Develop Reference

actionPerformed inside the actionPerformed method in Java

I am working on a java swing project and I have a frame with multiple buttons and when someone clicks any of that button,user is asked for an input(say the user enters n) and a new frame is created with n text fields with another button "Ok"
{new frame is created inside the actionPerformed method.So my question is how to handle the action events for this Ok button.I tried using an anonymous class but I can't do much with variables inside it.
Source File:http://www.mediafire.com/file/9ed2h0yeyis5tk6/OSProject.txt

Use a modal JDialog or JOptionPane. See How to Make Dialogs
Define the functionality for the second window within it's own class, so you can isolate the functionality and management in more easily manageable manner. Provide setters and getters to allow information to passed between it and the class which needs to use it. If you're using a JOptionPane, this step makes it easier to define a custom component which can be displayed by it

Two JPanels, requesting focus and Keyboard input

Learning GUIs for an assignment, and would appreciate some advice...no code, for the aforementioned reason.
I have a programme with a JFrame, and a single JPanel, that contains methods that take keyboard input using the KeyEvent class.
My class that extends JPanel, has the following in it:
setFocusable(true);
requestFocus();
I've since modified the programme, to include a second JPanel (to add a control panel to the right containing 4 JButtons).
The problem is that the keyboard input no longer works on the first JPanel when I run the programme (it did before).
The keyboard input on the right JPanel only works before the second JPanel has been added to the programme. If I remove the second JPanel, keyboard input works, when it is there it doesn't....
I realised that I had setFocusable(true); and requestFocus(); in both panels, so I deleted it from the second panel (with the JButtons), but it still doesn't work. I sense it's a focus issue.....any advice?
Do I need to look at KeyBindings (don't know what this is yet, but a few similar threads suggest it)....

We can't tell you what is wrong based on two lines of code. We have no idea what panel1 and panel2 do or what components they contain.
My class that extends JPanel, has the following in it:
A couple of problems with that:
You should NOT be using the requestFocus() method. Read the API for that method and it will tell you the appropriate method to use.
Even if you do use the appropriate method, you can't use that method in the constructor of a class. Requesting focus on a component can only be done to visible components on a GUI.
Do I need to look at KeyBindings
Yes, Swing has newer and better API's than AWT. In AWT you didn't have a choice. In Swing you should be using Key Bindings. All Swing components do use Key Bindings and Actions. One of the main reasons is you don't have the focus issue.
Start by reading the Swing tutorial for Swing basics. There are sections on:
How to Use Key Bindings
How to Use Actions to get you started.
A Key Binding is simply the process of mapping a KeyStroke to an Action.
Also, in the future, when you ask a question post a proper SSCCE that demonstrates the problem.

If you mean with "pass back and force" that the focus should move on tab keypress between those two, use a FocusTraversalPolicy where you define who should get focus in which order.

When you click on a button, that button receives the keyboard focus. If you want the focus to revert back to the first JPanel, then you should add an ActionListener to each button, and in the actionPerformed() method of the listener just add the line:
firstPanel.requestFocusINnWindow();

Java Remote Client GUI

I've set up a Server which runs and accepts connections from my Remote Client, and now I'm working on my GUI.
Before anything else, my goal here is to create a nice looking client that will have a login screen (login/pw), and then a nice layout with my options/perhaps a chat box after the user has logged in.
I've searched a lot online and used this site to set up my server and get things working, but I've got a bit of a problem with the GUI/theory and hope someone here can guide me a bit.
At the moment, I've set up a class called ClientGUI which is called from my main class, and this produces a 420x240 size screen. After placing my login/password JTextField boxes here, is it "proper" to set up the other GUI's the way I've outlined below? I'm not sure if I should be putting them under one class or how I would advance from one GUI to the next. I'm thinking I should repaint and resize the screen as necessary, but I am not sure how to set it all up. A brief outline would be helpful (you don't need to give me exact code).
public class ClientGUI extends JFrame {
public ClientGUI() {
setSize(420,240);
setVisible(true);
setTitle("Title");
setResizable(true);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setLayout(null);
}
public loginGUI() {
//code for my login/pw boxes, images, listener for entering information
}
public afterlogginginGUI() {
}
paint() {
//not too sure about how this should be setup either. Should I do all my textfield
//and image work in paint()?
}
}
I have never made anything like this, so I have the feeling I'm not setting this up in an ideal way.
An alternative is to have a different java class extending JFrame for each 'screen' I want, but if I do it this way, would I do it like this?
In my main RemoteClient class:
main {
ClientGUI();
//display whatever
LoginGUI();
//listen for login info
if (loginIsValid) {
afterlogginginGUI();
}
}

I think you're thinking in to much of a linear fashion, where the code flows from A then to B then to C ... where in fact, Swing (and GUI's in general) are event driven...
C happens, so you do B, which triggers F so you do E ...
Start by creating a JPanel, onto this add your JTextField and JPasswordField, this will act as you basic login view. You could then add this to a JFrame or JDialog depending on your needs. You will need some way for the user to either "cancel" or "validate" their credentials.
Typically, I do this a separate view, as I never know where my poor "user details" pane might end up, but you could do this a single view (including the buttons within the "user details" pane), that will come down to your requirements.
You can use a CardLayout to switch from the "login" view to the "application" view. This has the benefit of maintaining only a single frame and prevents windows from been splashed all about the place...
I would, personally, separate the core functionality of the views to separate classes, this means you can simply create an instance when you need it and add it to whatever container you want.
I would recommend against extending from JFrame directly. This locks you into a single container (making it hard to re-use components or extend the program later) and you're not adding any new functionality to the class anyway...
Start by having a look at Creating a GUI With JFC/Swing.
You'll probably also be interested in How to Use CardLayout, How to Make Dialogs, How to Use Buttons, Check Boxes, and Radio Buttons and How to Write an Action Listeners
You'll also need to have a look at Laying Out Components Within a Container
Because you're likely waiting for a response from the server at some point, you will need to have a look at Concurrency in Swing and Worker Threads and SwingWorker wouldn't hurt

Unable to get values from another jFrame

I want to fill values of multiple jTextBox from a jFrame into another, using accessor methods like
String getNameVal()
{
return jTextBox1.getText();
}
How to call these methods from another jFrame?

Suggestions:
It sounds like your GUI code is geared towards making JFrames, and if so, you will want to avoid this. You are painting yourself in a corner by having your class extend JFrame, forcing you to create and display JFrames, when often more flexibility is called for. In fact, I would venture that most of the Swing GUI code that I've created and that I've seen does not extend JFrame, and in fact it is rare that you'll ever want to do this.
More commonly your GUI classes will be geared towards creating JPanels, which can then be placed into JFrames or JDialogs, or JTabbedPanes, or swapped via CardLayouts, wherever needed. This will greatly increase the flexibility of your GUI coding.
This question has direct bearing on your problem. I will guess that your main problem isn't how to give classes getter methods, and how to have other classes call the getter methods. More often then not, when faced with the issue of extracting information from one GUI view to another, the issue is one of when to extract the information. If you displayed your second window as a non-modal JFrame, and then had the calling class immediately extract the data from that second JFrame, you'd get nonsense data, because you'd be extracting data before the user would have time to interact with the 2nd window and enter data.
One possible solution to this when using non-modal windows to get information from the user is to use a WindowListener so you can be notified when the user has completed his dealing with the second window, and so now data can be safely extracted.
Often better is for the 2nd window not be non-modal, as JFrames are, but instead to be a modal window such as a modal JDialog. When the calling code displays a modal dialog, all code flow in the calling code stops until the dialog is no longer visible. In this situation, no WindowListener is needed since you will know exactly when the dialog has been dealt with -- on the code line immediately after you set it visible -- and so can extract your data from it with ease.
A nice variant on this has already been mentioned in by Andrew Thompson in comments -- use a JOptionPane. Don't poo-poo this option since JOptionPanes are powerful tools, likely much more powerful than you realize as they can hold fully formed complex JPanel views, and behave just as described above, as modal dialogs.
If you need more specific help, then please don't hesitate to comment to this answer. Also if so, then consider creating and posting a Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable Example Program where you condense your code into the smallest bit that still compiles and runs, has no outside dependencies (such as need to link to a database or images), has no extra code that's not relevant to your problem, but still demonstrates your problem.
Edit
For my mcve code examples of the above suggestions, please my answers to the following StackOverflow Questions:
Using a modal JDialog to extract information
Using a JOptonPane to extract information

I assume the textfields are present in frame1 and you want to access them in frame2. The following can be a way to achieve this:
First create getters for all JTextFields that you have in your frame1. Alternatively you can have them in a panel and call getComponents() method.
Create a private variable of JFrame type in your frame2.
Modify the constructor of frame2 to receive the frame1 object and assign it to the private variable of JFrame type.
Now you can create a close() method in frame2 which disposes the frame2 and sets frame1 to visible.
But in my opinion you should create a class which handles the data in these textfields. Initialize the class object in any button click of frame1 and check for any inconsistency in the input. I can guess there is something wrong with your design.

JAVA Swing MVC - Main Controller?

I'm having some troubles designing the architecture of an application I'm trying to develop. I'm working on JAVA, and I started working on this application because I want to deepen my overall knowledge of JAVA, architectures and patterns. I want to follow the guidelines to make a reusable, low coupled application, like it should be. The application has only one JFrame, but inside it there are several JPanels, each one representing a module of the application.
The question is: in JAVA Swing, how to implement an appropriate MVC pattern?
I struggle on how to understand the way it should be done.
Should I have a main Controller class, that holds references to all the other Controllers?
(I have an image to demonstrate this, here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7tBdn5slIFeY2FoSmxESTREQ1k/edit?usp=sharing)
And in this case, should all the events that require changing the module that is being presented redirect to the main Controller?
Or should I just couple the JFrame with the Controllers of the application, and communicate directly with them?
Basically, I would like to know if i need to have a class that 'manages' all the others.
I have already read several explanations, and different opinions, but I believe this is a little more specific.
Hope I have made myself clear (and hope as well that my explanation is better than my drawing :)).
EDIT:
a sample of the application usage:
One (an only one) JFrame throughout all the lifecycle of the application;
the menu will be on the left side, as in BorderLayout.WEST;
the current module of the application will be in the center, as in BorderLayout.CENTER;
when the user presses one button of the menu, the corresponding module is loaded into the BorderLayout.CENTER;
Should the menu (View) have it's own Controller, and this Controller communicate with the JFrame? And the JFrame load the new module into it's Layout? Or should the JFrame have its own Controller (or Model, as Gilbert Le Blanc said)?
I know this may seem to specific, or easy to understand, but everytime I think of an desktop application, I struggle to understand this.

When you have an application with a GUI, the GUI model becomes the application view. The application interacts with the GUI through the GUI model.
Or should I just couple the JFrame with the Controllers of the application, and communicate directly with them?
This is what I've done. I've packaged the controller classes together, but I've never created one main controller class.
I keep the GUI controller classes in a separate package from any other application controller classes, like the data access objects.
I usually put each JPanel in its own class, but I wouldn't call that a requirement. The JFrame has its own class, although the instance of the JFrame and the instance of the GUI model are passed to almost all of the GUI components. This makes menu actions possible.
This Traffic Signal GUI article goes over the basics of how to code a very simple GUI.
Edited to respond to the changes in the question.
The GUI controller is separate from the GUI model. The GUI model contains all of the data elements that make up your GUI. Strings for JTextFields, DefaultTableModels for JTables.
Based on your application design, I'd recommend that you create a Java class for every JPanel that you want to put in the center of your application. Your JFrame will control which JPanel is displayed, based on the menu. I'd also suggest that you look at the JTabbedPane which uses a different user interface to accomplish the task of choosing which panel to work with.
Assuming you're going with the menu on the left, each menu option (toggling JButton?) will have it's own controller method or class. These controllers have to have an instance of the JFrame so the controller can call the method in the JFrame class that puts the appropriate panel in the center of the display. The controller decides which method to call, but the methods themselves are a part of the JFrame class.
I've been talking about JFrame and JPanel classes. It's important that you use composition rather than inheritance to build these classes. The JFrame class contains a JFrame. It does not extend JFrame. The only time you extend a Swing component is when you want to override a component method.

As discussed here, Swing components use a separable model architecture with the model and view loosely coupled using the observer pattern. Not every GUI control has to be part of your application's controller. Using an ActionListener, such as Action, is particularly convenient for encapsulating application functionality.
Addendum: I'd use CardLayout, illustrated here to switch panels. Note how the Action handlers can be used with buttons, menus, combos, toolbars, etc. Each card's content can have it's own implementation of the MVC pattern, separate from the others. Use a PropertyChangeEvent, seen here, for communication between components.
In general, Swing components, e.g. buttons and tables, already listen to their respective models, leaving you to focus on your application's data model and its listening views. Conveniently, a Swing model, e.g. ComboBoxModel or TableModel`, can have more than one listener.