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unit3_Introduction_toAWT

The document introduces the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) in Java, detailing its classes, components, and containers used for creating graphical user interfaces. It explains the structure of components and containers, including the Window, Frame, and Panel classes, and provides methods for manipulating frame windows such as setting dimensions, visibility, and titles. Additionally, it includes an example of creating a frame within an applet, demonstrating the integration of AWT in Java applications.

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Ranga Timilsina
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4 views

unit3_Introduction_toAWT

The document introduces the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) in Java, detailing its classes, components, and containers used for creating graphical user interfaces. It explains the structure of components and containers, including the Window, Frame, and Panel classes, and provides methods for manipulating frame windows such as setting dimensions, visibility, and titles. Additionally, it includes an example of creating a frame within an applet, demonstrating the integration of AWT in Java applications.

Uploaded by

Ranga Timilsina
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit 3: Introducing the AWT: LH 3

• AWT classes
• Window fundamentals:
– component,
– container,
– panel,
– window,
– frame,
– console
• Working with frame windows:
– setting windows dimensions,
– hiding and showing and closing windows
• Creating a frame window in an applet
AWT Class
• The Java programming language class library
provides a user interface toolkit called the
Abstract Windowing Toolkit, or the AWT
What is a user interface
• The user interface is that part of a program that
interacts with the user of the program.
• User interfaces take many forms.
• These forms range in complexity from simple
command-line interfaces to the point-and-click
graphical user interfaces provided by many
modern applications.
• At the lowest level, the operating system
transmits information from the mouse and
keyboard to the program as input, and provides
pixels for program output.
• The AWT was designed so that programmers
don't have worry about the details of tracking
the mouse or reading the keyboard, nor attend
to the details of writing to the screen.
• The AWT provides a well-designed object-
oriented interface to these low-level services
and resources.
Components and containers
Components
• A graphical user interface is built of graphical elements called components.
• Typical components include such items as buttons, scrollbars, and text fields.
• Components allow the user to interact with the program and provide the user
with visual feedback about the state of the program.
• In the AWT, all user interface components are instances of class Component or
one of its subtypes.
• Spatially, components must fit completely within the container that contains
them.
• This nesting of components (including containers) into containers creates a tree
of elements, starting with the container at the root of the tree and expanding out
to the leaves, which are components such as buttons.
Containers
• Components do not stand alone, but rather are found within containers.
• Containers contain and control the layout of components. Containers are
themselves components, and can thus be placed inside other containers.
• In the AWT, all containers are instances of class Container or one of its
subtypes.
Types of containers
• The AWT provides four container classes. They
are class Window and its two subtypes –
• class Frame and class Dialog -- as well as the
Panel class.
• In addition to the containers provided by the
AWT, the Applet class is a container -- it is a
subtype of the Panel class and can therefore hold
components.
• Brief descriptions of each container class
provided by the AWT are provided below.
• The AWT provides nine basic non-container
component classes from which a user interface
may be constructed. (Of course, new
component classes may be derived from any of
these or from class Component itself.)
• These nine classes are class Button, Canvas,
Checkbox, Choice, Label, List, Scrollbar,
TextArea, and TextField
Window

• Window The Window class creates a top-level


window.
• A top-level window is not contained within
any other object; it sits directly on the desktop.
• Generally, you won’t create Window objects
directly. Instead, you will use a subclass of
Window called Frame.
Frame
• Frame Frame encapsulates what is commonly thought
of as a “window.”
• It is a subclass of Window and has a title bar, menu bar,
borders, and resizing corners.
• A Frame provides the "main window" for your GUI
application.
• It has a title bar (containing an icon, a title, the
minimize, maximize/restore-down and close buttons),
an optional menu bar, and the content display area.
Working With Frame Window
Setting the Window’s Dimensions

The setSize( ) method is used to set the dimensions of the window. Its
signature is shown here:

void setSize(int newWidth, int newHeight)


void setSize(Dimension newSize)

The new size of the window is specified by newWidth and newHeight,


or by the width and height fields of the Dimension object passed
in newSize. The dimensions are specified in terms of pixels.
The getSize( ) method is used to obtain the current size of a window.
One of its forms is shown here:

Dimension getSize( )

This method returns the current size of the window contained within
the width and height fields of a Dimension object.
Hiding and Showing a Window
After a frame window has been created, it will
not be visible until you call setVisible( ). Its
signature is shown here:

void setVisible(boolean visibleFlag)

The component is visible if the argument to this


method is true. Otherwise, it is hidden.
Setting a Window’s Title
You can change the title in a frame window using setTitle( ),
which has this general form:
void setTitle(String newTitle)
Here, newTitle is the new title for the window.

Closing a Frame Window


- When using a frame window, your program must remove that
window from the screen when it is closed, by
calling setVisible(false).
- To intercept a window-close event, you must implement
the windowClosing( ) method of
the WindowListener interface.
- Inside windowClosing( ), you must remove the window from
the screen.
- NOTE: Example Program related to Frame are already
provided.
Canvas

• Although it is not part of the hierarchy for


applet or frame windows, there is one other
type of window that we will find valuable:
Canvas.
• Derived from Component, Canvas
encapsulates a blank window upon which we
can draw.
• Syntax to create: Canvas c=new Canvas();
Panel
• The Panel class is a concrete subclass of
Container.
• Panel is the superclass for Applet.
• When screen output is directed to an applet, it
is drawn on the surface of a Panel object.
• In essence, a Panel is a window that does not
contain a title bar, menu bar, or border.
Syntax to create: Panel p=new Panel();
Creating frames in applets
• First, create a subclass of Frame.
• Next, override any of the standard applet methods, such
as init( ), start( ), and stop( ), to show or hide the frame as
needed.
• Finally, implement the windowClosing( ) method of
the WindowListener interface,
calling setVisible(false) when the window is closed.
• Once you have defined a Frame subclass, you can create an
object of that class.
• This causes a frame window to come into existence, but it
will not be initially visible.
• You make it visible by calling setVisible( ).
• When created, the window is given a default height and
width. You can set the size of the window explicitly by calling
the setSize( ) method.
Example:
import java.awt.*;
import java.applet.*;
public class FrameApplet extends Applet{
Frame f;
public void init()
{
f=new Frame("Frame Window");
f.setSize(400,400);
}
public void start()
{
f.setVisible(true);

}
public void stop()
{
f.setVisible(false);
}
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
g.drawString("this is in applet window",50,80);
}

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