CSC 202

Chapter 16
Handling GUI
Events

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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 Procedural vs. Event-Driven
Programming
▪ Procedural programming is executed in
procedural order(programs are sequences of
instructions to be executed)

▪ In event-driven programming, code is executed

upon activation of events.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Handling GUI Events

Source object (e.g., button)

Listener object contains a method for
processing the event.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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animation
Trace Execution
public class HandleEvent extends Application {
public void start(Stage primaryStage) { 1. Start from the
… main method to
OKHandlerClass handler1 = new OKHandlerClass(); create a window and
btOK.setOnAction(handler1); display it
CancelHandlerClass handler2 = new CancelHandlerClass();
btCancel.setOnAction(handler2);
…
primaryStage.show(); // Display the stage
}
}

class OKHandlerClass implements EventHandler<ActionEvent> {

@Override
public void handle(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("OK button clicked");
}
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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animation
Trace Execution
public class HandleEvent extends Application {
public void start(Stage primaryStage) { 2. Click OK
…
OKHandlerClass handler1 = new OKHandlerClass();
btOK.setOnAction(handler1);
CancelHandlerClass handler2 = new CancelHandlerClass();
btCancel.setOnAction(handler2);
…
primaryStage.show(); // Display the stage
}
}

class OKHandlerClass implements EventHandler<ActionEvent> {

@Override
public void handle(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("OK button clicked");
}
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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animation
Trace Execution
public class HandleEvent extends Application {
public void start(Stage primaryStage) { 3. The JVM invokes
… the listener’s handle
OKHandlerClass handler1 = new OKHandlerClass(); method
btOK.setOnAction(handler1);
CancelHandlerClass handler2 = new CancelHandlerClass();
btCancel.setOnAction(handler2);
…
primaryStage.show(); // Display the stage
}
}

class OKHandlerClass implements EventHandler<ActionEvent> {

@Override
public void handle(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("OK button clicked");
}
}
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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Taste of Event-Driven Programming

The example displays a button in the frame. A

message is displayed on the console when a
button is clicked.

HandleEvent

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Events
❑ An event can be defined as a type of signal
to the program that something has
happened.

❑ The event is generated by external user

actions such as mouse movements, mouse
clicks, or keystrokes.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Event Information
An event object contains whatever properties are
pertinent to the event. You can identify the source
object of the event using the getSource() instance
method in the EventObject class. The subclasses of
EventObject deal with special types of events,
such as button actions, window events, mouse
movements, and keystrokes.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 The Delegation Model

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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 The Delegation Model: Example

Button btOK = new Button("OK");//Event source

OKHandlerClass handler = new OKHandlerClass();
btOK.setOnAction(handler);//event and handler

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Example: First Version for
ControlCircle (no listeners)
Now let us consider to write a program that uses
two buttons to control the size of a circle.

ControlCircleWithoutEventHandling Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
12
 Example: Second Version for
ControlCircle (with listener for Enlarge)
Now let us consider to write a program that uses
two buttons to control the size of a circle.

ControlCircle Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Inner Classes
Inner class: A class is a member of another class.
Advantages: In some applications, you can use an
inner class to make programs simple.
An inner class can reference the data and
methods defined in the outer class in which it
nests, so you do not need to pass the reference of
the outer class to the constructor of the inner class.

ShowInnerClass

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Inner Classes, cont.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Inner Classes (cont.)
Inner classes can make programs simple and
concise.
An inner class supports the work of its
containing outer class and is compiled into a
class named
OuterClass outerObject = new OuterClass();
OuterClass.InnerClass innerObject = outerObject.new InnerClass();

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Inner Classes (cont.)
❑ An inner class can be declared public,
protected, or private subject to the same
visibility rules applied to a member of the
class.
❑ An inner class can be declared static.
❑ A static inner class can be accessed using the
outer class name.
❑ A static inner class cannot access nonstatic
members of the outer class
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Anonymous Inner Classes
❑ An anonymous inner class must always extend a superclass or
implement an interface, but it cannot have an explicit extends or
implements clause.
❑ An anonymous inner class must implement all the abstract
methods in the superclass or in the interface.
❑ An anonymous inner class always uses the no-arg constructor
from its superclass to create an instance. If an anonymous inner
class implements an interface, the constructor is Object().
❑ An anonymous inner class is compiled into a class named
OuterClassName$n.class. For example, if the outer class Test
has two anonymous inner classes, these two classes are
compiled into Test$1.class and Test$2.class.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Anonymous Inner Classes (cont.)
Inner class listeners can be shortened using
anonymous inner classes. An anonymous inner class is
an inner class without a name. It combines declaring
an inner class and creating an instance of the class in
one step. An anonymous inner class is declared as
follows:
new SuperClassName/InterfaceName() {
// Implement or override methods in superclass or interface
// Other methods if necessary
}

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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Anonymous Inner Classes (cont.)

AnonymousHandlerDemo Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Simplifying Event Handing Using
Lambda Expressions
Lambda expression is a new feature in Java 8. Lambda
expressions can be viewed as an anonymous method with a
concise syntax. For example, the following code in (a) can
be greatly simplified using a lambda expression in (b) in
three lines.
btEnlarge.setOnAction( btEnlarge.setOnAction(e -> {
new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() { // Code for processing event e
@Override });
public void handle(ActionEvent e) {
// Code for processing event e
}
}
});

(a) Anonymous inner class event handler (b) Lambda expression event handler

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Basic Syntax for a Lambda Expression
The basic syntax for a lambda expression is either
(type1 param1, type2 param2, ...) -> expression
or
(type1 param1, type2 param2, ...) -> { statements; }

The data type for a parameter may be explicitly

declared or implicitly inferred by the compiler. The
parentheses can be omitted if there is only one
parameter without an explicit data type.
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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Problem: Loan Calculator

LoanCalculator Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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Single Abstract Method Interface (SAM)
The statements in the lambda expression is all for
that method. If it contains multiple methods, the
compiler will not be able to compile the lambda
expression. So, for the compiler to understand
lambda expressions, the interface must contain
exactly one abstract method. Such an interface is
known as a functional interface, or a Single Abstract
Method (SAM) interface.
AnonymousHandlerDemo Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
24
 Case Study: The ClockPane Class
This case study develops a class that displays a clock on a
pane.

javafx.scene.layout.Panel The getter and setter methods for

-char token these data fields are provided in the class,
but omitted in the UML diagram for brevity.
+getToken
+setToken ClockPane
+paintComponet
+mouseClicked
-hour: int The hour in the clock.
-minute: int The minute in the clock.
-second: int The second in the clock.

+ClockPane() Constructs a default clock for the current time.

+ClockPane(hour: int, minute: int, Constructs a clock with the specified time.
second: int)
+setCurrentTime(): void Sets hour, minute, and second for current time.
+setWidth(width: double): void Sets clock pane’s width and repaint the clock,
+setHeightTime(height: double): void Sets clock pane’s height and repaint the clock,

ClockPane
Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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Use the ClockPane Class

DisplayClock Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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The MouseEvent Class

MouseEventDemo Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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 The KeyEvent Class

KeyEventDemo Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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The KeyCode Constants

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
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Example: Control Circle with Mouse
and Key

ControlCircleWithMouseAndKey Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 Listeners for Observable Objects
You can add a listener to process a value change in an
observable object.
An instance of Observable is known as an observable object,
which contains the addListener(InvalidationListener
listener) method for adding a listener. Once the value is
changed in the property, a listener is notified. The listener class
should implement the InvalidationListener interface, which
uses the invalidated(Observable o) method to handle the
property value change. Every binding property is an instance of
Observable.
ObservablePropertyDemo Run

DisplayResizableClock Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
31
 Animation
JavaFX provides the Animation class with the core
functionality for all animations.

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
32
 PathTransition

PathTransitionDemo Run

FlagRisingAnimation Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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 FadeTransition
The FadeTransition class animates the change of the
opacity in a node over a given time.

FadeTransitionDemo Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
34
 Timeline
PathTransition and FadeTransition define specialized
animations. The Timeline class can be used to program any
animation using one or more KeyFrames. Each
KeyFrame is executed sequentially at a specified time
interval. Timeline inherits from Animation.

TimelineDemo Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
35
 Clock Animation

ClockAnimation Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
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Case Study: Bouncing Ball

BallPane BounceBallControl Run

Liang, Introduction to Java Programming, Eleventh Edition, (c) 2018 Pearson Education, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
37