Populating a combo-box in a JFrame with resultset from database

Hi all,
I am using Netbeans and have created a new JFrame (in design mode)
I have added a combo box which I want to populate with the results of a database query.


Does anyone have any code they can share which does that kind of thing?

alternatively can anybody advise me on how to go about doing it.
do I put the code that reads the database in the same 'class' that constructs the JFrame?

Thanks in advance,
Matt

you need to go to the Sun Swing tutorials and read up how to create and fill a JComboBox with data. There are some pretty decent examples on that site that should get you started. Good luck.

Also, I recommend that you keep your GUI and database interacting classes separate for good OOP design.

Thanks for the response.
i'll check out those tutorials.

Hi,

I am struggling after having read the tutorials.
I can populate a combo box with an Array I am declaring in the method, but I cannot seem to populate one with an ArrayList from an external method.

it compiles and runs fine, but I have no values in the combobox

This is the section of my code that does the work.
you can see the instnace of JComboBox I have created.
and the instance of my EntityProvider which returns an ArrayList called 'fileArray'
I am trying to loop through this array and add an item to the combobox with each pass, but it doesn't seem to be working..

Code:

---

JComboBox formatBox = new JComboBox();

    public FormatFrame2(){
        super("Choose a Format");
       

        setSize(220, 150);
        setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        JPanel pane = new JPanel();
        JLabel formatLabel = new JLabel("Output formats:");
        pane.add(formatLabel);
        EntityProvider entList = new EntityProvider();
        for(String name : entList.fileArray)
                formatBox.addItem(name);

---

am I doing something blatantly wrong??

thanks,
Matt

I don't see anything that jumps out at me. You know what you have to do: break this code down into small compilable bits and test each bit to see what works and what doesn't,.... use a debugger or multiple println debug strings, until you isolate the problem...

hmm, well, the fileArray IS being populated as I wrote a simple class to print the contents of it to the screen.

The JFrame is being created with a combobox the size of the actual frame, but it is just an empty combobox, so not adding the items to it.
With a breakpoint it gets to the FOR loop:

Code:

---

//Fill JComboBox with values retrieved from EntityProvider Class
        for(String name :comboFill.fileArray){
              entity.addItem(name);
        }

---

but jumps straight over it.
I have checked the local variables in the debugger and i'm not sure if that is supposed to show me the contents of fileArray array or not.
if so, there isn't anything in it.

the line that creates the new instance of the EntityProvider is as follows:

Code:

---

EntityProvider comboFill = new EntityProvider();

---

entityProvider DOES populate 'fileArray' when it is called from my testing class for printing to the screen.

any help will be gratefully received as i'm going to start to cry in a minute..
thanks in advance,
Matt

Quote:

---

for(String name : entList.fileArray)

---

The .fileArray looks suspicious to me, although I am not familiar with EntityProvider. Why would EntityProvider expose a property? Or did you forget the ()?

You're using enhanced for, and the second entry must provide some sort of a list. The Apache EntityProvider has an iterator() method, which is a good sign. Try taking the ".fileArray" off.

EntityProvider is my class which reads a list of financial entities from our Database and returns an ArrayList called fileArry:

Code:

---

public class EntityProvider {
    ArrayList <String> fileArray = new ArrayList <String>();

    public ArrayList readEntities() throws SQLException {

        DriverManager.registerDriver(new oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver());
        int count = 0;

        String serverName = "francisca";
        int port = 1521;
        String user = "niku";
        String password = "niku";
        String SID = "nikuuat";
        String URL = "jdbc:oracle:thin:@" + serverName + ":" + port + ":" + SID;

        Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection(URL, user, password);
        String SQL = "SELECT DISTINCT level2_name " +
                "FROM niku.nbi_dim_obs " +
                "WHERE level1_name = 'DSTi Global' " +
                "AND level2_name is not null";

        String newLine = System.getProperty("line.separator");


        Statement stat = conn.createStatement();
        ResultSet rs = stat.executeQuery(SQL);
       

        while (rs.next()) { //cycle through result set
           
            fileArray.add(rs.getString(1));
      }
      stat.close();
      conn.close();

        return fileArray;
  }
}

---

the enhanced FOR that I am using now is as follows:

Code:

---

//Fill JComboBox with values retrieved from EntityProvider Class
        for(String name :comboFill.fileArray){
              entity.addItem(name);
        }

---

before I get to this FOR loop in the de-bugger I cannot see anything in fileArray.

OK. I didn't know where EntityProvider was coming from, so I googled it and found an Apache project with a class by that name.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

• Avoid accessing properties of a class directly. Use a getter method instead.
• In an enhanced for, you will find using a local field easier to debug than using a value returned by a method call. The reason is that you can't see the object returned by the method call. Personally, I add extra local fields for all kinds of similar situations, such as "return object;", simply because I have been burned so many times during debugging.

Now that I made you read my advice, the problem is that you never called

EntityProvider.readEntities()

You only constructed the object. Therefore, the ArrayList is empty.

Can you tell me what if I want to populate the combo box on keypress event how should I do it?I tried writing combobox.addKeyListener(keypressed(...)...) but it doesnt enter in the method if I press any key.

bounce.........

pinks, you should start a new thread if you are asking a question rather than tag on the end of an old question. Also, you may wish to go into more detail on just what you are wishing to achieve here.