Using the AWT To Build User Interfaces
Now we will make a big jump: we need to go from a simple application to a more serious one
that will be representative of the kinds of applications you
will build in real life. To do so, we will take advantage of
the AWT class package that is distributed with the JDK.
As stated in the pre-requisite article
"Web Programming 101," one of the big benefits of using Java is
the ability it gives you to create web-based graphical user
interfaces (GUIs).
GUIs are one of the nicest things about
modern-day programming. Instead of forcing the user to deal
with the strange command-line input such as in the
picture below, you
can present the user with an easy-to-use interface akin to the early Macintosh design, later adapted by Microsoft. GUIs make using
a computer fun, instead of a skill.
We will now focus on using the Java AWT packages to build user interfaces. Before we can
begin, you will need to understand how to get functionality information from the AWT libraries. We will not go over all the methods, fields, and constructors of all of the java objects, since that information could make up an entire book unto itself!
Fortunately, you don't need to buy a
book to know everything you need to about java user-interface
design. All you need is to understand how to use the online
API reference that is generated by a java utility called
javadoc.
Hopefully you downloaded the
documentation when you downloaded the JDK. If not, it is
available at
Javasoft.
The java.awt package will be of particular interest to you because there you will find the majority of classes that will be discussed in this tutorial. The online documentation
provides everything you need to know about
all of the objects used to build user interfaces. It specifically provides you with the public API you will use.
Let's look at the documentation for the AWT
Button, widget for example.
NEXT
Selena Sol contributes to the JavaBoutique's Introduction to Java. Selena currently works for Barclays Capital in London, one of the leading global investment banks in Europe and has worked as a software developer for the National Center for Human Genome research, Microline Software, Neuron Data, and Electric Eye in Singapore. Selena is perhaps best-known for creating the Public Domain Web Script Archive (Extropia) and writing several books on Web Programming (Perl, CGI, Java).
Email: selena@extropia.com
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