DocumentListener, KeyListener or a third option?

[Muskar]

Hey.

I have a few JTextFields, currently with documentListeners.

Now, what I want to do is basically to check, inside the documentListener-methods, whether the input to the JTextField is done by the user, or by the code (via .setText(String)).

Should I just use the KeyListener instead or is there a third option that I'm not familiar with?

Thanks in advance!

[Fubarable]

Key listener won't work if you paste in text. A DocumentFilter would but I don't think it could distinguish between text from the app vs. the user. You could I suppose set a flag when the app changes the text and then unset the flag after the text has been changed.

[Muskar]

Key listener won't work if you paste in text. A DocumentFilter would but I don't think it could distinguish between text from the app vs. the user. You could I suppose set a flag when the app changes the text and then unset the flag after the text has been changed.

I was thinking of removing the documentListener and adding it again - but I have no idea if it will create flaws that I don't know of.

Since I'm not familiar with flags I'd very much appreciate further explanation or even better: a short example with a short explanation included.

[Fubarable]

I refer to having a boolean variable in the class that is set to true or false, nothing more.

private boolean appUpdatingText = false;


private void appUpdateField(JTextField textField, String text) {
  appUpdatingText = true;
  textField.setText(text);
}


//... then in the listener code
if (appUpdatingText) {
  appUpdatingText = false;
} else {
  //... do what you want to do if the user updates the field
}

[Muskar]

I refer to having a boolean variable in the class that is set to true or false, nothing more.

I have learned it as "states", opposed to what you refer to as "flag" - but thanks a lot - I cannot believe I didn't think of that myself haha :) !

[Fubarable]

I have learned it as "states", opposed to what you refer to as "flag" - but thanks a lot - I cannot believe I didn't think of that myself haha :) !

I may be wrong but I think of state as a more general term -- the values of the object's key fields, and flag as a specific term for the state of a boolean.

[Muskar]

I may be wrong but I think of state as a more general term -- the values of the object's key fields, and flag as a specific term for the state of a boolean.

Don't get me wrong - My teacher only just mentioned 'states' last Friday - so I'm not pretending to be an expert.
Your explanation of the expression 'flag' sounds plausible enough, so you're probably right.