Event-Driven Programming

Just like designing GUIs, you also will probably not write Java code like the program examples given in these notes. You will use IDEs like Netbeans, Eclipse JDT, Kdeveloper etc. to help you write event handling classes/methods/listeners in your GUIs. You must fill in the infrastructure that your preferred IDE provides you, of course. (An IDE can not know what to do when you press a button ) Java codes given in these notes are for reference for understanding the underlying workings and design of event handling in Java. Key Terms: event, event class, event source, event type, event listener class, listener interface, listener method (event handler)
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Motivations
Suppose you wish to write a GUI program that lets the user enter the loan amount, annual interest rate, and number of years, and click the Compute Loan button to obtain the monthly payment and total payment. How do you accomplish the task? You have to use event-driven programming to write the code to respond to the buttonclicking event.

LoanCalculator Run
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Motivations
Suppose you wish to write a program that animates a rising flag, as shown in the figure below. How do you accomplish the task? There are several solutions to this problem. An effective way to solve it is to use a timer in event-driven programming, which is the subject of this chapter.

Objectives

To describe events, event sources, and event classes. To define listener classes, register listener objects with the source object, and write the code to handle events. To define listener classes using inner classes. To define listener classes using anonymous inner classes. To explore various coding styles for creating and registering listeners. To get input from text field upon clicking a button. To write programs to deal with WindowEvent. To simplify coding for listener classes using listener interface adapters. To write programs to deal with MouseEvent. To write programs to deal with KeyEvent. To use the javax.swing.Timer class to control animations.

Procedural vs. Event-Driven Programming

Procedural

programming is executed in procedural order.

event-driven programming, code is executed upon activation of events.

In

Hello World! of Event-Driven Programming

The

example displays a button in the frame. A message is displayed on the console when a button is clicked.

HandleEvent
Run
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Events
An

event can be defined as a type of signal to the program that something has happened. event is generated by external user actions such as mouse movements, mouse clicks, and keystrokes, or by the operating system, such as a timer.
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The

Event Classes
ActionEvent AdjustmentEvent EventObject AWTEvent ComponentEvent ItemEvent TextEvent ListSelectionEvent ChangeEvent ContainerEvent FocusEvent InputEvent PaintEvent WindowEvent KeyEvent MouseEvent

Event Information
An event object contains whatever properties are pertinent to the event. You can identify the source object of the event using the getSource() instance method in the EventObject class. The subclasses of EventObject deal with special types of events, such as button actions, window events, component events, mouse movements, and keystrokes. Following table lists external user actions, source objects, and event types generated.
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Selected User Actions

User Action Source Object JButton JCheckBox JRadioButton JTextField Event Type Generated ActionEvent ItemEvent, ActionEvent ItemEvent, ActionEvent ActionEvent

Click a button Click a check box Click a radio button Press return on a text field

Select a new item

Window opened, closed, etc. Mouse pressed, released, etc. Key released, pressed, etc.

JComboBox
Window Component Component

ItemEvent, ActionEvent
WindowEvent MouseEvent KeyEvent

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The Delegation Model

Trigger an event User Action source: SourceClass +addXListener(listener: XListener) XListener

+handler(event: XEvent)

(a) A generic source component with a generic listener

Register by invoking source.addXListener(listener); listener: ListenerClass

source: JButton +addActionListener(listener: ActionListener)

ActionListener

+actionPerformed(event: ActionEvent)
Register by invoking source.addActionListener(listener); listener: CustomListenerClass

(b) A JButton source component with an ActionListener

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Internal Function of a Source Component

source: SourceClass +addXListener(XListener listener) An event is triggered Keep it a list source: JButton +addActionListener(ActionListener listener) An event is triggered Keep it a list

event: XEvent

Invoke listener1.handler(event) listener2.handler(event) listenern.handler(event)

listener1 listener2 listenern

event: ActionEvent

Invoke listener1.actionPerformed(event) listener2.actionPerformed(event) listenern.actionPerformed(event)

listener1 listener2 listenern

(a) Internal function of a generic source object

(b) Internal function of a JButton object

+handler(

+handler(

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The Delegation Model: Example

JButton jbt = new JButton("OK"); ActionListener listener = new OKListener(); jbt.addActionListener(listener);

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Selected Event Handlers

Event Class
ActionEvent ItemEvent WindowEvent

Listener Interface
ActionListener ItemListener WindowListener

Listener Methods (Handlers)

actionPerformed(ActionEvent) itemStateChanged(ItemEvent) windowClosing(WindowEvent) windowOpened(WindowEvent) windowIconified(WindowEvent) windowDeiconified(WindowEvent) windowClosed(WindowEvent) windowActivated(WindowEvent) windowDeactivated(WindowEvent) componentAdded(ContainerEvent) componentRemoved(ContainerEvent) mousePressed(MouseEvent) mouseReleased(MouseEvent) mouseClicked(MouseEvent) mouseExited(MouseEvent) mouseEntered(MouseEvent) keyPressed(KeyEvent) keyReleased(KeyEvent) keyTypeed(KeyEvent)

ContainerEvent MouseEvent

ContainerListener MouseListener

KeyEvent

KeyListener

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java.awt.event.ActionEvent
java.util.EventObject
+getSource(): Object Returns the object on which the event initially occurred.

java.awt.event.AWTEvent java.awt.event.ActionEvent
+getActionCommand(): String +getModifiers(): int +getWhen(): long Returns the command string associated with this action. For a button, its text is the command string. Returns the modifier keys held down during this action event. Returns the timestamp when this event occurred. The time is the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970, 00:00:00 GMT.

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Example: First Version for ControlCircle (no listeners)

Now let us consider to write a program that uses two buttons to control the size of a circle.

ControlCircle1

Run
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Example: Second Version for ControlCircle (with listener for Enlarge)

Now let us consider to write a program that uses two buttons to control the size of a circle.

ControlCircle2

Run
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Inner Class Listeners

A listener class is designed specifically to create a listener object for a GUI component (e.g., a button). It will not be shared by other applications. So, it is appropriate to define the listener class inside the frame class as an inner class.

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Inner Classes
Inner class: A class is a member of another class.

Advantages: In some applications, you can use an inner class to make programs simple.

An inner class can reference the data and methods defined in the outer class in which it nests, so you do not need to pass the reference of the outer class to the constructor of the inner class.
ShowInnerClass
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Inner Classes, cont.

public class Test { ... } public class A { ... } (a) public class Test { ... // Inner class public class A { ... } } (b) } (c) // OuterClass.java: inner class demo public class OuterClass { private int data; /** A method in the outer class */ public void m() { // Do something } // An inner class class InnerClass { /** A method in the inner class */ public void mi() { // Directly reference data and method // defined in its outer class data++; m(); } }

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Inner Classes (cont.)

Inner

classes can make programs simple and concise. inner class supports the work of its containing outer class and is compiled into a class named OuterClassName$InnerClassName.class. For example, the inner class InnerClass in OuterClass is compiled into OuterClass$InnerClass.class.
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An

Inner Classes (cont.)

An

inner class can be declared public, protected, or private subject to the same visibility rules applied to a member of the class.

An

inner class can be declared static. A static inner class can be accessed using the outer class name. A static inner class cannot access nonstatic members of the outer class
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Anonymous Inner Classes

An anonymous inner class must always extend a superclass or implement an interface, but it cannot have an explicit extends or implements clause. An anonymous inner class must implement all the abstract methods in the superclass or in the interface. An anonymous inner class always uses the no-arg constructor from its superclass to create an instance. If an anonymous inner class implements an interface, the constructor is Object(). An anonymous inner class is compiled into a class named OuterClassName$n.class. For example, if the outer class Test has two anonymous inner classes, these two classes are compiled into Test$1.class and Test$2.class.

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Anonymous Inner Classes (cont.)

Inner class listeners can be shortened using anonymous inner classes. An anonymous inner class is an inner class without a name. It combines declaring an inner class and creating an instance of the class in one step. An anonymous inner class is declared as follows:
new SuperClassName/InterfaceName() { // Implement or override methods in superclass or interface // Other methods if necessary } AnonymousListenerDemo Run
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Alternative Ways of Defining Listener Classes

There are many other ways to define the listener classes. For example, you may rewrite previous program by creating just one listener, register the listener with the buttons, and let the listener detect the event source, i.e., which button fires the event.

DetectSourceDemo

Run
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Alternative Ways of Defining Listener Classes

You may also define the custom frame class that implements ActionListener.

FrameAsListenerDemo

Run
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Problem: Loan Calculator

LoanCalculator Run

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Example: Handling Window Events

Objective: Demonstrate handling the window events. Any subclass of the Window class can generate the following window events: window opened, closing, closed, activated, deactivated, iconified, and deiconified. This program creates a frame, listens to the window events, and displays a message to indicate the occurring event.

TestWindowEvent

Run
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MouseEvent
java.awt.event.InputEvent
+getWhen(): long +isAltDown(): boolean +isControlDown(): boolean +isMetaDown(): boolean +isShiftDown(): boolean Returns the timestamp when this event occurred. Returns whether or not the Alt modifier is down on this event. Returns whether or not the Control modifier is down on this event. Returns whether or not the Meta modifier is down on this event Returns whether or not the Shift modifier is down on this event.

java.awt.event.MouseEvent
+getButton(): int +getClickCount(): int +getPoint(): java.awt.Point +getX(): int +getY(): int Indicates which mouse button has been clicked. Returns the number of mouse clicks associated with this event. Returns a Point object containing the x and y coordinates. Returns the x-coordinate of the mouse point. Returns the y-coordinate of the mouse point.

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Handling Mouse Events

Java provides two listener interfaces, MouseListener and MouseMotionListener, to handle mouse events. The MouseListener listens for actions such as when the mouse is pressed, released, entered, exited, or clicked. The MouseMotionListener listens for actions such as dragging or moving the mouse.

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Handling Mouse Events

java.awt.event.MouseListener
+mousePressed(e: MouseEvent): void +mouseReleased(e: MouseEvent): void +mouseClicked(e: MouseEvent): void +mouseEntered(e: MouseEvent): void +mouseExited(e: MouseEvent): void Invoked when the mouse button has been pressed on the source component. Invoked when the mouse button has been released on the source component. Invoked when the mouse button has been clicked (pressed and released) on the source component. Invoked when the mouse enters the source component. Invoked when the mouse exits the source component.

java.awt.event.MouseMotionListener
+mouseDragged(e: MouseEvent): void +mouseMoved(e: MouseEvent): void Invoked when a mouse button is moved with a button pressed. Invoked when a mouse button is moved without a button pressed.

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Example: Moving Message Using Mouse

Objective: Create a

program to display a message in a panel. You can use the mouse to move the message. The message moves as the mouse drags and is always displayed at the mouse point.
MoveMessageDemo Run
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Handling Keyboard Events

To process a keyboard event, use the following handlers in the KeyListener interface:

keyPressed(KeyEvent e)

Called when a key is pressed.

keyReleased(KeyEvent e)

Called when a key is released.

keyTyped(KeyEvent e)

Called when a key is pressed and then released.

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The KeyEvent Class

Methods:
getKeyChar() method
getKeyCode() method

Keys:
Home End Page Up Page Down etc... VK_HOME VK_END VK_PGUP VK_PGDN

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The KeyEvent Class, cont.

java.awt.event.InputEvent java.awt.event.KeyEvent
+getKeyChar(): char +getKeyCode(): int Returns the character associated with the key in this event. Returns the integer keyCode associated with the key in this event.

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Example: Keyboard Events Demo

Objective: Display a user-input character. The user can also move the character up, down, left, and right using the arrow keys.
KeyEventDemo Run
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The Timer Class

Some non-GUI components can fire events. The javax.swing.Timer class is a source component that fires an ActionEvent at a predefined rate.
javax.swing.Timer
+Timer(delay: int, listener: ActionListener) +addActionListener(listener: ActionListener): void +start(): void +stop(): void +setDelay(delay: int): void Creates a Timer with a specified delay in milliseconds and an ActionListener. Adds an ActionListener to the timer. Starts this timer. Stops this timer. Sets a new delay value for this timer.

The Timer class can be used to control animations. For example, you can use it to display a moving message. AnimationDemo Run
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Clock Animation
In Chapter 14, you drew a StillClock to show the current time. The clock does not tick after it is displayed. What can you do to make the clock display a new current time every second? The key to making the clock tick is to repaint it every second with a new current time. You can use a timer to control how to repaint the clock.
ClockAnimation Run

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