Core Java™ 2: Volume I - Fundamentals By Cay S. Horstmann, Gary Cornell
Table of Contents
THE MODEL-VIEW-CONTROLLER DESIGN PATTERN
AN INTRODUCTION TO LAYOUT MANAGEMENT
TEXT INPUT
MAKING CHOICES
MENUS
SOPHISTICATED LAYOUT MANAGEMENT
DIALOG BOXES
The last chapter was primarily designed to show you how to use the event model in Java. In the process you did take the first steps toward learning how to build a graphical user interface. This chapter shows you the most important tools you'll need to build more full-featured graphical user interfaces.
We'll start out with a tour of the architectural underpinnings of Swing. Knowing what goes on "under the hood" is important in understanding how to use some of the more advanced components effectively. We'll then show you how to use the most common user interface components in Swing such as text fields, radio buttons, and menus. Next, you will learn how to use the nifty layout manager features of Java to arrange these components in a window, regardless of the look and feel of a particular user interface. Finally, you'll see how to implement dialog boxes in Swing.
This chapter covers basic Swing components such as text components, buttons, and sliders. These are the essential user interface components that you will need most frequently. We will cover advanced Swing components in Volume 2. For an even more comprehensive look into all details of the Swing framework, we recommend the book Core JFC 2/e by Kim Topley (Prentice Hall PTR 2002).
