Java Programming, Lecture Notes # 73, Revised 05/11/98.
The user interface of a modern computer program often involves techniques to activate many of the human senses. We use icons, text boxes, images, sound, boardroom graphics, etc.
Up to this point, we haven't been too concerned with these aspects of programming because there was a lot that you needed to learn to prepare yourself for understanding material of this sort. That is about to change.
Much of the actual programming that you will do with Java will involve those aspects of the interface that we commonly refer to as the Graphical User Interface (GUI).
As of 5/10/98, there are two primary packages that are used for GUI programming under JDK 1.1.6:
The AWT material was made available to Java programmers early in the life of Java. This was the original material that was used to create graphical user interfaces. Major improvements to the AWT were introduced with the release of JDK 1.1.
The Swing components became available in released form for use with JDK 1.1 around the beginning of 1998. These components added significantly to the ability of the programmer to create GUIs, both in terms of functionality and cosmetics.
The capability and cosmetics of the AWT were very limited but Swing made GUI programming in Java competitive in the real world. A Java programmer no longer need apologize for the quality of the GUIs that she can create.
We expect that these two packages may become more integrated (causing changes in your import statements) with the release of JDK 1.2, (probably sometime in 1998) but hopefully the concepts involved won't be greatly different.
As of 3/5/97, there were more than fifty classes defined in package java.awt. We will discuss some of the more important AWT classes in subsequent lessons.
As of 5/10/98, the com.sun.java.swing package contains more than 75 classes and about 20 interfaces. You might expect, therefore, that learning to use this material effectively won't be a trivial task.
It is very important to understand that Swing is an extension of, and not a replacement for the AWT. While it is true that there is some overlap (for example a Swing JButton component might be viewed as an improved functional replacement for an AWT Button component, and once you begin using Swing buttons you may choose to never again use an AWT button), the basic functionality of Swing is built upon the functionality of the AWT.
Therefore, as students, we cannot simply skip over an understanding of the AWT and move on to Swing. The AWT is the foundation for Swing.
We must first understand the AWT and then understand how Swing extends and improves on the AWT. I will attempt to integrate an understanding of both the AWT and Swing in the remaining lessons in these Java tutorials.
We will begin by introducing you to a few simple components of each type and use these components to teach you about such topics as event-driven programming, layout, graphics, etc. Then, time permitting, we will dig a little deeper into the more complex aspects of both the AWT and Swing components and other features.
What I won't do is show you a lot of pictures of various AWT and Swing components as is the case with many books and other tutorials (although such pictures can be important for an appreciation of GUI programming.). (Have you noticed how many Java books use copies of the JavaSoft documentation as filler material to make the book appear to contain more information than it actually contains? At least half of many of the books currently in print is nothing more than a reproduction of the documentation that you can download for free from JavaSoft. Oh well, enough of that!)
If you want to see some pictures of AWT and Swing components (which would be only natural), you can create them yourself on your own computer screen.
For examples of the AWT components, simply look in the folders in the software that you downloaded from JavaSoft. When you install JDK 1.1.6, a folder named "demo" will be created that contains about two-dozen sample programs. Many of these sample programs have graphical user interfaces that make use of the AWT. Just run the programs to see examples of the use of the AWT.
When you download and install Swing 1.0.1, a folder named "examples" will be created. This folder contains about nine folders, each of which contains a demonstration application or applet that makes use of Swing. You can run these programs to see the examples on your computer screen.
A particularly interesting demonstration application is the one named SwingSet. One of the new components in Swing is a tabbed pane that looks much like a common cardboard file folder with a labeled tab on the top, bottom, left, or right. The AWT doesn't contain such a component.
This demonstration starts with about twenty such tabbed panes on the screen, each one of which demonstrates one aspect of the use of Swing. By clicking on each of the labeled tabs, you can select and exercise one aspect of Swing. In addition, there are five menus that contain selections, some of which impact the behavior of some aspect of the demonstration.
While you are there, pay attention to the fact that virtually all of the Swing components are also containers, so it is possible to cause other items (such as images) to be contained in components such as buttons and menus.
Take a look at the pane labeled RadioButtons and see how two different images of JavaSoft's little creature named Duke can be made to function as a radio button. In this case, the selected Duke is waving while the unselected Dukes aren't waving.
Duke shows up again under ToggleButtons where the button which has been toggled has Duke animated in a child's swing.
The Checkboxes pane uses light bulbs that either are or are not illuminated to illustrate selection of Checkbox items.
The examples on the Slider pane are truly impressive (the AWT doesn't have a slider component, although it is possible to use a ScrollBar as a crude slider).
Take a look at the ListBox pane to see another example of using images inside of a component.
The DebugGraphics pane demonstrates how to run your program in slow motion so that you can see how the components are assembled for debugging purposes. Note that a Slider is used to control the speed of assembly of the components.
And of course, every where you turn in this demo, you will see tool tips that are not a part of the AWT. For a little comic relief, take a look at the ToolTips pane.
Don't forget to pull down the Options menu and select the "look and feel" of the different panes as you view them.
Actually, words are inadequate to describe what you are going to find when you install and run the SwingSet demonstration. To use a corny phrase made famous by an old TV commercial (which many of you are probably too young to remember), "Try it, you'll like it."
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