.swing.event.DocumentListener()
// Make a class to define the inherited abstract methods, which are also events.
class MyDocumentListener implements DocumentListener {
String[] word=new String[50];
String text;
int i=0;
int y;
int l;
int len;
public void changedUpdate(DocumentEvent documentEvent) {
System.out.println("The text has been changed.");
}
public void insertUpdate(DocumentEvent documentEvent) {
try {
GetWord(documentEvent);
} catch (BadLocationException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(DocumentListener.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
}
public void removeUpdate(DocumentEvent documentEvent) {
System.out.println("A character has been removed!");
}
private void GetWord(DocumentEvent documentEvent) throws BadLocationException {
//get the type of event
DocumentEvent.EventType type = documentEvent.getType();
//check what is the event, hence what is the user doing
if (type.equals(DocumentEvent.EventType.INSERT)) {
Document source = documentEvent.getDocument();
y=documentEvent.getOffset();
l=documentEvent.getLength();
len=source.getLength();
text = source.getText(y,l);
if(text.equals(" "))
{
for (int z=0;z<len;z++)
{
System.out.print(word[z]);
}
System.out.println("\n");
Arrays.fill(word,null);
i=0;
}
word[i]=text;
i++;
} else {
System.out.println("A character has been removed!");
}
}
}; // DocumentListener class instantiation
// editor. editArea.getDocument().addDocumentListener(mydocumentListener);
public static void main(String args[]){
new DocumentEventDemo();
}
} // TOP class
Notes:
My most outer class extends JFrame, which creates the window & listeners the easy way, I think.
DocumentEventDemo is a constructor that creates the UI controls and looks.
I created a class that implements DocumentListener. This way I can override the abstract events.
My main function is on the bottom inside the class DocumentEventDemo, like yours actually.
I do not see the code for class MyEditor. Therefore I replaced that with JTextArea, behaves like an editor.
Your code GetWord seems to be working well. Congratulations!
Your technique of using System.out.println is not working since the app is windows GUI application instead of console, which works well with System.out.
Obviously, you still have work to do with the Listener functions for changed and remove.
Have fun!
Tommy Kwee

JTextPane: KeyBindings are not working on StyledEditorKit

Please have a look at the following code
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.text.*;
public class Form1 extends JFrame
{
private JTextPane textPane;
private JPanel south;
private JScrollPane scroll;
private String content;
public String documentType;
private DefaultStyledDocument document;
int start, end, offset1,length1;
private JButton button;
JFrame frame;
public Form1()
{
//Declaring the instance variables
textPane = new JTextPane();
textPane.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(100,100));
button = new JButton("Bold");
button.addActionListener(new StyledEditorKit.BoldAction());
button.getInputMap().put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_B,KeyEvent.CTRL_MASK),"key");
button.getActionMap().put("key", new StyledEditorKit.BoldAction());
document = (DefaultStyledDocument) textPane.getDocument();
//Creating the main window
south = new JPanel();
south.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
south.add(button);
scroll = new JScrollPane(textPane);
getContentPane().add(scroll,"Center");
getContentPane().add(south,"South");
setSize(800,600);
validate();
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
private class Action extends AbstractAction
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae)
{
new StyledEditorKit.BoldAction();
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run() {
Form1 f = new Form1();
f.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}
In here, user can enter any text, and when he select a text and click on "Bold" button, the text will be bold. However, I need to do it using CTRL+B also. As you can see, my attempt is not giving any response to that key event. I even tried adding it to a seperate class which extends AbstractAction, but still no good. How can I implement the CTRL+B here? Please help...

When key bindings don't work for me, the first place I look is the InputMap -- am I sure that I'm using the right one? Well, are you sure? The default one uses JComponent.WHEN_FOCUSED and thus only works if your component has the focus.
If you want it to work at other times, say when the bound component is visible and in a focused window but doesn't necessarily have the focus itself, perhaps you should try different condition parameters. Try using JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW to start with.
i.e.,
InputMap inputMap = myComponent.getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);