Creating Basic GUI Components

In the previous chapters, we learned about the basics of Java GUI development, including the main libraries used to develop GUIs and the different types of layout managers. In this chapter, we will learn about creating basic GUI components, such as buttons, labels, and text fields.

Buttons

Buttons are one of the most basic GUI components. They are used to perform an action when a user clicks on them. To create a button in Java, you can use the JButton class. Here are some examples of different types of buttons.

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JButton button1 = new JButton("Click me");
JButton button2 = new JButton("Submit");
JButton button3 = new JButton("Cancel");

These codes create three different buttons with the text "Click me", "Submit", and "Cancel", respectively.

Labels

Labels are used to display text or images in a GUI application. To create a label in Java, you can use the JLabel class. Here are some examples of different types of labels.

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JLabel label1 = new JLabel("Enter your name:");
JLabel label2 = new JLabel("Password:");
JLabel label3 = new JLabel("Email address:");

These codes create three different labels with the text "Enter your name:", "Password:", and "Email address:", respectively.

Text Fields

Text fields are used to allow users to enter text in a GUI application. To create a text field in Java, you can use the JTextField class. Here are some examples of different types of text fields.

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JTextField textField1 = new JTextField(20);
JTextField textField2 = new JPasswordField(20);
JTextField textField3 = new JTextField("example@gmail.com", 20);

The first code creates a text field with a width of 20 characters. The second code creates a password field with a width of 20 characters. The third code creates a text field with a default value of "example@gmail.com" and a width of 20 characters.

You can also create text fields that only accept certain types of inputs, such as numbers or dates. To do this, you can use specialized text fields classes, such as JFormattedTextField or JDateChooser.

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JFormattedTextField formattedTextField = new JFormattedTextField(NumberFormat.getIntegerInstance());
JDateChooser dateChooser = new JDateChooser();

The first code creates a text field that only accepts integer values. The second code creates a date chooser that allows users to select a date.

1. Which GUI component is used to display text or images in a Java GUI application?

2. Which type of text field only accepts integer values in a Java GUI application?

Everything was clear?

Thanks for your feedback!

Section 5. Chapter 3