Chapter 5

AWT and Swing

 Components of AWT and Swing
• There are two main ways to create a graphical user interface
(GUI) in Java.
• There is the AWT, which was the first one, and is older. Then
there is Swing.
• Swing is a newer way of making a GUI.
• All objects in Swing are derived from AWT, and most objects in
Swing start with the letter J.
• Java AWT (Abstract Window Toolkit) is an API to develop GUI
or window-based applications in java.
• Java AWT components are platform-dependent i.e.
components are displayed according to the view of operating
system.
• The java.awt package provides classes for AWT api such as
TextField, Label, TextArea, RadioButton, CheckBox, Choice, List
etc.
Java AWT Hierarchy
• Container
– The Container is a component in AWT that can contain other
components like buttons, textfields, labels etc.
– The class that extends Container class is known as container such as
Frame, Dialog and Panel.
• Window
– The window is the container that has no borders and menu bars.
– You must use frame, dialog or another window for creating a window.
• Panel
– The Panel is the container that doesn't contain title bar and menu
bars.
– It can have other components like button, textfield etc.
• Frame
– The Frame is the container that contain title bar and can have menu
bars.
– It can have other components like button, textfield etc.
 Java AWT Example
• To create simple awt example, you need a frame. There are
two ways to create a frame in AWT.
– By extending Frame class (inheritance)
– By creating the object of Frame class (association)
 AWT Example by Inheritance
import java.awt.*;
public class TestFrame extends Frame {
public TestFrame(){
Label lblfname=new Label("First name");
Label lbllname=new Label("Last name");
TextField txtfname=new TextField("");
TextField txtlname=new TextField("");
Button b=new Button ("Click Me");
lblfname.setBounds(30, 100,80, 30);
txtfname.setBounds(110, 100,100, 30);
lbllname.setBounds(30, 150,80, 30);
txtlname.setBounds(110, 150, 100, 30);
b.setBounds(80, 200, 80, 30);
add(lblfname);
add(txtfname);
add(lbllname);
add(txtlname);
add(b);
setSize(300,300);
setLayout(null);
setVisible(true); }
public static void main(String args[]){
TestFrame frm=new TestFrame();
}}
• The setBounds(int xaxis, int yaxis, int width,
int height) method is used in the above
example that sets the position of the awt
button.
 AWT Example by Association
import java.awt.*;
public class TestFrame extends Frame {
public TestFrame(){
Frame frm=new Frame("Test");
Label lblfname=new Label("First name");
Label lbllname=new Label("Last name");
TextField txtfname=new TextField("");
TextField txtlname=new TextField("");
Button b=new Button ("Click Me");
 lblfname.setBounds(30, 100,80, 30);
txtfname.setBounds(110, 100,100, 30);
lbllname.setBounds(30, 150,80, 30);
txtlname.setBounds(110, 150, 100, 30);
b.setBounds(80, 200, 80, 30);
frm.add(lblfname);
frm.add(txtfname);
frm.add(lbllname);
frm.add(txtlname);
frm.add(b);
frm.setSize(300,300);
frm.setLayout(null);
frm.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String args[]){
TestFrame frm=new TestFrame();}}
 Event and Listener (Java Event Handling)

• Changing the state of an object is known as an event.

– For example, click on button, dragging mouse etc.
• The java.awt.event package provides many event classes and
Listener interfaces for event handling.
Java Event classes and Listener interfaces
Event Classes Listener Interfaces

ActionEvent ActionListener

MouseEvent MouseListener and

MouseMotionListener

MouseWheelEvent MouseWheelListener

KeyEvent KeyListener

ItemEvent ItemListener

TextEvent TextListener

AdjustmentEvent AdjustmentListener

WindowEvent WindowListener

ComponentEvent ComponentListener

ContainerEvent ContainerListener
 Steps to perform Event Handling
• Following steps are required to perform event handling:
– Register the component with the Listener
– Event handling
• Registration Methods
• For registering the component with the Listener, many
classes provide the registration methods. For example:
• Button
– public void addActionListener(ActionListener a){}
• MenuItem
– public void addActionListener(ActionListener a){}
• TextField
– public void addActionListener(ActionListener a){}
– public void addTextListener(TextListener a){}
• TextArea
– public void addTextListener(TextListener a){}
• Checkbox
– public void addItemListener(ItemListener a){}
• Choice
– public void addItemListener(ItemListener a){}
• List
– public void addActionListener(ActionListener a){}
– public void addItemListener(ItemListener a){}
 Java Event Handling Code
• We can put the event handling code into one of the following
places:
– Within class
– Other class
– Anonymous class
 Java event handling by implementing
ActionListener (within class)
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class AEvent extends Frame implements ActionListener{
TextField tf;
AEvent(){

//create components
tf=new TextField();
tf.setBounds(60,50,170,20);
Button b=new Button("click me");
b.setBounds(100,120,80,30);
//register listener
b.addActionListener(this);//passing current instance
//add components and set size, layout and visibility
add(b);add(tf);
setSize(300,300);
setLayout(null);
setVisible(true);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
tf.setText("Welcome");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
new AEvent();
} }
 Java event handling by outer class
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class AEvent2 extends Frame{
TextField tf;
AEvent2(){
//create components
tf=new TextField();
tf.setBounds(60,50,170,20);
Button b=new Button("click me");
b.setBounds(100,120,80,30);
//register listener
Outer o=new Outer(this);
b.addActionListener(o);//passing outer class instance
//add components and set size, layout and visibility
add(b);add(tf);
setSize(300,300);
setLayout(null);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String args[]){
new AEvent2();
}
}
//separate file Outer.java
import java.awt.event.*;
class Outer implements ActionListener{
AEvent2 obj;
Outer(AEvent2 obj){
this.obj=obj;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
obj.tf.setText("welcome");
}
}
Java event handling by anonymous class
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class AEvent3 extends Frame{
TextField tf;
AEvent3(){
tf=new TextField();
tf.setBounds(60,50,170,20);
Button b=new Button("click me");
b.setBounds(50,120,80,30);

b.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
tf.setText("hello");
}
});
add(b);add(tf);
setSize(300,300);
setLayout(null);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String args[]){
new AEvent3();
}
}
 Java Swing
• Is a part of Java Foundation Classes (JFC) that is used to create
window-based applications.
• JFC are a set of GUI components which simplify the development of
desktop applications.
• It is built on the top of AWT (Abstract Windowing Toolkit) API and
entirely written in java.
• Unlike AWT, Java Swing provides platform-independent and
lightweight components.
• The javax.swing package provides classes for java swing API such as
JButton, JTextField, JTextArea, JRadioButton, JCheckbox, JMenu,
JColorChooser etc.
 Difference between AWT and Swing
No. Java AWT Java Swing

1) AWT components are platform- Java swing components are platform-

dependent. independent.

2) AWT components are heavyweight. Swing components are lightweight.

3) AWT doesn't support pluggable look Swing supports pluggable look and feel.
and feel.

4) AWT provides less components than Swing provides more powerful

Swing. componentssuch as tables, lists,
scrollpanes, colorchooser, tabbedpane etc.

5) AWT doesn't follows MVC(Model Swing follows MVC.

View Controller) where model
represents data, view represents
presentation and controller acts as an
Hierarchy of Java Swing classes
 Commonly used Methods of
Component class
Method Description

public void add(Component c) add a component on another

component.

public void setSize(int width,int sets size of the component.

height)

public void setLayout(LayoutManager sets the layout manager for the

m) component.

public void setVisible(boolean b) sets the visibility of the component. It is

by default false.
• Example
• The following code finds the sum two integers by using message dialogs
and input dialogs import javax.swing.*;
public class Addition {
public static void main(String args[]) {
String firstnumber=JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter
the first number");
String
secondnumber=JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Enter the
second number");
int x,y,sum;
x=Integer.parseInt(firstnumber);
y=Integer.parseInt(secondnumber);
sum=x+y;
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"the sum of
"+firstnumber+ "and
"+secondnumber+"="+sum,"Addition",JOptionPane.PLAIN_
MESSAGE);
}}
 Layout Mangers
• Layout managers are provided to arrange GUI
components in a container for presentation
purposes.
• Programmers can use the layout managers for
basic layout capabilities instead of determining
the exact position and size of every GUI
component.
• All layout managers implement the interface
LayoutManager (in package java.awt).
• Class Container’s setLayout method takes an
object that implements the LayoutManager
interface as an argument.
• There are basically three ways for you to arrange
components in a GUI:
1. Absolute positioning: This provides the greatest
level of control over a GUI’s appearance.
 By setting a Container’s layout to null, you can
specify the absolute position of each GUI component
with respect to the upper-left corner of the
Container.
 If you do this, you also must specify each GUI
component’s size.
 Programming a GUI with absolute positioning can be
tedious, unless you have an integrated development
environment (IDE) that can generate the code for
you.
2. Layout managers: Using layout managers to
position elements can be simpler and faster
than creating a GUI with absolute
positioning, but you lose some control over
the size and the precise positioning of GUI
components.
3. Visual programming in an IDE: IDEs provide
tools that make it easy to create GUIs.
 Each IDE typically provides a GUI design tool that
allows you to drag and drop GUI components
from a tool box onto a design area.
 You can then position, size and align GUI
components as you like.
 The IDE generates the Java code that creates the
GUI.
 In addition, you can typically add event-handling
code for a particular component by double-
clicking the component.
• We have different layout mangers. Form these
mangers we will discuss three of them.
 FlowLayout
• FlowLayout is the simplest layout manager. GUI components
are placed on a container from left to right in the order in
which they are added to the container.
• When the edge of the container is reached, components
continue to display on the next line.
• Class FlowLayout allows GUI components to be left aligned
centered (the default) and right aligned.
 Example
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class FlowLayoutFrame extends JFrame implements
ActionListener{
JButton leftJButton,centerJButton,rightJButton;
FlowLayout layout;
Container container;
public FlowLayoutFrame(){
super("FlowLayout Demo");
layout =new FlowLayout();
container=getContentPane();
setLayout(layout);
leftJButton=new JButton("Left");
add(leftJButton);
leftJButton.addActionListener(this);
centerJButton=new JButton("center");
add(centerJButton);
centerJButton.addActionListener(this);
rightJButton=new JButton("Right");
add(rightJButton);
rightJButton.addActionListener(this);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getSource()==leftJButton){
layout.setAlignment(FlowLayout.LEFT);
layout.layoutContainer(container);
}
if(e.getSource()==centerJButton){
layout.setAlignment(FlowLayout.CENTER);
layout.layoutContainer(container);
}
if(e.getSource()==rightJButton){
layout.setAlignment(FlowLayout.RIGHT);
layout.layoutContainer(container);
}}
public static void main (String args[]){
FlowLayoutFrame flowlayoutframe=new FlowLayoutFrame();
flowlayoutframe.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
flowlayoutframe.setSize(300,70);
flowlayoutframe.setVisible(true);
}}
 BorderLayout
• The BorderLayout layout manager (the default layout manager
for a JFrame) arranges components into five regions: NORTH,
SOUTH, EAST, WEST and CENTER. NORTH corresponds to the
top of the container.
• A BorderLayout limits a Container to containing at most five
components—one in each region.
• The component placed in each region can be a container to
which other components are attached.
• The components placed in the NORTH and SOUTH regions
extend horizontally to the sides of the container and are as tall
as the components placed in those regions.
• The EAST and WEST regions expand vertically between the
NORTH and SOUTH regions and are as wide as the components
placed in those regions.
• The component placed in the CENTER region expands to fill all
remaining space in the layout.
 Example
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class BorderLayoutFrame extends JFrame implements
ActionListener{
JButton a=new JButton ("Hide North");
JButton b=new JButton ("Hide South");
JButton c=new JButton ("Hide West");
JButton d=new JButton ("Hide East");
JButton e=new JButton ("Center");
BorderLayout layout;
public BorderLayoutFrame(){
super( "BorderLayout Demo" );
layout = new BorderLayout( 5, 5 );
setLayout(layout);
a.addActionListener(this);
b.addActionListener(this);
c.addActionListener(this);
d.addActionListener(this);
e.addActionListener(this);
add(a,BorderLayout.NORTH);
add(b,BorderLayout.SOUTH);
add(c,BorderLayout.EAST);
add(d,BorderLayout.WEST);
add(e,BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent m) {
if(m.getSource()==a)
a.setVisible(false);
if(m.getSource()==b)
b.setVisible(false);
if(m.getSource()==c)
c.setVisible(false);
if(m.getSource()==d)
d.setVisible(false);
if(m.getSource()==e){
e.setVisible(false);
}
if(a.isVisible()==false&&b.isVisible()==false&&c.isVisible()==false&&d.i
sVisible()==false&&e.isVisible()==false)
{
a.setVisible(true);
b.setVisible(true);
c.setVisible(true);
d.setVisible(true);
e.setVisible(true);
}
layout.layoutContainer( getContentPane() );
}
public static void main( String args[] )
{
BorderLayoutFrame borderLayoutFrame = new BorderLayoutFrame();
borderLayoutFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(
JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
borderLayoutFrame.setSize( 300, 200 ); // set frame size
borderLayoutFrame.setVisible( true ); // display frame
}}
 GridLayout
• The GridLayout layout manager divides the container into a
grid so that components can be placed in rows and columns.
• Every Component in a GridLayout has the same width and
height.
• Components are added to a GridLayout starting at the top-left
cell of the grid and proceeding left to right until the row is full.
• Then the process continues left to right on the next row of the
grid, and so on.
 Example
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class GridLayoutFrame extends JFrame
implements ActionListener{
JButton a=new JButton ("One");
JButton b=new JButton ("Two");
JButton c=new JButton ("Three");
JButton d=new JButton ("Four");
JButton e=new JButton ("Five");
JButton f=new JButton ("Six");
boolean toggle=false ;
Container container;
GridLayout gridlayout1,gridlayout2;
public GridLayoutFrame(){
super("GridLayout Demo");
gridlayout1=new GridLayout(2,3,5,5);
gridlayout2=new GridLayout(3,2);
container=getContentPane();
setLayout(gridlayout1);
a.addActionListener(this);
b.addActionListener(this);
c.addActionListener(this);
d.addActionListener(this);
e.addActionListener(this);
f.addActionListener(this);
add(a);
add(b);
add(c);
add(d);
add(e);
add(f);
}
@Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(toggle)
container.setLayout(gridlayout1);
else
container.setLayout(gridlayout2);
toggle=!toggle;
container.validate();//validate recomputes the container’s layout
based on the current layout manager for the Container and the
current set of displayed GUI components.
}
public static void main( String args[] )
{
GridLayoutFrame gridLayoutFrame = new GridLayoutFrame();
gridLayoutFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE
);
gridLayoutFrame.setSize( 300, 200 ); // set frame size
gridLayoutFrame.setVisible( true ); // display frame } }
 Using Panels to Manage More Complex
Layouts
• Complex GUIs (like in the example in this section )
require that each component be placed in an
exact location.
• They often consist of multiple panels, with each
panel’s components arranged in a specific layout.
• Class JPanel extends JComponent and
JComponent extends class Container, so every
JPanel is a Container.
• Thus, every JPanel may have components,
including other panels, attached to it with
Container method add.
 Panel class

• The class Panel is the simplest container class.

• It provides space in which an application can attach any other
component, including other panels.
• It uses FlowLayout as default layout manager.
 Class constructors

S.N Constructor & Description

.

1 Panel()
Creates a new panel using the default layout manager.

2 Panel(LayoutManager layout)
Creates a new panel with the specified layout manager.
 Example:
• the following example is for calculating price for items. The
figure below shows the GUI of the program.
• To create the following form, we have created two panels, p1 and
p2.
• P1 have gridlayout with five rows and 2 columns whereas p2 is set
to have flowlayout.
• The textarea is added to p2 panel and the rest of the components
are on p1.
• Our frame has borderlayout manager therefore that is why we have
p1 in west and p2 east side of the frame.
• The following is the code for the layout manager with action
listeners set to calculate the prices
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class CalcPrice extends JFrame implements ActionListener{
JPanel p1,p2;
JLabel itemname,itemprice,qty,totalprice;
JButton calc,add;
JTextField txtitemname,txtitemprice,txtqty,txttotalprice;
JTextArea report;
double total=0,sum=0;
public CalcPrice(){
super("Sales");
p1=new JPanel(new GridLayout(5,2,6,6));
p2=new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
itemname=new JLabel("Item Name");
itemprice=new JLabel("Item Price");
qty=new JLabel("Quantity ");
totalprice=new JLabel("Total Price");
calc=new JButton("Calculate");
calc.addActionListener(this);
add=new JButton("Add");
add.addActionListener(this);
txtitemname=new JTextField("");
txtitemprice=new JTextField("");
txtqty=new JTextField("");
txttotalprice=new JTextField("");
report=new JTextArea("Item --List --Pricre \n",15,15);
report.setEditable(false);
report.setBackground(Color.lightGray);
report.setForeground(Color.red);
report.setFont(new Font( "SansSerif", Font.BOLD, 14));
p1.add(itemname);
p1.add(txtitemname);
p1.add(itemprice);
p1.add(txtitemprice);
p1.add(qty);
p1.add(txtqty);
p1.add(totalprice);
p1.add(txttotalprice);
p1.add(calc);
p1.add(add);
p2.add(report);
add(p1,BorderLayout.WEST);
add(p2,BorderLayout.EAST);
}
@Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (e.getSource()==add &&
txtitemname.getText().equals("")&txtitemprice.getText().equals("")&&txtqty.getText().equals(""))
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Please insert
data","Error",JOptionPane.WARNING_MESSAGE);
else if(e.getSource()==add){
sum=Double.parseDouble(txtqty.getText())*Double.parseDouble(txtitemprice.getText());
total=total+sum;
report.append(txtitemname.getText()+"---"+txtqty.getText()+"X"+txtitemprice.getText()+"---
"+sum+"\n");
txtitemname.setText("");
txtitemprice.setText("");
txtqty.setText("");
}
else if (e.getSource()==calc){
report.append("Total--------"+total);
txttotalprice.setText(""+total);
}
else
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"invalid operation");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
CalcPrice calobj=new CalcPrice();
calobj.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
calobj.setSize(400,400);
calobj.setVisible(true);
}}