Swing GUI arrays

[JuliaDavies]

Hello :)
I am writing a SuDoku problem solver and have got the basis of my code sorted.
However, I am struggling with making the GUI look good because at the moment I am just using a 9x9 array of text boxes that look like this:
Attachment 3240
I want it to look more like a normal sudoku with the 3x3 boxes separated within the 9x9 array.



My code for the SwingSudokuBoard is as follows:

public final class SwingSudokuBoard extends SudokuBoard {
private JTextField[][] cells; // Graphical game board in an array
private JPanel panel = new JPanel();

/**
* This method draws an empty board
* @param size - number of rows and columns
*/
public SwingSudokuBoard(int size) {
super(size);
cells = new JTextField[size][size];
panel.setLayout(new GridLayout(size, size));
for (int row = 0; row < size; row++) {
for (int col = 0; col < size; col++) {
cells[row][col] = new JTextField(1);
panel.add(cells[row][col]);
}
}
}

/**
* This method draws and initialises the Sudoku board
* @param board - array to initialise the contents
*/
public SwingSudokuBoard(int[][] board) {
this(board.length);
for (int row = 0; row < size; row++) {
for (int col = 0; col < size; col++) {
setCell(board[row][col], row, col);
}
}
}

/**
* This method puts a number into a specified cell
* @param num - number to put into the cell
* @param row - cell's row
* @param col - cell's column
*/
@Override
public void setCell(int num, int row, int col) {
super.setCell(num, row, col);
String text = (num == EMPTY) ? "" : String.valueOf(num);
cells[row][col].setText(text);
}

/**
* This method returns the number in a specified cell
* @param row - cell's row
* @param col - cell's column
* @return The number in the cell
*/
@Override
public int getCell(int row, int col) {
int cell;

try {
cell = Integer.parseInt(cells[row][col].getText());
}
catch (NumberFormatException e) {
cell = EMPTY;
}
return cell;
}

/**
* This method returns the JPanel which has the board
* @return Returns the board
*/
public JPanel getPanel() {
return panel;
}
}


Please can anyone help me with the arrays/GUI/swing components? I desparately need help!!
Thank you :)
xxx

[KevinWorkman]

You can nest layouts by putting a JPanel (or several JPanels) with one kind of layout inside another JPanel with a different (or the same) kind of layout. You can also use borders, etc to further separate the different pieces of your gui.

Recommended reading: Lesson: Laying Out Components Within a Container (The Java™ Tutorials > Creating a GUI With JFC/Swing)

[JuliaDavies]

Thank you for replying! However, do you know how I would go about nesting layout with my arrays? I'm not sure how/where to start!!
I would like to use JPanels as I have used them before, but I am struggling to get from what code I already have, to code where I can use JPanels.
Thanks

[KevinWorkman]

Well, think about how you want to set it up. Draw out the indexes of each cell and where you want that cell to be. Do you see a pattern?

[JuliaDavies]

Yes, I know there's a pattern, but with my code:
public SwingSudokuBoard(int[][] board) {
this(board.length);
for (int row = 0; row < size; row++) {
for (int col = 0; col < size; col++) {
setCell(board[row][col], row, col);
}
}
}
I am obviously just putting text boxes in a row when I am doing the setCell(board[row][col], row, col); method but I have no idea how to get from there to a JPanel where I can place the array boxes where I feel like.
Thank you