Up to speed with Swing

This tutorial-style book is current with the new Java JDK 1.2, including examples that accommodate recent changes to the Swing challenge, starting with the basics and extending into intermediate and advanced areas, this revised manual is enhanced with more detailed examples and illustration. This new edition integrates topics that were either unavailable or unstable in the first edition including action handling, file dialogs, and printing.

If you want to start replacing your AWT code right now, this is the book for you. Guided by a master programmer who writes Java for a living, you'll learn Swing from the insider's point of view. Up to Speed with Swing has one purpose: to save you time mastering Swing. From the basics of Swing to creating a custom look and feel, from the Model View Controller architecture to optimizing your Swing code, this tutorial gives you an understanding of the big picture as well as the experience of working through detailed examples.

Table of contents

Preface
Intended audience
How this book is organized
Conventions
Obtaining the source code
Author Online
Special thanks
Review process for this book
About the cover illustration
Related Manning books
PART I Getting started
1 A Java refresher
1.1 What is Java?
1.2 What is AWT?
1.3 The Java event models
Java 1.0
Java 1.1 and beyond
1.4 JavaBeans
1.5 A review of components, listeners, and events
1.6 Layout manager refresher
BorderLayout
CardLayout
FlowLayout
GridLayout
GridBagLayout
Combining multiple layouts
1.7 Minimum software requirements
1.8 Delivering a final product
1.9 Just-In-Time compilers
1.10 Chapter summary
2 Swing basics
2.1 What is JFC?
2.2 What is Swing?
Swing package overview
2.3 Why use Swing?
JavaBeans compliance
Lightweight framework
Interaction with external resources
2.4 Model-View-Controller architecture
How MVC works
What can MVC accomplish?
Custom rendering
Custom data models
2.5 Delegates
What are delegates?
The ComponentUI class
2.6 Pluggable LookAndFeel
2.7 Creating UI objects
Creating a simple component
2.8 JComponent, the mother of Swing
Pluggable look-and-feel
Keystroke handling
Action objects
Borders
Accessibility
Other features of JComponent
Controlling component size
JComponent constants
JComponent variables
JComponent constructors
JComponent significant method groupings
2.9 Chapter summary
PART II Swing components
3 Panels and panes
3.1 JFrame
A JFrame application
JFrame variables
JFrame constructors
JFrame significant method groupings
3.2 JApplet
A JApplet sample applet
JApplet variables
JApplet constructors
JApplet significant method groupings
3.3 Creating simple panels
JPanel constructors
3.4 Simple border types
Creating a custom border class
3.5 Compound border creation
3.6 Swing layout managers
3.7 Tabbed Panes
Creating a tabbed pane
Adding and inserting pages
Removing pages
Selecting pages
A complete JTabbedPane example
JTabbedPane variables
JTabbedPane constructors
JTabbedPane significant method groupings
3.8 Scrolling panes
An example using JScrollPane
Controlling the scroll bars
Controlling the scrolling programmatically
Creating scrollable components
JScrollPane constructors
JScrollPane significant method groupings
3.9 Split panes
Intercepting JSplitPane events
JSplitPane constants
JSplitPane variables
JSplitPane constructors
JSplitPane significant method groupings
3.10 Advanced scrolling
3.11 Layered panes
JLayeredPane constants
JLayeredPane variables
JLayeredPane constructors
JLayeredPane significant method groupings
3.12 Directory panes
JDirectoryPane variables
JDirectoryPane constructors
JDirectoryPane significant method groupings
3.13 Chapter summary
4 Labels and buttons
4.1 Basic user interface components
4.2 Labels
A JLabel sample program
Setting fonts and colors
Text alignment
Adding an image to a label
JLabel variables
JLabel constructors
JLabel significant method groupings
4.3 Abstract Button
Listening for button events
Adding icons to buttons
Enabling and disabling buttons
Adding a keyboard mnemonic
AbstractButton variables
AbstractButton significant method groupings
4.4 Push buttons
Default buttons
JButton constructors
The JButton API
4.5 Toggle buttons
JToggleButton constructors
4.6 Check boxes
Special layout considerations
JCheckBox constructors
4.7 Radio buttons
JRadioButton constructors
4.8 Chapter summary
5 Text management
5.1 JTextComponent
Clipboard operations
Saving and loading
JTextComponent constants
JTextComponent constructors
JTextComponent significant method groupings
5.2 Document handling
Document constants
Document significant method groupings
5.3 Text fields and password fields
Associating keyboard mnemonics
Special event handling
JTextField constructors
JPasswordField significant method groupings
5.4 Text areas
JTextArea constructors
JTextArea significant method groupings
5.5 Combo boxes
Adding and removing list items
Selecting items
Allowing field editing
Other combo box tricks
JComboBox constructors
JComboBox significant method groupings
5.6 Viewing HTML and other content types
Listening for hyperlink changes
JEditorPane constructors
JEditorPane significant method groupings
5.7 Viewing RTF format
5.8 Simple document processing
5.9 Chapter summary
6 Progress bars, scroll bars, and sliders
6.1 Progress bars
JProgressBar variables
JProgressBar constructors
JProgressBar significant method groupings
6.2 Scroll bars
JScrollBar variables
JScrollBar constructors
JScrollBar significant method groupings
6.3 Sliders
Listening for slider activity
JSlider variables
JSlider constructors
JSlider significant method groupings
Chapter summary
7 Menus and toolbars
7.1 Menu bars
Creating application menus
JMenuBar constructors
JMenuBar significant method groupings
7.2 Menus
Creating cascading menus
JMenu variables
JMenu constructors
JMenu significant method groupings
7.3 Menu items
Adding graphics to menu items
Adding tool tips
Menu item keyboard mnemonics
Responding to a menu selection
JMenuItem constructors
JMenuItem significant method groupings
7.4 Check box menu items
Managing check box state
JCheckBoxMenuItem variables
JCheckBoxMenuItem constructors
JCheckBoxMenuItem significant method groupings
7.5 Radio button menu items
JRadioButtonMenuItem variables
JRadioButtonMenuItem constructors
7.6 Pop-up menus
JPopupMenu constructors
JPopupMenu significant method groupings
7.7 Toolbars
Toolbar basics
A toolbar with many faces
Docking and undocking toolbars
Adding other components to a toolbar
JToolBar constructors
JToolBar significant method groupings
7.8 Chapter summary
8 Dialogs and internal frames
8.1 Simple dialogs
Handling the close operation
Modal vs. nonmodal dialogs
A more advanced JDialog example
JDialog variables
JDialog constructors
JDialog significant method groupings
8.2 Option dialogs
JOptionPane constants
JOptionPane variables
JOptionPane constructors
JOptionPane significant method groupings
8.3 The color chooser
The JColorChooser dialog
JColorChooser as a component
JColorChooser constants
JColorChooser constructors
JColorChooser significant method groupings
8.4 The file chooser
JFileChooser variables
JFileChooser constructors
JFileChooser significant method groupings
8.5 Internal frames
JInternalFrame constants
JInternalFrame variables
JInternalFrame constructors
JInternalFrame significant method groupings
8.6 Chapter summary
9 List boxes
9.1 A simple JList example
9.2 A more advanced JList example
9.3 Listening for list activity
9.4 Custom data model
9.5 Basic custom list rendering
9.6 Advanced custom list rend