repaint every

[3xpr1ment]

Hi all

I want a frame to repaint a JFrame every x msecs. I put a thread.sleep(x) but this makes the whole thread sleep for this time. This causes a mouseMotionListener not to take input while the thread is sleeping. I need the coordinates of the listener to be in the calculation of the next cycle so the method above is not appropriate here. Is there a way to say to the repaint method to wait x time without making the whole thread to sleep?

Thank you for your help

class MyDrawPanel extends JPanel { 
  public static Plegma plegmaObject = new Plegma();
  
  
  public void paintComponent(Graphics g) { 
    
    for (int i=1; i<MainClass.columns; i++){
      for (int j=1; j<MainClass.rows; j++){
        if (plegmaObject.plegma[i][j].isOn == 1){
          g.setColor(Color.orange);
          g.fillRect(plegmaObject.plegma[i][j].x,plegmaObject.plegma[i][j].y, Automaton.size, Automaton.size);  
        }
        else{
          g.setColor(Color.white);
          g.fillRect(plegmaObject.plegma[i][j].x,plegmaObject.plegma[i][j].y, Automaton.size, Automaton.size);
        } 
      }
    }  
    plegmaObject.calcNextStep(); 
    repaint();
    try{
      Thread.sleep(500);
    }
    catch(InterruptedException ie){
    }
  }
}

[Fubarable]

If called in the Event Dispatch Thread, or EDT, Thread.sleep(...) will put the entire Swing app to sleep since the EDT is the only thread that Swing uses to do painting and user interaction. So use a Swing Timer instead as this won't put the EDT to sleep.

Also, your use of a static variable above is a little suspect. I'd avoid using static anything unless you have a very good reason to do so.

[Fubarable]

Moderator comment: Since this is a Swing topic, I'm moving this thread to the Swing forum.

[DarrylBurke]

And never ever call repaint() from within a painting method override.

db

[Supamagier]

new Thread(
    new Runnable() {
        public void run() {
            while (true) {
                repaint();
                try {
                    Thread.sleep(framerate);
                }
                catch (InterruptedException ie) {
                    System.err.println("Error: "+ie);
                    ie.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        }
    }
).start();

[3xpr1ment]

mmmm. I haven't read threads yet (I started learning 1 month ago) and seems essential for this. I will read threads and i will get back to this application.

Thank you again for your help

[Fubarable]

new Thread(
    new Runnable() {
        public void run() {
            while (true) {
                repaint();
                try {
                    Thread.sleep(framerate);
                }
                catch (InterruptedException ie) {
                    System.err.println("Error: "+ie);
                    ie.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        }
    }
).start();

I respectfully disagree with this solution as I believe that directly using a separate thread here is a bit of over-kill. Instead, and again, use a Swing Timer. While this also uses a separate thread, it does so behind the scenes, and it is built specifically so that timed events will be called on the EDT, thus eliminating many worries. It's also a lot easier to start, stop, and to detect if it's running.

For e.g.:

new Timer(500, new ActionListener() {
  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
    plegmaObject.calcNextStep();
    repaint();
  }
}).start(); // code not compiled and not tested

Note: ignore what I just stated if plegmaObject.calcNextStep(); is very CPU and time-intensive. If so, then this should be called from within a SwingWorker background thread.

[3xpr1ment]

Ok. i got it working now. I just have two things unclear. I now have put the repaint method in the class i create the frame.

public class AutomataGUI implements MouseMotionListener {
	
    public void show(){
    	
    	
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Cellular Automata");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        
        MyDrawPanel panel = new MyDrawPanel();
        frame.setSize(754, 754);
        frame.setResizable(false);
        frame.addMouseMotionListener(this);
       
       
        frame.getContentPane().add(panel);
        frame.setVisible(true);
        
        while (true) {
        	panel.repaint();
			try{
				Thread.sleep(100);
			}
			catch(InterruptedException ie){
			}
        }         
    }

Is it the right place to put repaint()? And isn´t a bit strange that this doesnt interupt the MouseMotionListener methods.

The second and most important:

Also, your use of a static variable above is a little suspect. I'd avoid using static anything unless you have a very good reason to do so.

How can i access the variables of an instance of a class (an object) from another class without declaring them static.

Thank you again

[Fubarable]

Ok. i got it working now. I just have two things unclear. I now have put the repaint method in the class i create the frame.

public class AutomataGUI implements MouseMotionListener {
	
    public void show(){
    	
    	
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Cellular Automata");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        
        MyDrawPanel panel = new MyDrawPanel();
        frame.setSize(754, 754);
        frame.setResizable(false);
        frame.addMouseMotionListener(this);
       
       
        frame.getContentPane().add(panel);
        frame.setVisible(true);
        
        while (true) {
        	panel.repaint();
			try{
				Thread.sleep(100);
			}
			catch(InterruptedException ie){
			}
        }         
    }

Is it the right place to put repaint()? And isn´t a bit strange that this doesnt interupt the MouseMotionListener methods.

Again, use a Swing timer as what you're currently doing is at great risk of breaking.

The second and most important:
How can i access the variables of an instance of a class (an object) from another class without declaring them static.

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense to me. I've had no problem using variables in other classes without using a static modifier. Please show me a simple case where use of an instance variable fails.

[3xpr1ment]

public class One { //plegma
	
	public int x = 2;
		
}

public class Two {  
			
	public void changex(){
		One.x = 5;
	}
}

public class MainClass {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
    	
    	Two two = new Two();
		two.changex();
   	}
	
}

This wont compile: Two.java:4: non-static variable x cannot be referenced from a static context
One.x = 5;

[Fubarable]

public class One { //plegma
	public int x = 2;
}

public class Two {  
	public void changex(){
		One.x = 5;
	}
}

public class MainClass {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
    	Two two = new Two();
		two.changex();
   	}
}

This wont compile: Two.java:4: non-static variable x cannot be referenced from a static context
One.x = 5;

The solution is not to use static but to use OOP techniques. For instance you should give the one class a way for two to change its state:

public class MainClass {

  public static void main(String[] args) {

    Two two = new Two();
    two.changex();
  }

}

class Two {

  public void changex() {
    One one = new One();
    one.setValue(5);
    System.out.println("one's value is: " + one.getValue());
  }
}

class One { //plegma

  public int x = 2;

  public void setValue(int i) {
    x = i;

  }

  public int getValue() {
    return x;
  }

}

If you don't have a good book on object oriented programming in Java, now's the time to get one. Much luck.