SE241: Advanced Computer

Programming
Lecture # 13: Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT)

Muhammad Imran
(Based on Java, The Complete Reference)
http://www.secscourses.tk

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 Outline
• Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT)
• Working with Frames
• Creating an AWT-Based Application
• Control Fundamentals
• Labels
• Buttons
• Checkboxes

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 Abstract Windowing Toolkit
• The Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) contains numerous
classes and methods that allow us to create and manage
windows

• The AWT classes are contained in the java.awt package

• AWT is one of Java’s largest packages

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 Working with Frames
• Frame class encapsulates what is commonly thought
of as a “window”
• It creates a standard window that has a title bar,
borders, and resizing corners
• Two Frame constructors are:
 Frame() //creates a standard window that does not
contain a title
 Frame(String title) //creates a window with the title
specified by title
• There are several methods that are used when
working with Frame windows 4
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 Working with Frames

• The setSize() method is used to set the dimensions of the

window
 void setSize(int newWidth, int newHeight)
 void setSize(Dimension newSize)
• The dimensions are specified in terms of pixels
• The setLocation() method is used to set the location of
the window
 void setLocation(int newX, int newY)
 void setLocation(Dimension newXY)
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 Working with Frames

• After a frame window has been created, it will not

be visible until we call setVisible(boolean)
 void setVisible(boolean visibleFlag)
 The component is visible if the argument to this method is
true, otherwise, it is hidden

• We can change the title in a frame window using

setTitle(), which has this general form:
 void setTitle(String newTitle)
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Creating an AWT-Based Application
// A Simple AWT-Based Program
import java.awt.*;
public class MyWindowsDemo extends Frame
{
public static void main(String args[]) Window closing
button will not
{
work
MyWindowsDemo win=new MyWindowsDemo();
win.setLocation(10,10);
win.setSize(250,200);
win.setTitle("My First GUI Program");
win.setVisible(true);
}
}
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Creating an AWT-Based Application
• Another Example
 A program that creates a frame window, which terminates the
program when the window closing button (top right corner) is pressed

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Creating an AWT-Based Application

• To intercept a window close event, we must

implement/override the
windowClosing(WindowEvent we) method of the
WindowAdapter class
• Inside windowClosing method, we must remove the
window from the screen or terminate the program,
as appropriate
• We must also add/register WindowListener to our
frame 9
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Creating an AWT-Based Application
import java.awt.Frame;
import java.awt.event.WindowAdapter;
import java.awt.event.WindowEvent;

class MyWindowAdapter extends WindowAdapter {

public void windowClosing(WindowEvent we) {
System.exit(0);
}
}

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Creating an AWT-Based Application
class MyWindowsDemo extends Frame {
public MyWindowsDemo(){
addWindowListener(new MyWindowAdapter());
} Window closing
public static void main(String[] args) { button will work
MyWindowsDemo win = new MyWindowsDemo();
win.setLocation(10,10);
win.setSize(250,200);
win.setTitle("My First GUI Program");
win.setVisible(true);
}
} 11
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 Control Fundamentals
• Controls are components that allow a user to interact with your
application in various ways
• Example: A commonly used control is the push button
• The AWT supports the following types of controls:
 Labels
 Push buttons
 Check boxes
 Choice Lists
 Lists
 Scroll bars
 Text editing
• These controls are subclasses of Component
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 Control Fundamentals
• To include a control in a window, we must add it to the
window/frame
• To do this, we must first create an instance of the desired
control and then add it to a window by calling add(), which
is defined by Container
• The add() method has several forms. One of these is:
 Component add(Component compObj)

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 Labels
• A label is an object of type Label, and it contains a string,
which it displays
• Labels are passive controls that do not support any
interaction with the user
• Label defines the following Constructors:
 Label()
 Label(String str)
 Label(String str, int how)
• The first version creates a blank label
• By default, the string is left justified
• how specifies alignment of string, it must be one of the three
constants
 Label.LEFT, Label.RIGHT, or Label.CENTER 14
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 Labels
• We can also use the following methods on a label:
 void setText(String str)

 String getText()

• Alignment methods can also be used:

 void setAlignment(int how)

 int getAlignment()

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 Labels
// Demonstrate Labels
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class MyLabels extends Frame{
MyLabels() {
addWindowListener(new MyWindowAdapter());
Panel panel = new Panel();
Label one = new Label("One");
Label two = new Label("Two");
Label three = new Label("Three");
panel.add(one);
panel.add(two);
panel.add(three);
add(panel);
}
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}
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 Labels
public class MyLabelsDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
MyLabels win=new MyLabels();
win.setSize(300,200);
win.setTitle("Labels");
win.setVisible(true);
}
}
class MyWindowAdapter extends WindowAdapter {
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent we) {
System.exit(0);
}
}

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 Responding to Controls
• Except for labels, which are passive controls, all control
generate events when they are accessed by the user
• Example:
 When the user clicks on a push button, an event is sent that
identifies the push button
• Our program must implement the appropriate interface
and then register an event listener for each control that
we need to monitor
• Once a listener is installed, events are automatically sent
to it

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 Buttons
• A push button is a component that contains a label
and that generates an event when it is pressed
• Push buttons are objects of type Button
• Button defines these two constructors:
 Button()
 Button(String str)
• Setter and getter are:
 Void setLabel(String str)
 String getLabel()
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 Buttons
• Each time a button is pressed, an action event is generated
• This is sent to any listeners that previously registered an
interest in receiving action event notifications from that
component
• Each Listener implements the ActionListener interface
• That interface defines the actionPerformed() method, which
is called when an event occurs
• An ActionEvent object is supplied as the argument to this
method
 It contains both a reference to the button that generated the event
and a reference to the string that is the label of the button
 Usually, either value may be used to identify the button
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 Buttons
• If label of the button is to be used to determine which
button has been pressed
 the label is obtained by calling the getActionCommand() method
on the ActionEvent object passed to actionPerformed()

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 Buttons
// Demonstrate Buttons
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class MyButtons extends Frame implements ActionListener{
Panel panel;
Label label;
Button yes, no, maybe;
MyButtons() {
addWindowListener(new MyWindowAdapter());
panel = new Panel();
yes = new Button("Yes");
no = new Button("No");
maybe = new Button("Undecided");
label = new Label("Press a button");
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 Buttons
yes.addActionListener(this);
no.addActionListener(this);
maybe.addActionListener(this);
panel.add(yes);
panel.add(no);
panel.add(maybe);
panel.add(label);
add(panel);
}
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 Buttons
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae)
{
String str = ae.getActionCommand();
if(str.equals("Yes"))
{label.setText("You pressed Yes.");}
else if(str.equals("No"))
{label.setText("You pressed No.");}
else
{label.setText("You pressed undecided.");}
repaint();
}
} 24
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 Buttons
public class MyButtonsDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
MyButtons win=new MyButtons();
win.setSize(250,150);
win.setTitle("Buttons");
win.setVisible(true);
}
}
class MyWindowAdapter extends WindowAdapter {
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent we) {
System.exit(0);
}
}
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 Checkboxes

• A check box is a control that is used to turn an option on

or off
• It consists of a small box that can either contain a check
mark or not
• There is a label associated with each checkbox that
describes what option the box represents
• We change the state of a check box by clicking on it
• Check boxes can be used individually or as part of a
group
• Check boxes are objects of the Checkbox class
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 Checkboxes
• Checkbox supports these constructors:
 Checkbox()
 Checkbox(String str)
 Checkbox(String str, boolean on)
 Checkbox(String str, boolean on, CheckboxGroup cbGroup)
 Checkbox(String str, CheckboxGroup cbGroup, boolean on)

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 Checkboxes
• To retrieve the current state of a checkbox, call getState()
• To set its state, call setState()
• We can obtain the current label associated with a checkbox
by calling getLabel()
• To set the label, call setLabel()
• The methods are:
 boolean getState()
 void setState(boolean on)
 String getLabel()
 void setLabel(String str)
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 Checkboxes
• Each time a checkbox is checked or unchecked, an item event
is generated
• This is sent to any listeners that previously registered an
interest in receiving item event notifications from that
component
• Each listener implements the ItemListener interface.
• That interface defines the itemStateChanged() method
• An ItemEvent object is supplied as the argument to this
method
• It contains information about the event (for example,
whether it was a selection or de-selection) 29
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 Checkboxes
// Demonstrate Checkboxes
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class MyCheckboxes extends Frame implements ItemListener{
Panel panel;
Label label;
String msg="";
Checkbox Win98, winNT, solaris, mac;
MyCheckboxes()
{
addWindowListener(new MyWindowAdapter());
label = new Label();
panel = new Panel();
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 Checkboxes
Win98 = new Checkbox("Windows 98", null, true);
winNT = new Checkbox("Windows NT/2000");
solaris = new Checkbox("Solaris");
mac = new Checkbox("MacOS");
Win98.addItemListener(this);
winNT.addItemListener(this);
solaris.addItemListener(this);
mac.addItemListener(this);
panel.add(Win98);
panel.add(winNT);
panel.add(solaris);
panel.add(mac);
panel.add(label);
add(panel); 31
} 31
 Checkboxes
public void itemStateChanged(ItemEvent ie)
{repaint();}
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
msg = "Current state: ";
msg += " Windows 98: " + Win98.getState();
msg += " Windows NT/2000: " + winNT.getState();
msg += " Solaris: " + solaris.getState();
msg += " MacOS: " + mac.getState();
label.setText(msg);
}
} 32
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 Checkboxes
public class MyCheckboxesDemo {
public static void main(String args[]) {
MyCheckboxes win=new MyCheckboxes();
win.setSize(550,150);
win.setTitle("Checkboxes");
win.setVisible(true);
}
}
class MyWindowAdapter extends WindowAdapter {
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent we) {
System.exit(0);
}
}
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 Recommended Readings
• Chapter # 25: Introducing the AWT: Working with
Windows, Graphics, and Text from Herbert Schildt, Java:
The Complete Reference, J2SETM 9th Edition

• Chapter # 26: Using AWT Controls, Layout Managers, and

Menus from Herbert Schildt, Java: The Complete
Reference, J2SETM 9th Edition

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