Keeping tracks of what object triggers a common event - java

I have a common event handler for a set of submenus, say something like 4 menus, and 4 submenus in each. What I want is to keep track of how many times each submenu is clicked and for that I'm using an integer array as a counter for each submenu(declared with application scope), in the main class. I need to write the values in this array to a file after the GUI exits. How (and more importantly where in the code) do I do this? My array is obviously of size 16 and needs to be initialised to zero(again where do I do this?)
I'm new to Java but I'm guessing I need to do something with this,
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

First, in the class that initializes the menu items, you need to declare an array of integers. Those will be initialized to 0 automatically:
private int[] counters = new int[16];
Then, each time you initialize a menu item, you must add a listener to the item that increments the appropriate counters element:
private class CounterIncrementActionListener implements ActionListener {
private int index;
private CounterIncrementActionListener(int index) {
this.index = index;
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
counters[index] = counters[index] + 1;
}
}
...
firstItem.addActionListener(new CounterIncrementActionListener(0));
secondItem.addActionListener(new CounterIncrementActionListener(1));
...
Now, to be able to save the counters array to a file when the frame is closed, you need to add a window listener to the frame:
frame.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter() {
#Override
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e) {
saveCounters();
System.exit(0);
}
}

Pass it in to the event. Many GUIs have an ActionCommand type property that you can tag with whatever string you want. You can use that to pass the information into your event.

Mostly from Oracle - How to Write Window Listeners
You need to use setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.DO_NOTHING_ON_CLOSE)
you need to add a windowListener
You need to override the windowClosing() method of the windowListener
e.g:
this.addWindowListener(new java.awt.event.WindowAdapter() {
public void windowClosing(java.awt.event.WindowEvent e) {
//Save your Array here
}
});

Related

Java - Linking a JTextField variable with another class variable

What I want to achieve is very simple.
I have 2 classes. "SpeedingTicket" & "SpeedingTicket GUI".
Inside my GUI I have 1 textbox name txtSpeedLimit & a button.
Inside my SpeedingTicket class I have a variable "int speedingTicket".
Inside my SpeedingTicket class I also have a get & set method for "speedingTicket".
I know how to get and set text using JTextFields, but I want to be able to:
receive input from the "txtSpeedLimit", and store that value into the "txtSpeedLimit" instance variable in the "SpeedTicket" class. I can then check for validation etc when I come to adding the vehicle speed.
Maybe this isn't the most efficient way of dealing with this program. Maybe I should scrap the instance variables in SpeedingTicket, and deal with it all in the GUI.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Basically what I'm trying to do is this:
class confirmHandler implements ActionListener{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
String val = txtSpeedLimit.getText();
int realNum = speed.getSpeedLimit() = txtSpeedLimit; < but obviously that doesn't work, but I want the textbox link to the variable.
EDIT: If we take away the GUI, all I want my program to do is the following:
Speed Limit: 50 < enterd via textfield
Speed: 60 < entered via textfield
if the speed is blah blah (ive already coded this).. then output a result to one of my labels.
I achieved this without making a GUI and making it only console based, but instead of the user typing it via the console, I want it to be typed via textfields.
THe values that are entered into the textfields should be stored in the two variables (speed and speedlimit) that are in the SpeedingTicket class.
You can update a value in:
public class SpeedingTicket {
int speedingTicket;
public SpeedingTicket() {
speedingTicket = 500;
}
public int getSpeedingTicket() {
return speedingTicket;
}
}
by:
public class SpeedingTicketGUI extends JPanel{
SpeedingTicket st;
SpeedingTicketGUI() {
st = new SpeedingTicket();
setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
JTextField txtField = new JTextField(10);
txtField.setText(""+st.getSpeedingTicket());
add(txtField);
JButton btn = new JButton("Update");
btn.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
setSpeedingTicket(txtField.getText());
}
});
add(btn);
}
private void setSpeedingTicket(String text) {
try {
int speedTicket = Integer.parseInt(text);
st.setSpeedingTicket(speedTicket);
System.out.println("Speeding ticket set to " +st.getSpeedingTicket());
} catch (NumberFormatException ex) {
System.out.println("Invalid value " +text);
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
public static void main(String[] args){
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Speeding Ticket");
frame.setSize(400,100);
frame.add(new SpeedingTicketGUI());
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
You don't need to store values in JText or any GUI componenets...
Use global static variables. For example:
public static int speed_limit;
You can access this variable from ANY method,class, etc.
There are multiple ways to do it.
You can detect textfield changes by using a DocumentListener or if you want (not recommended) by a KeyListener.
The Listener could be implemented directly by your gui class or by your other class. If you want more abstraction you could implement the DocumentListener by your gui class and create a method
public void addSpeedChangeListener(SpeedChangeListener scl) {
this.speedChangeListeners.add(scl);
}
Your SpeedChangeListener could be very simple:
public interface SpeedChangeListener {
public void speedChanged(int value);
}
Then your second class implements the SpeedChangeListener and calls addSpeedChangeListener(this) on your gui class. Inside the gui class, your document listener calls speedChanged(val) for every listener registered.
EDIT
You can also use the Button and call the speedChanged on every listener inside the actionPerformed method of the ActionListener.
I think it would be easier to use a JOptionDialog which pop ups when the button is clicked. That way you can easily get input and also validate the input straight away.

Updating JList by pressing button

first of all I will introduce what I am trying to do. This is an assignment in university we are making Hotel booking system with JAVA. To go straight to the point, all I need to know is how to update JList when I press button.
listModel = new DefaultListModel<Hotel>();
bookingList = new JList(listModel);
class MouseAdapterMod extends MouseAdapter {
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
if(e.getSource() == searchButton){
for(lists.getRoomsList() p : lists.getRoomsList())
{
listModel.addElement(p);
}
bookingList.setModel(listModel);
}
In this GUI class I have instance variable (lists) of Hotel class, in Hotel class there are methods
public ArrayList<Rooms> getRoomsList()
{
return roomsList.getListRooms();
}
public ArrayList<Suite> getSuitesList()
{
return roomsList.getListSuites();
}
this returns whole ArrayList of Room class objects and also ArrayList of Suite class.
QUESTION would be is how to show whole ArrayList of Rooms when I press button, in other words how to update JList which consists of objects, by pressing button?
I hope I explained alright.
Your for-each loop is wrong. Try this and see:
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
if(e.getSource().equals(searchButton)){
ArrayList<Rooms> rooms = lists.getRoomsList();
for(Rooms r : rooms) {
listModel.addElement(r);
}
bookingList.setModel(listModel);
}
}
This still looks sorta messy to me though. A more appropriate approach would be to set an event handler on the searchButton, to populate the JList when searchButton is clicked.
Also, are Rooms and Suites sub classes of Hotel? If not, you'll have to create listModel like this (for rooms):
listModel = new DefaultListModel<Rooms>();

Refresh JPanel content on tab switch

I'm writing a simple UI just to get the hang of things. I have a tabbed window with two tabs, one has a button that counts up an integer, the other has a text field showing the content of said integer. Or at least that's the plan.
Everything works just fine if I stuff everything into one class. I can access tab 1 from my actionlistener and change the text field in tab 1 from the button press in tab 2. But I don't want my entire program to be in one class, obviously.
And here I have no idea what to do: I need to tell the textfield in the Class Tab1 to change on the button press in the Class Tab2. What's the right thing to do here? My first thought was to hand over an instance of Tab1 in the creation of Tab2, so I could do tab1.changeText(). But that would get messy quickly once I'd get more tabs that interact with each other. So, instead, I want to update the content of the first tab every time it is opened, but I don't know how to do that. And I don't know if that's the right thing to do, either. So, help!
Here's some code. "content" is an instance of Content, a class handling all the logic like adding to the counter.
Main GUI Class:
public class GUI extends JFrame {
//Stuff..
JTabbedPane tabs = new JTabbedPane();
tabs.addTab("One", new Tab1(content));
tabs.addTab("Two", new Tab2(content));
//Stuff..
Tab 1:
public class Tab1 extends JPanel {
public Tab1(Content content) {
JPanel tab1 = new JPanel();
//Stuff..
JTextField tfCount = new JTextField(content.getCounter(), 10);
tab1.add(tfCount);
this.add(tab1);
//Stuff..
Tab 2:
public class Tab2 extends JPanel {
public Tab2(Content content) {
JPanel tab2 = new JPanel();
//Stuff..
JButton btnCount2 = new JButton("Count");
btnCount2.addActionListener(new TestListener(this.content));
tab2.add(btnCount2);
this.add(tab2);
}
private class TestListener implements ActionListener {
Content content;
public TestListener(Content content) {
this.content = content;
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
this.content.addToCounter(1);
}
}
Now, if all of that would be in one class (plus subclasses), I could just access tfCount from Tab2 and do tfCount.setText(content.getCounter());. Now tfCount is in a different class, though, and I cannot access it, unless I hand over an instance of Tab1 to Tab2 (like tabs.addTab("Two", new Tab2(content, Tab1);). Couldn't I instead get Tab1 to repaint itself whenever it is opened, like having a method that executes tfCount.setText(content.getCounter()) in Tab1 whenever it is opened, or something along those lines? If so, how do I do that?
With you controls separated in this manner you have a view choices...
You Could...
Share an instance of each "tab" with each of the other tabs, allowing them to either access the others controls or attach listeners across each other. This is very tightly coupled and messy.
The other problem is, does the button really care about the text field or visa versa...
You Could...
Create a simple model that contains the current int value and provides a means to change that value.
The model would have the capacity to fire a ChangeEvent (for example) when the value is changed, which interested parties could listen for and update themselves accordingly.
This decouples the code, reducing the complexity and greatly increasing the flexibility and reuse of various elements of your code.
This is commonly known as an observer pattern and is widely used in Swing.
A possible (listener) example...
For me, I always start with an interface, this describes the absolute minimum requirements that must be meet in order to achieve the required goal. Each tab will want to know the current value, be able to set the next value and listener for changes to the model...
public interface NumberModel {
public int getValue();
public void setValue(int value);
public void addChangeListener(ChangeListener listener);
public void removeChangeListener(ChangeListener listener);
}
An abstract implementation deals with the more "common" implementation details, things that a concrete implementation won't want to have to implement, as it's common enough to all implementations. In this case, that would the listener management...
public abstract class AbstractNumberModel implements NumberModel {
private List<ChangeListener> listeners;
public AbstractNumberModel() {
listeners = new ArrayList<>(25);
}
#Override
public void addChangeListener(ChangeListener listener) {
listeners.add(listener);
}
#Override
public void removeChangeListener(ChangeListener listener) {
listeners.remove(listener);
}
protected ChangeListener[] getChangeListeners() {
// FIFO...
List<ChangeListener> copy = new ArrayList<>(listeners);
Collections.reverse(copy);
return copy.toArray(copy.toArray(new ChangeListener[listeners.size()]));
}
protected void fireStateChanged() {
ChangeListener[] listeners = getChangeListeners();
if (listeners != null && listeners.length > 0) {
ChangeEvent evt = new ChangeEvent(this);
for (ChangeListener listener : listeners) {
listener.stateChanged(evt);
}
}
}
}
And finally, a concrete implementation, which deals with the implementation specific details...
public class DefaultNumberModel extends AbstractNumberModel {
private int value;
public DefaultNumberModel() {
}
public DefaultNumberModel(int value) {
setValue(value);
}
#Override
public int getValue() {
return value;
}
#Override
public void setValue(int num) {
if (num != value) {
value = num;
fireStateChanged();
}
}
}
We could be a slightly more flexible model by doing something like public interface NumberModel<N extends Number> which would allow you define models that could hold Integer, Double, Float and Long for example, but I'll leave that to you.
Each of you tab views will need a setModel(NumberModel) method, so you can pass the model it. In these methods, you will attach a listener to the model and get the current value so that the model and view are in sync.

Is there a way to disable all buttons with a method?

This is a lab for school that I'm struggling with, the code is making a game of hangman, and when the "brain" program says the game is over, all of the letter buttons are supposed to be disabled.
relevant code sections:
the buttons:
class ActionButton extends JButton implements ActionListener{
private String name;
private char t;
public ActionButton(String s){
super(s);
name = s;
t = name.charAt(0);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
ido.newLetter(t);
this.setEnabled(false);
LovesMePanel.this.update();
}
}
the update method:
public void update(){
answers = ido.getAnswer();
flower.setTriesLeft(ido.getTriesLeft());
progress.setText(answers);
if(ido.gameOver()){
// This is where I need to deactivate the buttons
if(ido.hasWon()){
}
}
else if(triesLeft == 0){
}
}
the buttons are all created in a loop in the LoveMePanel that holds all of the other panels. Is there a way to reference them all or disable them all when the game is over?
If not, how should I change my code so that it would be possible to do that?
If you put your buttons in a Collection, you can iterate through them and disable them all that way. I.e.,
for (JButton b : myButtons) {
b.setEnabled(false)
}
If not, you have 26 disable statements to write.
See the setEnabled() method for JButton. You can:
Add your Buttons to an ArrayList while creating them and then iterate over it and disable one by one
Get children of a JPanel, iterate over them, check if it's a button and disable it
Put a Glass Pane on top of your Burrons to intercept the incoming events
Feel free to choose the one you like best.
how about getting the children of the root panel by calling getComponents and iterating over them recursively and finding JButtons and disabling them as you find them?

How do I access the source of an ActionEvent when the ActionListener is located in a different class?

I can't get my head round this one. I've tried to adhere to the MVC pattern for the first time and now have difficulties accessing the source of an ActionEvent because the ActionListener is located in a different class. But let the code do the talking...
In the "view":
// ControlForms.java
...
private JPanel createSearchPanel() throws SQLException {
...
comboBoxCode = new JComboBox(); // Field comboBoxCode -> JComboBox()
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
AutoCompleteSupport<Object> support = AutoCompleteSupport.install(
comboBoxCode, GlazedLists.eventListOf(jnlCodeArray));
}
}); // Auto-Complete comboBox from GlazedLists
...
public void setComboListener(ComboListener comboListener) {
comboBoxCode.addActionListener(comboListener);
}
...
}
Then, in what I term the controller, I have two different classes:
// Controller.java
public MyController() throws SQLException {
...
addListeners();
}
...
private void addListeners(){
View view = getView();
getView().getControlForm().setComboListener(new ComboListener());
}
and
public class ComboListener implements ActionListener {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("ComboBox listened to! e = " + e.toString());
}
}
Now, e obviously doesn't give the name of the variable (which at the moment I wish it would), so I cannot if test for e.getSource().
My question is thus: is there either a) a way to query (via if for example) the source of e, or b) a less complicated way to get to the variable name?
Many, many thanks in advance for your insights and tips!
Why do you need the name of the variable? Why can't you do the event handling like this
public class ComboListener implements ActionListener
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
JComboBox source = (JComboBox)e.getSource();
//do processing here
}
}
I'd think that if you need to do processing according the variable name, obviously you need different listeners for different combo boxes.
Generally, there are only two situations in which you should use a listener like that: a) you're going to handle a certain event the same way for a bunch of objects, or b) you're only going to use the listener for one object. In the latter case, I'd prefer handling the event locally anyway.
That said, the direct answer to your question is: you shouldn't have to check inside your ActionListener implementation to see whether the appropriate object is the source of the event; you should simply only add the ActionListener to that one object.
One final note: without knowing the specifics of your architecture... generally, MVC will treat all event handling as part of the View (it reduces coupling) and the View will pass commands or method calls or your own events (i.e., not Swing's) to the Controller.

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