Java Swing and GUI Flashcards

Questions and Answers

What does GUI stand for?

Graphical User Interfaces

What are the 3 kinds of objects needed to create a GUI?

Components, Events, and Listeners

What is a component?

An object that defines a screen element used to display info or allow the user to interact with the program

What is a container in GUI?

A special type of component that is used to hold and organize other components. Signup and view all the answers

What are some examples of heavyweight and lightweight containers?

Heavyweight - a frame, and applet; Lightweight - a panel. Signup and view all the answers

What are events in GUI programming?

An object that represents some occurrence in which we may be interested. Signup and view all the answers

What are listeners?

An object that 'waits' for an event to occur and responds when it does. Signup and view all the answers

Name 3 GUI packages.

The Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT), Swing, JavaFX. Signup and view all the answers

What does AWT stand for?

The original Java GUI package. Signup and view all the answers

What is Swing?

Provides components that are more versatile than those of AWT. Signup and view all the answers

What is JavaFX?

It's designed to provide a lightweight, hardware-accelerated Java UI platform. Signup and view all the answers

What are anonymous classes?

Enable you to make your code more concise. Signup and view all the answers

Name the 3 different ways to declare a class.

Regular class, named inner class, anonymous inner class. Signup and view all the answers

What is a regular class?

Declared and named in its own file. Signup and view all the answers

What is a named inner class?

Declared and named inside of another class. Signup and view all the answers

What is an anonymous inner class?

Declared, but not named, inside of another class. Signup and view all the answers

Name other components in GUI.

Text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, sliders, combo boxes, timers. Signup and view all the answers

What are layout managers?

Determine how the components in the container are arranged visually. Signup and view all the answers

What does Flow Layout do?

Puts as many components as possible on a row, at their preferred size. Signup and view all the answers

What is Border Layout?

Has 5 areas to which components can be added: North, South, East, West, and Center. Signup and view all the answers

What does Grid Layout do?

Presents a container's components in a rectangular grid of rows and columns. Signup and view all the answers

What does Box Layout do?

Organizes components either vertically or horizontally. Signup and view all the answers

What are mouse events?

Occur when the user interacts with another component via the mouse. Signup and view all the answers

What are mouse motion events?

Occur while the mouse is in motion. Signup and view all the answers

What are key events?

Generated when the user presses a keyboard key. Signup and view all the answers

Describe the Key Listener Interface.

keyTyped, keyPressed, keyReleased methods are invoked based on user key actions. Signup and view all the answers

What is the KeyEvent class?

Generated by a component object when a key is pressed, released, or typed. Signup and view all the answers

What are adapter classes?

Each listener interface has a corresponding abstract class that we call an adapter. Signup and view all the answers

Focus is important for ____ in GUI applications.

user interaction Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

GUI Basics

GUI stands for Graphical User Interface.
Three essential objects for creating a GUI: Components, Events, and Listeners.

Components and Containers

A Component defines a screen element for displaying information or user interaction.
A Container is a component that holds and organizes other components and establishes a containment hierarchy (e.g., JFrame).
Heavyweight containers (e.g., Frame, Applet) are managed by the operating system; lightweight containers (e.g., Panel) are managed by Java.

Events and Listeners

Events represent occurrences of interest, like mouse or keyboard actions.
Listeners wait for events and respond when they occur.

Java GUI Packages

Key GUI packages include:
- Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT): The original Java GUI package.
- Swing: Provides more versatile components than AWT.
- JavaFX: A lightweight, hardware-accelerated Java UI platform intended to replace Swing.

Class Declarations

Three ways to declare a class: Regular class, Named inner class, Anonymous inner class.
Regular class: Declared and named in its own file.
Named inner class: Declared and named inside another class.
Anonymous inner class: Declared but not named inside another class, allowing concise code.

Additional Components

Common components include text fields, check boxes, radio buttons, sliders, combo boxes, and timers.

Layout Managers

Layout Managers visually arrange components in a container. Examples include:
- FlowLayout: Places components in a row; new row starts when space is insufficient.
- BorderLayout: Consists of five areas—North, South, East, West, and Center—for component placement.
- GridLayout: Organizes components in a rectangular grid; all cells have equal size.
- BoxLayout: Arranges components in a single row or column without gaps.

Mouse and Key Events

Mouse events are triggered by user interactions with components (via MouseListener).
Mouse motion events occur during mouse movement (via MouseMotionListener).
Key events are generated when keyboard keys are pressed (via KeyListener).
KeyListener interface methods include:
- keyTyped(KeyEvent): After typing a Unicode character.
- keyPressed(KeyEvent): After pressing a key while component has focus.
- keyReleased(KeyEvent): After releasing a key while component has focus.

KeyEvent Class

Generated when a key is pressed, released, or typed.
Key methods:
- getKeyChar(): Returns the character associated with the key.
- getKeyCode(): Returns the integer key code.
- getKeyLocation(): Returns the location of the key that generated the event.

Adapter Classes

Each listener interface has an adapter class, simplifying event handling.

Focus

Focus refers to the component that is currently active and can receive user input.

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Description

Test your knowledge on Java Swing and GUI concepts with these flashcards. Each card presents a key term and its definition, helping you to solidify your understanding of components, events, and listeners in graphical user interfaces.