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Swing animation optimization

I have been working on a simple animation using a Timer on a JComponent. However, I experience incredibly choppy motion when I view the animation. What steps should I take to optimize this code?
MyAnimationFrame
import javax.swing.*;
public class MyAnimationFrame extends JFrame {
public MyAnimationFrame() {
super("My animation frame!");
setSize(300,300);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
add(new AnimationComponent(0,0,50,50));
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyAnimationFrame f = new MyAnimationFrame();
}
}
AnimationComponent
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class AnimationComponent extends JComponent implements ActionListener {
private Timer animTimer;
private int x;
private int y;
private int xVel;
private int yVel;
private int width;
private int height;
private int oldX;
private int oldY;
public AnimationComponent(int x, int y, int width, int height) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
this.height = height;
this.width = width;
animTimer = new Timer(25, this);
xVel = 5;
yVel = 5;
animTimer.start();
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
g.fillOval(x,y,width,height);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
oldX = x;
oldY = y;
if(x + width > getParent().getWidth() || x < 0) {
xVel *= -1;
}
if(y + height > getParent().getHeight() || y < 0) {
yVel *= -1;
}
x += xVel;
y += yVel;
repaint();
}
}
Not sure if this matters, but I am using OpenJDK version 1.8.0_121.
Any help is appreciated.

After a wonderful discussion with Yago it occurred to me that the issue revolves around number of areas, alot comes down to the ability for Java to sync the updates with the OS and the hardware, some things you can control, some you can't.
Inspired by Yago's example and my "memory" of how the Timing Framework works, I tested you code by increasing the framerate (to 5 milliseconds, ~= 200fps) and decreasing the change delta, which gave the same results as using the Timing Framework, but which leaves you with the flexibility of your original design.
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test");
frame.add(new AnimationComponent(0, 0, 50, 50));
frame.setSize(300, 300);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class AnimationComponent extends JComponent implements ActionListener {
private Timer animTimer;
private int x;
private int y;
private int xVel;
private int yVel;
private int width;
private int height;
private int oldX;
private int oldY;
public AnimationComponent(int x, int y, int width, int height) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
this.height = height;
this.width = width;
animTimer = new Timer(5, this);
xVel = 1;
yVel = 1;
animTimer.start();
}
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g.create();
RenderingHints hints = new RenderingHints(
RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON
);
g2d.setRenderingHints(hints);
g2d.fillOval(x, y, width, height);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
oldX = x;
oldY = y;
if (x + width > getParent().getWidth() || x < 0) {
xVel *= -1;
}
if (y + height > getParent().getHeight() || y < 0) {
yVel *= -1;
}
x += xVel;
y += yVel;
repaint();
}
}
}
If you need to slow down the speed more, then decrease the change delta more, this will mean you have to use doubles instead, which will lead into the Shape's API which supports double values
Which should you use? That's up to you. The Timing Framework is really great for linear animations over a period of time, where you know you want to go from one state to another. It's not so good for things like games, where the state of the object can change from my cycle to another. I'm sure you could do it, but it'd be a lot easier with a simple "main loop" concept - IMHO

Timing Framework offers a way to provide animations highly optimized which may help in this case.
MyAnimationFrame
import javax.swing.*;
public class MyAnimationFrame extends JFrame {
public MyAnimationFrame() {
super("My animation frame!");
setSize(300,300);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
add(new AnimationComponent(0,0,50,50));
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
MyAnimationFrame f = new MyAnimationFrame();
}
});
}
}
AnimationComponent
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import org.jdesktop.core.animation.rendering.*;
import org.jdesktop.core.animation.timing.*;
import org.jdesktop.core.animation.timing.interpolators.*;
import org.jdesktop.swing.animation.rendering.*;
import org.jdesktop.swing.animation.timing.sources.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class AnimationComponent extends JRendererPanel {
protected int x;
protected int y;
protected int width;
protected int height;
protected Animator xAnimator;
protected Animator yAnimator;
public AnimationComponent(int x, int y, int width, int height) {
setOpaque(true);
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
this.height = height;
this.width = width;
JRendererFactory.getDefaultRenderer(this,
new JRendererTarget<GraphicsConfiguration, Graphics2D>() {
#Override
public void renderSetup(GraphicsConfiguration gc) {
// Nothing to do
}
#Override
public void renderUpdate() {
// Nothing to do
}
#Override
public void render(Graphics2D g, int w, int h) {
Color c = g.getColor();
g.setColor(g.getBackground());
g.fillRect(0, 0, w, h);
g.setColor(c);
g.fillOval(AnimationComponent.this.x, AnimationComponent.this.y,
AnimationComponent.this.width, AnimationComponent.this.height);
}
#Override
public void renderShutdown() {
// Nothing to do
}
}, false);
this.xAnimator = new Animator.Builder(new SwingTimerTimingSource())
.addTargets(new TimingTargetAdapter() {
#Override
public void timingEvent(Animator source, double fraction) {
AnimationComponent.this.x = (int) ((getWidth() - AnimationComponent.this.width) * fraction);
}})
.setRepeatCount(Animator.INFINITE)
.setRepeatBehavior(Animator.RepeatBehavior.REVERSE)
.setInterpolator(LinearInterpolator.getInstance()).build();
this.yAnimator = new Animator.Builder(new SwingTimerTimingSource())
.addTargets(new TimingTargetAdapter() {
#Override
public void timingEvent(Animator source, double fraction) {
AnimationComponent.this.y = (int) ((getHeight() - AnimationComponent.this.height) * fraction);
}})
.setRepeatCount(Animator.INFINITE)
.setRepeatBehavior(Animator.RepeatBehavior.REVERSE)
.setInterpolator(LinearInterpolator.getInstance()).build();
addComponentListener(new ComponentAdapter() {
private int oldWidth = 0;
private int oldHeight = 0;
#Override
public void componentResized(ComponentEvent event) {
Component c = event.getComponent();
int w = c.getWidth();
int h = c.getHeight();
if (w != this.oldWidth) {
AnimationComponent.this.xAnimator.stop();
AnimationComponent.this.xAnimator = new Animator.Builder()
.copy(AnimationComponent.this.xAnimator)
.setDuration(w * 5, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS) // Original speed was 200 px/s
.build();
AnimationComponent.this.xAnimator.start();
}
if (h != this.oldHeight) {
AnimationComponent.this.yAnimator.stop();
AnimationComponent.this.yAnimator = new Animator.Builder()
.copy(AnimationComponent.this.yAnimator)
.setDuration(h * 5, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS) // Original speed was 200 px/s
.build();
AnimationComponent.this.yAnimator.start();
}
this.oldWidth = w;
this.oldHeight = h;
}
});
}
}
I'm getting good results but has one issue: any item you resize, the animation is reset.

Score not Updating in Pong

I'm very confused as to why my scoreboard isn't updating on screen. The scores are increasing (I checked with debugger, also the ball is being centered). But the scoreboard isn't updating at all it constantly says "0 : 0"
Pong Class
package com.dheraxysgames.pong;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public class Pong extends JFrame{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
//Set Resolution
public static final int width = 300,
height = width / 4 * 3,
scale = 3;
public Pong() {
Dimension size = new Dimension(width * scale, height * scale);
setSize(size);
setTitle("PONG");
setResizable(false);
setVisible(true);
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
add(new GamePanel());
}
public static int getWindowWidth(){
return width * scale;
}
public static int getWindowHeight(){
return height * scale;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Pong();
}
}
GamePanel Class
package com.dheraxysgames.pong;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyListener;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class GamePanel extends JPanel implements ActionListener, KeyListener {
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
Ball ball = new Ball();
Player player = new Player();
AI ai = new AI(this);
public GamePanel(){
Timer time = new Timer(50, this);
time.start();
this.addKeyListener(this);
this.setFocusable(true);
}
private void update(){
player.update();
ai.update();
ball.update();
ball.checkCollision(player);
ball.checkCollision(ai);
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics g){
super.paintComponent(g);
g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g.fillRect(0, 0, Pong.getWindowWidth(), Pong.getWindowHeight());
g.setColor(Color.WHITE);
Font font = new Font("IMMORTAL", Font.BOLD, 50);
g.setFont(font);
g.drawString(player.score + " : " + ai.score, Pong.getWindowWidth() / 2 - 60, 50);
player.paint(g);
ai.paint(g);
ball.paint(g);
}
public Ball getBall(){
return ball;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
update();
repaint();
}
//Keyboard
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
if (e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_UP) player.setYVelocity(-10);
if (e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_DOWN) player.setYVelocity(10);
}
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
if (e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_UP) player.setYVelocity(0);
if (e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_DOWN) player.setYVelocity(0);
}
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
}
}
Player Class
package com.dheraxysgames.pong;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
public class Player {
public int score = 0;
private static int width = 50,
height = 150;
private int x = 800, y = (Pong.getWindowHeight() / 2) - (height / 2),
yV = 0;
public Player() {
}
public void update(){
y += yV;
}
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(x, y, width, height);
}
public int getX(){
return x;
}
public int getY(){
return y;
}
public int getWidth(){
return width;
}
public int getHeight(){
return height;
}
public void setYVelocity(int speed){
yV = speed;
}
}
AI Class
package com.dheraxysgames.pong;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
public class AI {
public int score = 0;
private static int width = 50,
height = 150;
private GamePanel field;
private int x = 50, y = (Pong.getWindowHeight() / 2) - (height / 2),
yV = 0;
public AI(GamePanel game) {
this.field = game;
}
public AI(){
}
public void update(){
if(field.getBall().getY() < this.y) yV = -8;
if(field.getBall().getY() > this.y) yV = 8;
y += yV;
}
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillRect(x, y, width, height);
}
public int getX(){
return x;
}
public int getY(){
return y;
}
public int getWidth(){
return width;
}
public int getHeight(){
return height;
}
public void setYVelocity(int speed){
yV = speed;
}
}
Ball Class
package com.dheraxysgames.pong;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
public class Ball {
private int x = Pong.getWindowWidth() / 2, y = Pong.getWindowHeight() / 2,
xV = 10, yV = 10;
private static int size = 40;
Player player = new Player();
AI ai = new AI();
public void update() {
x += xV;
y += yV;
if (x < 0){
reverseXDirection();
player.score++;
x = Pong.getWindowWidth() / 2;
y = Pong.getWindowHeight() / 2;
}
if (x > Pong.getWindowWidth() - size){
reverseXDirection();
ai.score++;
x = Pong.getWindowWidth() / 2;
y = Pong.getWindowHeight() / 2;
}
if (y < 0 || y > Pong.getWindowHeight() - size - 38) reverseYDirection();
}
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.setColor(Color.GREEN);
g.fillOval(x, y, size, size);
}
private void reverseXDirection(){
xV = -xV;
}
private void reverseYDirection(){
yV = -yV;
}
public void checkCollision(Player p) {
if (this.x + size > p.getX() && this.x + size < p.getX() + p.getWidth()){
if (this.y + size > p.getY() && this.y + size < p.getY() + p.getHeight()){
reverseXDirection();
}
}
}
public void checkCollision(AI ai) {
if (this.x > ai.getX() && this.x < ai.getX() + ai.getWidth()){
if (this.y > ai.getY() && this.y < ai.getY() + ai.getHeight()){
reverseXDirection();
}
}
}
public int getX(){
return x;
}
public int getY(){
return y;
}
}

In you're Ball class the score you're updating is not the same score that is being checked in the GamePanel class.
Notice how in both classes you are calling
Player player = new Player();
AI ai = new AI();
player and ai in Ball are seperate instances from the player and ai in GamePanel.
You will need to get the player and ai from the GamePanel class and pass them to the Ball class. The easiest way to do this would probably be to give Ball a constructor like so
Player player;
AI ai;
public Ball(Player player, AI ai) {
this.player = player;
this.ai = ai;
}
And in your GamePanel class change:
Ball ball = new Ball();
Player player = new Player();
AI ai = new AI(this);
To this:
Player player = new Player();
AI ai = new AI(this);
Ball ball = new Ball(player, ai);
It's been a while since I've used java so I'm probably forgetting a simpler way to do this, but this should solve the problem.

Change ball color when colliding

I'm making an java app (for exercise) where there must be a panel and 2 buttons.
Each time you press the start button a ball must be displayed and it moves based on thread. The user can display all the way up to 10 independent balls.
By pressing the stop button, 1 ball must be removed with each time the stop button is pressed (example, when there is 4 balls, the user must press 4 times stop button to remove all the balls independently)
All the x- and y coordinates of the balls must be stored in a Matrix
When 1 or more ball(s) are colliding with each other, only the colliding balls must change color from red to blue
Ok I'm almost done with it completely ( from point 1 to 4 ), but here comes my problem. When a ball is colliding with another, instead of changing the colors of the colliding balls to blue, my code is changing all the balls color from red to blue. I know that my error lies at the new Balls().setColor(Color.Blue), but I have no idea how to change only the colliding balls.
Below follows a screen shot of the java app and the code.
Can anyone help me with this headache?
Printscreen:
source code:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;`
public class BouncingBalls extends JPanel implements ActionListener {
protected List<Ball> balls = new ArrayList<Ball>(10);
private final Container container;
private final DrawCanvas canvas;
private int canvasWidth;
private int canvasHeight;
public JButton start, stop;
int [][] coords= new int[11][2];
int ammountOfBalls = 0;
static Color clr= Color.RED;
public static int random(int maxRange) {
return (int) Math.round((Math.random() * maxRange));
}
public BouncingBalls(int width, int height) {
setLayout(new FlowLayout());
start= new JButton("start");
start.addActionListener(this);
stop= new JButton("stop");
stop.addActionListener(this);
add(start);
add(stop);
add(new JLabel(""));
container = new Container();
canvasWidth = width;
canvasHeight = height;
canvas = new DrawCanvas();
this.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
this.add(canvas);
start();
}
public void start() {
Thread t = new Thread() {
#Override
public void run() {
while (true) {
update();
getPositions();
collisionDetection();
repaint();
try {
Thread.sleep(30);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
}
}
}
private void collisionDetection() {
// The algorithm that detects collision
for(int i=0;i<ammountOfBalls;i++){
for(int j=i+1; j<ammountOfBalls; j++){
if(collisionMethod(i,j)){ // my collision method
//HOW DO I CHANGE ONLY THE COLLIDING BALLS COLOR HERE????
new Ball().setColor(Color.BLUE); // this line here changes the color of all the balls on the panel
System.out.println("Its a hit");
}
}
}
}
private void getPositions() {
int row=0;
for (Ball ball : balls) {
int x =ball.getXPosition();
int y =ball.getYPosition();
coords[row][0]=x;
coords[row][1]=y;
row++;
}
}
private boolean collisionMethod(int i, int j) {
float xd = coords[i][0]-coords[j][0];
float yd=coords[i][1]-coords[j][1];
float radius= new Ball().ballRadius;
float sqrRadius= radius * radius;
float distSqr= (xd * xd) + (yd * yd);
if(distSqr <= sqrRadius)
return true;
return false;
}
};
t.start();
}
public void update() {
for (Ball ball : balls) {
ball.move(container);
}
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() == start){
if(ammountOfBalls < 10){
// to limit the ammount of balls to 10
balls.add(new Ball());
ammountOfBalls++;
}
}
else if( e.getSource() == stop){
if(ammountOfBalls > 0){
ammountOfBalls --;
balls.remove(ammountOfBalls);
}
}
}
class DrawCanvas extends JPanel {
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
container.draw(g);
for (Ball ball : balls) {
ball.draw(g);
}
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return (new Dimension(700, 400));
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame f = new JFrame("Bouncing Balls");
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(f.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(800,500));
f.setContentPane(new BouncingBalls(800,800));
f.pack();
f.setVisible(true);
}
public static class Ball {
public int random(int maxRange) {
return (int) Math.round(Math.random() * maxRange);
}
int x = random(700); // method to get random coords for the x-value
int y = random(400); // method to get random coords for the y-value ...... these are used to get random positions for the balls instead of only static
int xMovement = 10;
int yMovement = 10;
int ballRadius = 20;
int i = 0;
public Color getColor(){
return clr;
}
public Color setColor(Color color){
clr=color;
return clr;
}
public void draw(Graphics g) {
g.setColor(getColor());
g.fillOval(x,y,ballRadius,ballRadius);
}
public int getXPosition(){
return x;
}
public int getYPosition(){
return y;
}
public void move(Container container) {
x += xMovement;
y += yMovement;
if (x - ballRadius < 0) {
xMovement = -xMovement;
x = ballRadius;
}
else if (x + ballRadius > 700) {
xMovement = -xMovement;
x = 700 - ballRadius;
}
if (y - ballRadius < 0) {
yMovement = -yMovement;
y = ballRadius;
}
else if (y + ballRadius > 400) {
yMovement = -yMovement;
y = 400 - ballRadius;
}
}
}
public static class Container {
private static final int hightPanel = 800;
private static final int widthPanel= 800;
public void draw(Graphics g) {
g.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g.fillRect(0, 0, widthPanel, hightPanel);
}
}
}
`

You have defined clr as a static field of your application. When your Ball class calls setColor() you are changing the value of clr to blue... and then any Ball that calls getColor() will see that clr is blue.
Solution: Don't make clr an application-wide static field. Define it in the Ball class as a non-static field, so each Ball has its own color.

Using a JLabel to continuously update a score in Java, JFrame-based game

I'm building a little "pong" game in Java.
I'm trying to add a scorekeeper up top that shows the updated score (+1) everytime the player saves the ball with the paddle.
I'm trying to use a JLabel but the problem is that I can't think of a way to continuously update the JLabel each time the paddle is hit.
Any ideas?
My code:
MainPanel Class (the one with the Paddle and Ball and Label)
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
//import swing.graphics.BounceFrame;
//import swing.graphics.Circle;
public class MainPanel extends JPanel implements ActionListener, KeyListener, Runnable{
public Paddle paddle;
public Ball ball;
public MainPanel(){
ball = new Ball(50, 50, 10); //centerX, centerY, radius
setSize(300, 300);
paddle = new Paddle();
JLabel scoreKeeper = new JLabel("Score" + ball.getScore());
add(scoreKeeper);
Thread thread = new Thread(this);
thread.start();
}
public void paint(Graphics g) {
super.paint(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D)g;
paddle.draw(g2);
ball.draw(g2);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
String direction = e.getActionCommand();
switch(direction){
case "left": Paddle.movePaddleLeft(); break;
case "right": Paddle.movePaddleRight(); break;
}
this.repaint();
}
public void run() {
try {
while(true){
ball.move(getBounds());
repaint();
Thread.sleep(500/30);
}
}
catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
#Override
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
if (e.getKeyCode() == 37){
Paddle.movePaddleLeft();
}
if (e.getKeyCode() == 39){
Paddle.movePaddleRight();
}
}
#Override
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
}
#Override
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
}
}
And my Ball class:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;
import java.util.Random;
public class Ball {
private Ellipse2D ball;
private double radius;
private double ballCircumference;
private Color color;
private double x;
private double y;
private double dx = 5;
private double dy = 5;
private int score = 0;
public int getScore() {
return score;
}
//Boundaries to determine if ball is hit by paddle
private double criticalBoundaryX;
private double criticalBoundaryY1;
private double criticalBoundaryY2;
private double paddleHalfwayPoint;
private boolean inGame = true;
public void recalculateCriticals(){
criticalBoundaryX = Paddle.getYPosition() - ballCircumference;
criticalBoundaryY1 = Paddle.getXPosition()- ballCircumference; //Left boundary
criticalBoundaryY2 = Paddle.getXPosition()+Paddle.getPaddleWidth()+ballCircumference; //Right Boundary
paddleHalfwayPoint = (Paddle.getXPosition()+Paddle.getPaddleWidth())/2;
}
public Ball(int centerX, int centerY, int radius) {
this.x = centerX - radius;
this.y = centerY - radius;
this.radius = radius;
ballCircumference = 2*radius;
Random randomRGB = new Random();
color = new Color(randomRGB.nextInt(255), randomRGB.nextInt(255), randomRGB.nextInt(255));
this.ball = new Ellipse2D.Double(x, y, 2*radius, 2*radius);
}
public void move(Rectangle2D bounds) {
recalculateCriticals();
x += dx;
y += dy;
if (x < bounds.getMinX()) {
x = bounds.getMinX();
dx = -dx;
}
if (x + 2*radius >= bounds.getMaxX()) {
//System.out.println(bounds.getMaxX());
x = bounds.getMaxX() - 2*radius;
dx = -dx;
}
if (y < bounds.getMinY()) {
y = bounds.getMinY();
dy = -dy;
}
if (y > criticalBoundaryX){
if (x < criticalBoundaryY1 || x > criticalBoundaryY2){
inGame = false;
}
if (!inGame && hittingEdge(x))
dx = -dx;
}
if (y > criticalBoundaryX && inGame){ //When it hits the paddle
changeColor();
score++;
y = criticalBoundaryX;
dy = -dy;
}
if (y > bounds.getMaxY()){
System.out.println("Game Over");
System.exit(0);
}
recalculateCriticals();
ball.setFrame(x, y, 2*radius, 2*radius);
}
public boolean onPaddle(double x){
return ((x > Paddle.getXPosition()) && (x < Paddle.getXPosition()+Paddle.getPaddleWidth()) && (y > Paddle.getYPosition()-10));
}
public boolean hittingEdge(double x){
return ((x >= criticalBoundaryY1 && x < paddleHalfwayPoint)
||
(x <= criticalBoundaryY1 && x > paddleHalfwayPoint)); //Return true if x is hitting the side edge of the paddle
}
public void changeColor(){
Random randomColor = new Random();
color = new Color(randomColor.nextInt(255), randomColor.nextInt(255), randomColor.nextInt(255));
}
public void draw(Graphics2D g2) {
g2.setColor(color);
g2.fill(ball);
}
}

The "Java way" of doing this would be to define a listener interface, for example:
public interface BallListener {
void paddleHit();
}
In the Ball class, you should add a field
private List<BallListener> listeners;
as well as methods
public void addBallListener(BallListener l) { listeners.add(l); }
public void removeBallListener(BallListener l) { listeners.remove(l); }
When the paddle is hit, you go:
for (BallListener l : listeners)
l.paddleHit();
The main class should implement the BallListener interface, and register itself with the ball (ball.addBallListener(this)).
This approach also enables you to, when needed, inform other parts of your program about different events that happen to the ball (i.e. add a new method to BallListener for each event you'd like to signal).

[Java]Double buffering failing to double buffer

Well, as the title says, I am having trouble with double buffering. I read this Java Ebook and it doesn't give you code for what they are teaching you - at least not completely. So I have to do a lot of guess work.
Objective : Bouncing ball in an applet.
It's not working in the way that the ball is still flashing. Aka double buffering is failing to work.
I use three classes, ball class, double buffering class, and MainApplet class. MainApplet extends double buffering, and ball class extends MainApplet
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class MainApplet extends DoubleBuffering implements Runnable {
public Ball ball;
public Graphics g;
private Thread ticker;
public boolean running = false;
public void init() {
setSize(100,100);
ball = new Ball(getWidth() / 5f, getHeight() / 4f, 1.5f,
2.3f, 12, Color.red);
moveBall();
}
public void run() {
while(running) {
try {
Rectangle bou = new Rectangle(getWidth(), getHeight());
ball.move(bou);
ball.update(getGraphics());
Thread.sleep(1000 / 15);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
System.out.println(e.getMessage());
}
repaint();
}
}
public void moveBall() {
start();
}
public synchronized void start() {
running = true;
ticker = new Thread(this);
ticker.setPriority(Thread.MIN_PRIORITY + 1);
ticker.start();
}
public synchronized void stop() {
running = false;
ticker.stop();
}
}
import java.applet.Applet;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
public class DoubleBuffering extends Applet
{
Image offScreenBuffer;
#SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
public void update(Graphics g)
{
System.out.println("We are buffing");
Graphics gr;
if (offScreenBuffer==null ||
(! (offScreenBuffer.getWidth(this) == this.size().width
&& offScreenBuffer.getHeight(this) == this.size().height)))
{
offScreenBuffer = this.createImage(size().width, size().height);
}
gr = offScreenBuffer.getGraphics();
System.out.println("Something else");
paint(gr);
g.drawImage(offScreenBuffer, 0, 0, this);
}
}
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
public class Ball extends MainApplet{
int size;
private Color color;
public float x, y, dx, dy;
public Ball ball;
public int width, height;
public Image offscreenImage;
public Graphics offscr;
private MainApplet ma;
Ball (float x, float y, float dx, float dy, int size,
Color color) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
this.dy = dx;
this.dy = dy;
this.color = color;
this.size = size;
}
public void draw (Graphics g) {
g.setColor(this.color);
g.fillOval((int) x, (int) y, size, size);
}
public void update(Graphics g) {
g.clearRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
draw(g);
}
public void move(Rectangle bounds) {
// Add velocity values dx/dy to position to
// ball s new position
x += dx;
y += dy;
// Check for collision with left edge
if (x < bounds.x && dx < 0) {
dx = -dx;
x -= 2 * (x - bounds.x);
}
// Check for collision with right edge
else if (x + size > bounds.x + bounds.width &&
dx > 0) {
dx = -dx;
x -= 2 * ((x + size) - (bounds.x + bounds.width));
}
// Checks for collision with top edge
else if (y < bounds.y && dy < 0) {
dy = -dy;
y -= 2 * (y - bounds.y);
}
// Checks for collision with bottom edge
else if (y + size > bounds.y + bounds.height && dy >0) {
dy = -dy;
y -= 2 * ((y + size) - (bounds.y + bounds.width));
}
}
}
Note: I'm not too sure how this code will come out >.< it looks as if it's being choppy with the 'code:' function.
Anyways, don't hate too hard on my conventions, I'm still rather new. Tips and answers would be appreciated. Thanks.

Instead of calling Thread.Sleep() try using the swing Timer like this.
private Timer t;
public void moveBall() {
t = new Timer(1000/15, new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
Rectangle bou = new Rectangle(getWidth(), getHeight());
ball.move(bou);
ball.update(getGraphics());
repaint();
}
});
t.start();
}
public void destroy() {
if(t!=null) t.stop();
super.destroy();
}
that should help at least a little bit.

I'm assuming the class DoubleBuffering is some tutorial class. I'm guessing it derives from Applet and not JApplet. If you use JApplet you will get double buffering by default.