GUI's

[ngc0202]

I have this old code that is all text, it runs completely in the General Output. I was wondering how difficult it would be to change that code into a GUI based program. If it would be fairly simple, how do I do it?

[quad64bit]

It depends. If its purely textual information you want to convey, it can be pretty simple. NetBeans has a built in GUI builder that is all drag 'n' drop. I suggest trying it out.

[ngc0202]

I dont have NetBeans. I have a customized JCreator. It came on a CD with Java For Dummies (edition 4). And I wanted GUI for the user input. With text boxes and all.

[quad64bit]

Its free, I suggest you download it and give it a try:
Welcome to NetBeans

[ngc0202]

No, I'd prefer JCreator. So I can follow the instructions in Java for Dummies. I might get it when I finish the book. Maybe. Only if I think it's better. But can you (or anyone) answer my original question.

[quad64bit]

Well, I'll paste in the code for a simple GUI with text input and output in a minute, but I think if you are planning on coding it from scratch it'll be a bit of a learning curve for you.

package test;

import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;

/**
 * @author Steffen Gates
 */
public class GUI {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new GUI();
    }

    JFrame window;      //The whole window
    JPanel panel;       //A place to put things in the window
    JTextField textIn;  //input
    JLabel label;       //output
    JButton button;     //simple button

    public GUI(){
        window = new JFrame();
        window.setSize(640, 150);
        window.setLocationRelativeTo(null);             //Center the window
        panel = new JPanel();
        textIn = new JTextField();
        textIn.setColumns(50);                          //50 char's wide
        label = new JLabel("Lets Print Something!");    //default output
        button = new JButton("Click Me!");
        button.addActionListener(new ButtonListener()); //make button do something
        panel.add(textIn);          //Add everything to the panel
        panel.add(label);
        panel.add(button);
        window.add(panel);          //add panel to the window
        window.setVisible(true);    //make window visible
    }
    
    //To make an action listener, just make a class that implements
    //ActionListener and has a method called actionPerformed()
    class ButtonListener implements ActionListener{
        public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
            if(e.getActionCommand().compareTo("Click Me!") == 0)
                label.setText(textIn.getText());
        }
    }
}

[ngc0202]

Wouldn't it have been easier to use

import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;

[quad64bit]

Importing unneeded packages is wasteful. When projects get large, importing everything increases compile time a great deal. If your program had 100 classes and 100,000 lines+ of code, it could take many many extra minutes, or even hours.

As such, when you use a good IDE, it will import only what is needed and as needed. In netbeans, when I type my code, the imports happen automatically; therefor there are many import statements, but they are specific.

Its no extra work on my part, as I said its automatic.

PS: I added some comments to the code. Also, since you are doing this by hand, you're required to readup quite a bit about some of the simpler parts of GUI design. Read up about layout managers, as its the only way to get your gui laid out the way you want. I suggest a grid layout or border layout.