Develop Reference

Setting a label text in Swing undos all button location movements

I have the weirdest bug ever.
I have this puzzle game that moves puzzle pieces (which really are buttons with images attached to them).
Everything worked fine until I tried to change the text of some label (to indicate how many steps the player has done).
Everytime I call someControl.setText("text");, the puzzle pieces that moved are set back to the their first position. I have no idea why, but they just do.
Here's my window:
It consists of two panels, each uses a GridBagLayout.
The main frame uses a gridBagLayout as well, which consists of the two panels.
I know it's weird as hell, but I can't figure out what may cause this GUI bug. Any idea?
The pieces of code:
increaseSteps which is called everytime I click a puzzle button
void increaseSteps() {
_steps++;
_lblSteps.setText("Steps: " + _steps);
}
Creation of the puzzle panel (the left panel)
private JPanel puzzlePanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
for (int i = 0; i < _splitImage.getSize(); i++)
for (int j = 0; j < _splitImage.getSize(); j++) {
int valueAtPos = _board.getMatrix()[i][j];
if (valueAtPos == 0)
continue;
int imageRow = _board.getImageRowFromValue(valueAtPos);
int imageCol = _board.getImageColFromValue(valueAtPos);
ImageIcon imageIcon = new ImageIcon(_splitImage.getImages()[imageRow][imageCol]);
JButton btn = new JButton(imageIcon);
_tileButtons[i][j] = new TileButton(btn, i, j);
btn.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(_splitImage.getImages()[i][j].getWidth(null),
_splitImage.getImages()[i][j].getHeight(null)));
// add action listener
btn.addActionListener(this);
btn.addKeyListener(this);
gbc.gridx = j;
gbc.gridy = i;
panel.add(_tileButtons[i][j].getButton(), gbc);
}
return panel;
}
actionPerformed:
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (!(e.getSource() instanceof JButton))
return;
JButton btn = (JButton) e.getSource();
TileButton tile = getTileButtonFromBtn(btn);
if (tile == null)
return;
// check if we can move the tile
String moveDir = _board.canMoveTile(tile.getRow(), tile.getCol());
if (moveDir.equals("no"))
return;
increaseSteps();
int dirx = 0;
int diry = 0;
if (moveDir.equals("left")) {
dirx = -1;
_board.move("left", true);
tile.setCol(tile.getCol() - 1);
} else if (moveDir.equals("right")) {
dirx = 1;
_board.move("right", true);
tile.setCol(tile.getCol() + 1);
} else if (moveDir.equals("up")) {
diry = -1;
_board.move("up", true);
tile.setRow(tile.getRow() - 1);
} else { // down
diry = 1;
_board.move("down", true);
tile.setRow(tile.getRow() + 1);
}
moveButton(btn, dirx, diry, MOVE_SPEED);
if (_board.hasWon())
win();
}
moveButton: (moves the button in a seperate thread, calling btn.setLocation())
private void moveButton(JButton btn, int dirx, int diry, int speed) {
Point loc = btn.getLocation();
// get start ticks, calculate distance etc...
StopWatch stopper = new StopWatch();
int distance;
if (dirx != 0)
distance = _splitImage.getImages()[0][0].getWidth(null) * dirx;
else
distance = _splitImage.getImages()[0][0].getHeight(null) * diry;
if (speed > 0) {
// run the animation in a new thread
Thread thread = new Thread() {
public void run() {
int currentTicks;
int elapsed;
do {
int newX = loc.x;
int newY = loc.y;
elapsed = stopper.getElapsed();
int moved = (int) ((double) distance * (double) (elapsed / (double) speed));
if (dirx != 0)
newX += moved;
else
newY += moved;
btn.setLocation(newX, newY);
} while (elapsed <= MOVE_SPEED);
// make sure the last location is exact
btn.setLocation(loc.x + (dirx == 0 ? 0 : distance), loc.y + (diry == 0 ? 0 : distance));
}
};
thread.start();
}
else
btn.setLocation(loc.x + (dirx == 0 ? 0 : distance), loc.y + (diry == 0 ? 0 : distance));
}

You're trying to set the absolute position of a component via setLocation(...) or setBounds(...), one that is held by a container that uses a layout manager. This may work temporarily, but will fail if the container's layout manager is triggered to re-do the layout of its contained components. When that happens, the GridBagConstraints will take over and the components will move to their gridbag constraints assigned location.
The solution is to not do this, and instead to place the location of your components in concert with the layout managers used.
Another problem is that your current code is not Swing thread-safe since you're making Swing state changes from within a background thread. This won't always cause problems, but since it's a threading issue, risks causing intermittent hard to debug problems (ones that usually only occur when your boss or instructor are trying to run your code).
Possible solutions:
For a grid of images, you could use a grid of JLabels (or JButtons if you must) held in a container that uses GridLayout. When you need to reposition components, remove all components held by that JPanel, and then re-add, using the order of addition to help you position the components.
Easiest though would be to use a grid of non-moving JLabels, give them MouseListeners, and instead of moving the JLabels, remove and add Icons to them, including a blank Icon.
If you need to do Swing animation, use a Swing Timer to drive the animation. This will allow your code to make repetitive calls with delay between the calls, and with these calls being made on the Swing event thread, the EDT (event dispatch thread).
Demo proof of concept example code that shows swapping icons, but without animation, and without test of solution yet:
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class ImageShuffle extends JPanel {
private static final int SIDES = 3;
public static final String IMG_PATH = "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/"
+ "thumb/5/5a/Hurricane_Kiko_Sep_3_1983_1915Z.jpg/"
+ "600px-Hurricane_Kiko_Sep_3_1983_1915Z.jpg";
private List<Icon> iconList = new ArrayList<>(); // shuffled icons
private List<Icon> solutionList = new ArrayList<>(); // in order
private List<JLabel> labelList = new ArrayList<>(); // holds JLabel grid
private Icon blankIcon;
public ImageShuffle(BufferedImage img) {
setLayout(new GridLayout(SIDES, SIDES, 1, 1));
fillIconList(img); // fill array list with icons and one blank one
Collections.shuffle(iconList);
MyMouseListener myMouse = new MyMouseListener();
for (Icon icon : iconList) {
JLabel label = new JLabel(icon);
label.addMouseListener(myMouse);
add(label);
labelList.add(label);
}
}
private class MyMouseListener extends MouseAdapter {
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
JLabel selectedLabel = (JLabel) e.getSource();
if (selectedLabel.getIcon() == blankIcon) {
return; // don't want to move the blank icon
}
// index variables to hold selected and blank JLabel's index location
int selectedIndex = -1;
int blankIndex = -1;
for (int i = 0; i < labelList.size(); i++) {
if (selectedLabel == labelList.get(i)) {
selectedIndex = i;
} else if (labelList.get(i).getIcon() == blankIcon) {
blankIndex = i;
}
}
// get row and column of selected JLabel
int row = selectedIndex / SIDES;
int col = selectedIndex % SIDES;
// get row and column of blank JLabel
int blankRow = blankIndex / SIDES;
int blankCol = blankIndex % SIDES;
if (isMoveValid(row, col, blankRow, blankCol)) {
Icon selectedIcon = selectedLabel.getIcon();
labelList.get(selectedIndex).setIcon(blankIcon);
labelList.get(blankIndex).setIcon(selectedIcon);
// test for win here by comparing icons held by labelList
// with the solutionList
}
}
private boolean isMoveValid(int row, int col, int blankRow, int blankCol) {
// has to be on either same row or same column
if (row != blankRow && col != blankCol) {
return false;
}
// if same row
if (row == blankRow) {
// then columns must be off by 1 -- they're next to each other
return Math.abs(col - blankCol) == 1;
} else {
// or else rows off by 1 -- above or below each other
return Math.abs(row - blankRow) == 1;
}
}
public void shuffle() {
Collections.shuffle(iconList);
for (int i = 0; i < labelList.size(); i++) {
labelList.get(i).setIcon(iconList.get(i));
}
}
}
private void fillIconList(BufferedImage img) {
// get the width and height of each individual icon
// which is 1/3 the image width and height
int w = img.getWidth() / SIDES;
int h = img.getHeight() / SIDES;
for (int row = 0; row < SIDES; row++) {
int y = (row * img.getWidth()) / SIDES;
for (int col = 0; col < SIDES; col++) {
int x = (col * img.getHeight()) / SIDES;
// create a sub image
BufferedImage subImg = img.getSubimage(x, y, w, h);
// create icon from the image
Icon icon = new ImageIcon(subImg);
// add to both icon lists
iconList.add(icon);
solutionList.add(icon);
}
}
// create a blank image and corresponding icon as well.
BufferedImage blankImg = new BufferedImage(w, h, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
blankIcon = new ImageIcon(blankImg);
iconList.remove(iconList.size() - 1); // remove last icon from list
iconList.add(blankIcon); // and swap in the blank one
solutionList.remove(iconList.size() - 1); // same for the solution list
solutionList.add(blankIcon);
}
private static void createAndShowGui(BufferedImage img) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("ImageShuffle");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new ImageShuffle(img));
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
URL imgUrl = null;
BufferedImage img;
try {
imgUrl = new URL(IMG_PATH);
img = ImageIO.read(imgUrl);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowGui(img));
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
If I wanted animation, again, I'd raise the icon into the JFrame's glasspane, animate it to the new position using a Swing Timer, and then place the icon into the new JLabel. I'd also disable the MouseListener using a boolean field, a "flag", until the animation had completed its move.

change buttons backgroundcolor in awt

So i have a GUI program called Safe25. Basically, if you press the buttons in the right order which is "15032018" the program closes itself.
If you input a correct number, lets say you press 1 at the start, the buttons should change their backgroundcolor to green like this:
If you press a wrong button, the buttons should change their color to red.
But the logic of my code is irrelevant for my problem.
As i said, i want to change the buttons backgroundcolor like in the linked image. My problem is that it changes the backgroundcolor of the frame instead like this
The important line is 75, i commented this one.
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Safe25 extends Frame implements ActionListener {
JButton[] buttons;
Safe25() { // Konstruktor
setSize(250, 300);
setLocation(300, 300);
setTitle("Safe25");
buttons = new JButton[10];
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // 10 Knöpfe im Array
buttons[i] = new JButton("" + i);
buttons[i].setFont(new Font("Courier", Font.BOLD, 34));
buttons[i].addActionListener(this); //
}
Panel panel0 = new Panel();
panel0.setLayout(new GridLayout(1, 1));
panel0.add(buttons[0]);
Panel panelRest = new Panel();
panelRest.setLayout(new GridLayout(3, 3));
setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 1));
for (int i = 1; i < 10; i++) {
panelRest.add(buttons[i]);
}
add(panel0); // Panel mit 0-Knopf
add(panelRest);
addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter() {
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent wv) {
System.exit(0);
}
});
setVisible(true);
}
int s = 0;
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
// 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Zustände ...
// 1-5-0-3-2-0-1-8 ist richtige Kombination
switch (Integer.parseInt(evt.getActionCommand())) {
case 0:
s = (s == 2 || s == 5) ? s + 1 : 0;
break;
case 1:
s = (s == 0 || s == 6) ? s + 1 : 1;
break;
case 2:
s = (s == 4) ? s + 1 : 0;
break;
case 3:
s = (s == 3) ? s + 1 : 0;
break;
case 5:
s = (s == 1) ? s + 1 : s == 7 ? 2 : 0;
break;
case 8:
s = (s == 7) ? s + 1 : 0;
break;
default:
s = 0;
}
Color col;
if (s == 0) {
col = Color.red;
} else { // richtiger Weg
col = Color.green;
}
if (s == 8) {
System.exit(0);
}
for (Component c : getComponents()) // line 75, i want this one
c.setBackground(col); // to change the buttons backgroundcolor
repaint(); // but it changes the frames backgroundcolor instead
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Safe25 we = new Safe25();
}
}

have you red the javadoc for JButton?
edit:
Sorry i looked over your code to quickly. What your doing right now is setting the background color of every component in the current container.
While your buttons array is global you could simply loop trough that collection again to get the correct components "the buttons" and setting the background color like so:
for (JButton b : buttons) // line 75, i want this one
b.setBackground(col); // to change the buttons backgroundcolor
repaint(); // but it changes the frames backgroundcolor instead

The answer is, no, not really - or at least not as you might expect.
The button's content is provided by the look and feel delegate, most of which ignore things like the background property (or at least don't use it in ways you might think it should).
Instead, you need to remove these decorations and do a little of the work yourself
For example...
buttons = new JButton[10];
for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) { // 10 Knöpfe im Array
buttons[i] = new JButton("" + i);
buttons[i].setFont(new Font("Courier", Font.BOLD, 34));
buttons[i].setContentAreaFilled(false);
buttons[i].setOpaque(true);
buttons[i].setBorder(new EtchedBorder(EtchedBorder.LOWERED));
buttons[i].setBackground(Color.RED);
buttons[i].addActionListener(this); //
}
This disables the area filling, replaces the border and makes the component transparent, which produces something along the lines of

Which Swing layout should i use for moving JButtons

I have a Board 14x14 which has JButtons and every Jbutton has a different color. When you click one of those buttons, it checks the neighbors with the same color and removes them. When it removes them, theres a blank space between the board so the above buttons, should move down to fill the blank space. I tried with GridLayout but I don't know how to move the above buttons.

This actually is a case where you can hardly use a layout manager at all.
A LayoutManager is supposed to compute the layout of all components at once. It is triggered by certain events (e.g. when the parent component is resized). Then it computes the layout and arranges the child components accordingly.
In your case, the situation is quite different. There is no layout manager that can sensibly represent the "intermediate" state that appears while the upper buttons are falling down. While the components are animated, they cannot be part of a proper layout.
The animation itself may also be a bit tricky, but can fortunately be solved generically. But you still have to keep track of the information about where each component (i.e. each button) is currently located in the grid. When one button is removed, you have to compute the buttons that are affected by that (namely, the ones directly above it). These have to be animated. After the animation, you have to assign the new grid coordinates to these buttons.
The following is a MCVE that shows one basic approach. It simply removes the button that was clicked, but it should be easy to generalize it to remove other buttons, based on other conditions.
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.awt.event.ComponentAdapter;
import java.awt.event.ComponentEvent;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class FallingButtons
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowGui());
}
private static void createAndShowGui()
{
JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
int rows = 8;
int cols = 8;
GridPanel gridPanel = new GridPanel(rows, cols);
for (int r=0; r<rows; r++)
{
for (int c=0; c<cols; c++)
{
JButton button = new JButton(r+","+c);
gridPanel.addComponentInGrid(r, c, button);
button.addActionListener(e ->
{
Point coordinates = gridPanel.getCoordinatesInGrid(button);
if (coordinates != null)
{
gridPanel.removeComponentInGrid(
coordinates.x, coordinates.y);
}
});
}
}
f.getContentPane().add(gridPanel);
f.setSize(500, 500);
f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setVisible(true);
}
}
class GridPanel extends JPanel
{
private final int rows;
private final int cols;
private final JComponent components[][];
GridPanel(int rows, int cols)
{
super(null);
this.rows = rows;
this.cols = cols;
this.components = new JComponent[rows][cols];
addComponentListener(new ComponentAdapter()
{
#Override
public void componentResized(ComponentEvent e)
{
layoutGrid();
}
});
}
private void layoutGrid()
{
int cellWidth = getWidth() / cols;
int cellHeight = getHeight() / rows;
for (int r=0; r<rows; r++)
{
for (int c=0; c<cols; c++)
{
JComponent component = components[r][c];
if (component != null)
{
component.setBounds(
c * cellWidth, r * cellHeight, cellWidth, cellHeight);
}
}
}
}
Point getCoordinatesInGrid(JComponent component)
{
for (int r=0; r<rows; r++)
{
for (int c=0; c<cols; c++)
{
if (components[r][c] == component)
{
return new Point(r, c);
}
}
}
return null;
}
void addComponentInGrid(int row, int col, JComponent component)
{
add(component);
components[row][col] = component;
layoutGrid();
}
JComponent getComponentInGrid(int row, int col)
{
return components[row][col];
}
void removeComponentInGrid(int row, int col)
{
remove(components[row][col]);
components[row][col] = null;
List<Runnable> animations = new ArrayList<Runnable>();
for (int r=row-1; r>=0; r--)
{
JComponent component = components[r][col];
if (component != null)
{
Runnable animation =
createAnimation(component, r, col, r + 1, col);
animations.add(animation);
}
}
for (Runnable animation : animations)
{
Thread t = new Thread(animation);
t.setDaemon(true);
t.start();
}
repaint();
}
private Runnable createAnimation(JComponent component,
int sourceRow, int sourceCol, int targetRow, int targetCol)
{
int cellWidth = getWidth() / cols;
int cellHeight = getHeight() / rows;
Rectangle sourceBounds = new Rectangle(
sourceCol * cellWidth, sourceRow * cellHeight,
cellWidth, cellHeight);
Rectangle targetBounds = new Rectangle(
targetCol * cellWidth, targetRow * cellHeight,
cellWidth, cellHeight);
Runnable movement = createAnimation(
component, sourceBounds, targetBounds);
return () ->
{
components[sourceRow][sourceCol] = null;
movement.run();
components[targetRow][targetCol] = component;
repaint();
};
}
private static Runnable createAnimation(JComponent component,
Rectangle sourceBounds, Rectangle targetBounds)
{
int delayMs = 10;
int steps = 20;
Runnable r = () ->
{
int x0 = sourceBounds.x;
int y0 = sourceBounds.y;
int w0 = sourceBounds.width;
int h0 = sourceBounds.height;
int x1 = targetBounds.x;
int y1 = targetBounds.y;
int w1 = targetBounds.width;
int h1 = targetBounds.height;
int dx = x1 - x0;
int dy = y1 - y0;
int dw = w1 - w0;
int dh = h1 - h0;
for (int i=0; i<steps; i++)
{
double alpha = (double)i / (steps - 1);
int x = (int)(x0 + dx * alpha);
int y = (int)(y0 + dy * alpha);
int w = (int)(w0 + dw * alpha);
int h = (int)(h0 + dh * alpha);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() ->
{
component.setBounds(x, y, w, h);
});
try
{
Thread.sleep(delayMs);
}
catch (InterruptedException e)
{
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
return;
}
}
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() ->
{
component.setBounds(x1, y1, w1, h1);
});
};
return r;
}
}

You could try using a 2-dimensional array of JButtons
JButton[][] buttons = new JButton[14][14];
for (int i=0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
for (int j=0; j < buttons[i].length; j++) {
buttons[i][j] = new JButton("Button [" + i + "][" + j + "]");
}
}
// Then do whatever,remove,change color,check next element in array
// and compare colors etc
buttons[2][3].setText("changed text");

If you want the above buttons to take more space to fill the empty space when you remove a component well, this is not possible using GridLayout, but you can add some empty components like JLabels to fill the space.
You can add a component in a container at a specific index for this purpose, by using Container's add (Component comp, int index) method.
This code snippet will replace a button at a specified index (45, just for example) with a blank component in a panel which has a GridLayout set:
JPanel boardPanel = new JPanel (new GridLayout (14, 14));
// ... add your buttons ...
// This code could be invoked inside an ActionListener ...
boardPanel.remove (45);
boardPanel.add (new JLabel (""), 45);
boardPanel.revalidate ();
boardPanel.repaint ();
This way, the rest of the components will not move, and you will just see a blank space replacing your button.
You can achieve more: if you add the empty label at index = 0, all the buttons will move to the right (remember that the number of components should not change, else the components will resize and you could obtain bad behaviour), and so on, you can "move" a single component by simply removing it and adding it at a different index.
Another way to go would be to store a 2-dimensional array of objects representing your model logic (you can store color and all the stuff you need), and painting them on your own by overriding paintComponent method.
For an example of a custom painting approach, take a look at this MadProgrammer's answer, where he shows how to highlight a specific cell in a grid (in this case he uses a List to store objects, but a 2d array will work as well).

ordering image and text in jbutton

I am attempting to overlay the text on a JButton over an ImageIcon that is behind it. However, when the imageIcon is added, the text dissapears. Is there any way to specify the order in which it displays?
Below, i have tried to separately add the images and text to see if that would affect it, but no luck.
Can anyone help me out?
private void initButtons() {
int locationX = 0, locationY = 525;
for (int y = 0; y < 8; y++) {
for (int x = 0; x < 8; x++) {
boardArray[x][y] = new ChessButton();
boardArray[x][y].setSize(75, 75);
boardArray[x][y].setLocation(locationX, locationY);
boardArray[x][y].setXAndY(x, y);
if ((x % 2 == 0 && y % 2 == 1) || (x % 2 == 1 && y % 2 == 0)) {
boardArray[x][y].setColour("white");
boardArray[x][y].setIcon(new ImageIcon("Assets/white_null_null.png"));
} else {
boardArray[x][y].setColour("black");
boardArray[x][y].setIcon(new ImageIcon("Assets/black_null_null.png"));
}
//this adds the images in an alternating pattern
chessFrame.add(boardArray[x][y]);
locationX = locationX + 75;
}
locationX = 0;
locationY = locationY - 75;
}
}
void initPieces() {
for (int y = 0; y < 8; y++) {
for (int x = 0; x < 8; x++) {
if ((x % 2 == 0 && y % 2 == 1) || (x % 2 == 1 && y % 2 == 0)) {
boardArray[x][y].setFont(new Font("Arial Unicode MS", Font.PLAIN, 40));
boardArray[x][y].setText("\u2654");//sets a particular chess piece as text, just testing it now.
} else {
boardArray[x][y].setFont(new Font("Arial Unicode MS", Font.PLAIN, 40));
boardArray[x][y].setText("\u2654");//sets a particular chess piece as text, just testing it now.
//this is suposed to overlay the image over the text, but it is not.
}
}
}
}

First of all, I see you're calling this method: boardArray[x][y].setLocation(locationX, locationY);
.setLocation(...) indicates you're using a null layout, please read Null layout is evil and Why is it frowned upon to use a null layout in Swing? to know why you should avoid its use.
For creating a Chess board, I'd be using GridLayout, please read how to use the different layout managers
Now, to overlay text over the icon, you only need to call JButton#setHorizontalAlignment(...) method and pass SwingConstants.CENTER as the parameter.
For example:
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.Icon;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class ButtonWithImageAndText {
private JFrame frame;
private JButton button;
private Icon icon;
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new ButtonWithImageAndText().createAndShowGui());
}
private void createAndShowGui() {
frame = new JFrame(getClass().getSimpleName());
try {
icon = new ImageIcon(ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("up.jpg")));
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
button = new JButton();
button.setIcon(icon);
button.setText("Click me!");
button.setHorizontalTextPosition(SwingConstants.CENTER);
button.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.PLAIN, 40));
button.setForeground(Color.RED);
frame.add(button);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
Which gives the following output:
For your future questions, please read how to make a valid Minimal, Complete and Verifiable Example (MCVE) that demonstrates your issue and your best try to solve it yourself, the code I posted is a good example of it, as you can copy-paste it and see the same result as I

Use the setComponentZOrder(...) method of the Container class. This will enable you to set the Z-index of the components to set them in what ever order you like. Look also this

java Checker board issues

so i have this program that asks a user for a number of rows and columns and then makes it into a checker board but my issue is that it only works with odd numbers like if the user was to put in 9 and 9 again it would display a checkered board but if a even number is inputted it just shows columns of white and black
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class Checkers {
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame theGUI = new JFrame();
theGUI.setTitle("Checkers");
String inputStr = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Number of rows");
if (inputStr == null) return;
int rows = Integer.parseInt(inputStr);
inputStr = JOptionPane.showInputDialog("Number of Columns");
if (inputStr == null) return;
int cols = Integer.parseInt(inputStr);
theGUI.setSize(cols * 50 , rows * 50);
theGUI.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
Container pane = theGUI.getContentPane();
pane.setLayout(new GridLayout(rows, cols));
for (int i = 1; i <= rows * cols ;i ++) {
if(i % 2 == 0){
ColorPanel panel = new ColorPanel(Color.white);
pane.add(panel);
}else{
ColorPanel panel = new ColorPanel(Color.black);
pane.add(panel);
}
}
theGUI.setVisible(true);
}
}

Your example identifies even numbers in a single loop. Instead, use nested loops to identify alternating tiles:
g.setColor(Color.lightGray);
…
for (int row = 0; row < h; row++) {
for (int col = 0; col < w; col++) {
if ((row + col) % 2 == 0) {
g.fillRect(col * TILE, row * TILE, TILE, TILE);
}
}
}
A complete example is seen here.