Introduction to Swing in Java

What is Swing?

Swing is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) toolkit in Java that provides a rich set of components for
building user-friendly desktop applications. It is a part of Java Foundation Classes (JFC) and is used to
create windows, buttons, text fields, menus, tables, and other UI elements.

Swing is an extension of AWT (Abstract Window Toolkit), providing more powerful, flexible, and
customizable components. It is built on top of AWT but operates independently of native platform
GUI elements, making it platform-independent.

Key Features of Swing

Feature Description

Swing components are written in Java and do not rely on OS-specific

Lightweight
components, making them more efficient.

Pluggable Look and Swing allows changing the UI theme dynamically (e.g., Windows, Nimbus,
Feel Metal, etc.).

Rich Set of
Provides advanced UI elements like JTree, JTable, JTabbedPane, etc.
Components

Swing applications run on Windows, macOS, Linux, etc., without

Platform-Independent
modifications.

Follows Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture for better separation of

MVC Architecture
UI and logic.

Event-Driven Uses listeners to handle user interactions like button clicks and keyboard
Programming input.

Customizable
Components can be customized using colors, fonts, borders, and images.
Components

Uses Java2D API Enables smooth rendering of components with graphics and animations.

Supports
Swing supports multi-threaded execution for better UI performance.
Multithreading
Difference Between AWT and Swing

Feature AWT (Abstract Window Toolkit) Swing

Package java.awt javax.swing

Uses Java-based lightweight

Components Uses native OS components
components

Faster due to pure Java

Performance Slower because it depends on OS UI
implementation

OS-dependent (varies on Windows,

Look and Feel Customizable with different themes
macOS, etc.)

Customization Limited customization Highly customizable

Event Handling Uses event listeners Uses an improved event model

Single-threaded, leading to potential Supports multithreading, preventing

Threading
UI freezes UI lags

Limited control over component Full control over appearance using

Flexibility
appearance Java2D API

Support for Provides basic UI elements like Button, Provides rich UI elements like JTable,
Advanced UI Checkbox, TextField JTree, JTabbedPane

Conclusion:

• AWT is simpler but lacks advanced UI elements.

• Swing is more powerful, flexible, and customizable, making it suitable for modern
applications.

Why Choose Swing Over AWT?

More powerful and feature-rich than AWT

Supports pluggable Look & Feel (Change UI style dynamically)
Lightweight and fast (No dependency on native OS UI)
Customizable components with icons, borders, and themes
Better event handling and multi-threading support
 Swing Components

1. Icons and Labels (JLabel & Icon)

JLabel:

• Used to display static text or images (icons).

• Cannot be edited by the user.

• Can display text, icon, or both.

• Supports alignment, font, and color customization.

Icon:

• Interface used for images in Swing (commonly ImageIcon is used).

• Icons are often used in buttons or labels.

Key Points:

• JLabel(String text) – Creates label with text.

• JLabel(Icon icon) – Creates label with image.

• setIcon(Icon) – Sets an icon for the label.

• setText(String) – Sets text of label.

2. TextField (JTextField)
JTextField:

• Allows users to input a single line of text.

• Supports text editing, cursor navigation, and selection.

• Often used for forms, login fields, etc.

Key Points:

• JTextField(int columns) – Creates text field with specified width.

• getText() – Retrieves text entered.

• setText(String) – Sets text.

• addActionListener() – To respond to Enter key.

3. ComboBox (JComboBox)
JComboBox:

• A drop-down list from which a user can choose one item.

• Can be editable or read-only.

• Supports item selection and action handling.

Key Points:

• JComboBox(String[] items) – Creates drop-down with items.

• getSelectedItem() – Gets selected value.

• setSelectedIndex(int) – Selects item by index.

• addActionListener() – Handles selection.

4. Button (JButton)
JButton:

• Represents a clickable button.

• Triggers actions or events.

• Can contain text, icons, or both.

Key Points:

• JButton(String text) – Creates button with text.

• addActionListener() – Responds to clicks.

• setEnabled(boolean) – Enables/disables button.

• Supports styling, icons, tooltips.

5. CheckBox (JCheckBox)
JCheckBox:

• Allows multiple selections.

• Each box can be checked/unchecked independently.

• Used for settings, options, and selections.

Key Points:

• JCheckBox(String label) – Creates checkbox with label.

 • isSelected() – Returns true if checked.

• setSelected(boolean) – Sets checked/unchecked.

6. RadioButton (JRadioButton)
JRadioButton:

• Allows only one selection among a group.

• Must be grouped using ButtonGroup.

• Common in forms (e.g., gender selection).

Key Points:

• JRadioButton(String label) – Creates radio button.

• ButtonGroup – Groups multiple radio buttons.

• isSelected() – Checks if selected.

Summary Table:

Component Class Key Method Purpose

Label JLabel setText(), setIcon() Display text/image

Icon ImageIcon N/A Image to display in GUI

Text Field JTextField getText(), setText() Input single-line text

Combo Box JComboBox getSelectedItem() Drop-down list

Button JButton addActionListener() Perform action on click

Check Box JCheckBox isSelected() Multi-option selection

Radio Button JRadioButton isSelected(), ButtonGroup Single-option selection

 Advance Swing Components

Components:

1. Tabbed Pane (JTabbedPane)

2. Scroll Pane (JScrollPane)

3. Tree (JTree)

4. Table (JTable)

5. Progress Bar (JProgressBar)

6. Tool Tip

1. Tabbed Pane (JTabbedPane)

Description:

• Used to create multiple tabs, each containing different components.

• Helps organize GUI elements into sections.

JTabbedPane is a GUI(Graphical User Interface) component in the Java Swing library that allows you
to create a tabbed pane interface. A tabbed pane is a container that can store and organize multiple
components into distinct tabs. It contains a collection of tabs. When you click on a tab, only data
related to that tab will be displayed. JTabbedPane comes under the Java Swing package.

Constructors used in JTabbedPane

Constructor Description

The JTabbedPane class in Java Swing has a default, no-argument

constructor called JTabbedPane(). This constructor initializes an empty
tabbed pane with no tabs and no initial content when a JTabbedPane is
JTabbedPane() created.

The JTabbedPane(int tabPlacement) constructor allows to creation of a

JTabbedPane with a defined initial location for the tabs. The tab placement
JTabbedPane(int option specifies whether the tabs appear at the top, bottom, left, or right
tabPlacement) of the tabbed pane.
Some commonly used methods of the JTabbedPane

Method Description

addTab(String title, Component

Creates a new tab with the given title and content.
component)

removeTabAt(int index) Removes the tab at the given index.

Returns the number of tabs present in the

getTabCount() JTabbedPane.

setSelectedIndex(int index) Sets the chosen tab to the index given.

getSelectedIndex() Returns the index of the currently selected tab.

The classes from which JTabbedPane methods are inherited

• java.awt.Container

• javax.swing.JComponent

• javax.swing.JTabbedPane

• javax.swing.JContainer

• Output:

• Window titled TabbedPane Example.

• Tabs labeled Tab 1 and Tab 2.

• Clicking each tab shows different content.

2. Scroll Pane (JScrollPane)
Description:

• Provides scrollbars for components like text areas, tables, etc.

• Useful when content is larger than the viewable area.

Key Methods:

• new JScrollPane(Component comp) – Wraps component.

• Automatically adds vertical/horizontal scrollbars as needed.

Java JScrollPane is a component in the Java Swing library that provides a scrollable view of another
component, usually a JPanel or a JTextArea. it provides a scrolling functionality to the display for
which the size changes dynamically. It is useful to display the content which exceeds the visible area
of the window. In this article, we are going to see some constructors, methods, and examples
of JScrollPane.

Methods of JScrollPane

Methods Description

void setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(int vertical) Sets the vertical scrollbar policy

void setHorizontalScrollBarPolicy(int horizontal) Sets the horizontal scrollbar policy

3. Tree (JTree)
Description:

• Displays data in a hierarchical structure (like folders/files).

• Each item is a node.

Key Methods:

• new JTree() – Creates a default tree.

• Supports expand/collapse actions.

The JTree is a type of GUI(Graphic User Interface) that displays information in a hierarchical way. This
intricate component part provides a quite elegant substance of representing relationships among
elements in a tree-like structure. In this exploration, we'll delve into the essence of the JTree class,
examining its declaration, normally used constructors and examples.

This constructor creates a JTree with a sample model. It serves as a quick way
JTree() to initialize a tree structure without specifying a custom model.

JTree is created with each element of the specified array becoming a child of a
JTree(Object[] new root node. This constructor is useful when you want to build a tree
value) structure based on an array of values.

JTree(TreeNode JTree is created with the specified TreeNode as its root. This allows you to
root) define a custom structure for your tree by providing a root node explicitly.
 4. Table (JTable)
Description:

• Displays data in rows and columns like a spreadsheet.

• Allows editing, selection, and scrolling.

Key Methods:

• new JTable(Object[][] data, Object[] columnNames) – Creates a table.

• Used with JScrollPane for scrolling.

The JTable class is a part of Java Swing Package and is generally used to display or edit two-dimensional
data that is having both rows and columns. It is similar to a spreadsheet. This arranges data in a tabular
form.
Constructors in JTable:

1. JTable(): A table is created with empty cells.

2. JTable(int rows, int cols): Creates a table of size rows * cols.

3. JTable(Object[][] data, Object []Column): A table is created with the specified name where
[]Column defines the column names.

Functions in JTable:

1. addColumn(TableColumn []column) : adds a column at the end of the JTable.

2. clearSelection() : Selects all the selected rows and columns.

3. editCellAt(int row, int col) : edits the intersecting cell of the column number col and row
number row programmatically, if the given indices are valid and the corresponding cell is
editable.

4. setValueAt(Object value, int row, int col) : Sets the cell value as ‘value’ for the position row,
col in the JTable.

Out put:
5. Progress Bar (JProgressBar)
Description:

• Shows progress of a task (e.g., file download).

• Can be determinate (known progress) or indeterminate (unknown).

Key Methods:

• setValue(int) – Set current progress.

• setStringPainted(true) – Show percent

JProgressBar is a part of Java Swing package. JProgressBar visually displays the progress of some
specified task. JProgressBar shows the percentage of completion of specified task.The progress bar
fills up as the task reaches it completion. In addition to show the percentage of completion of task, it
can also display some text

1. JProgressBar() : creates an progress bar with no text on it;

2. JProgressBar(int orientation) : creates an progress bar with a specified orientation. if

SwingConstants.VERTICAL is passed as argument a vertical progress bar is created, if
SwingConstants.HORIZONTAL is passed as argument a horizontal progress bar is created.

3. JProgressBar(int min, int max) : creates an progress bar with specified minimum and
maximum value.

4. JProgressBar(int orientation, int min, int max) : creates an progress bar with specified
minimum and maximum value and a specified orientation.if SwingConstants.VERTICAL is
passed as argument a vertical progress bar is created, if SwingConstants.HORIZONTAL is
passed as argument a horizontal progress bar is created.
 6. Tool Tip
Description:

• Small popup text when mouse hovers over a component.

• Used for user guidance.

Key Method:

• setToolTipText(String text) – Assign tooltip to a component.

We can add tooltip text to almost all the components of Java Swing by using the following method
setToolTipText(String s). This method sets the tooltip of the component to the specified string s.
When the cursor enters the boundary of that component a popup appears and text is displayed.

Methods used:

1. getToolTipText() : returns the tooltip text for that component .

2. setToolTipText(String s) : sets the tooltip text for the component .

3. getToolTipText(MouseEvent e): returns the same value returned by getToolTipText(). Multi-

part components such as JTabbedPane, JTable, and JTree override this method to return a
string associated with the mouse event location.

4. getToolTipLocation(MouseEvent e) : Returns the location (in the receiving component’s

coordinate system) where the upper left corner of the component’s tool tip appears.