Develop Reference

Java - Create a button from a shape

I am learning Java currently and have been given the assignmnet of finidhing off a program to create the game Conways's life (we started with some code provided to us and must add features etc to this).
I am currently stuck on a menu option for the game. I want it to start off at the menu screen, wherein buttons appear at the top for "Start", "Random", "Load", Save". I have written code so that the program displays these buttons, through a fillRect option in my paint method.
My question is, how do I use the mousePressed method to recognise the cells selected so that I can get an action to occur when they are selected. I been looking at this for a while but can't seem to get this working.
Any suggestion would be a massive help. I have shared my code below. It's a work in progress but I would really like to get this working before continuing on with the other functionality.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.image.*;
public class ConwaysLife extends JFrame implements Runnable, MouseListener {
// member data
private BufferStrategy strategy;
private Graphics offscreenBuffer;
private boolean gameState[][] = new boolean[40][40];
private boolean isGameInProgress = false;
// constructor
public ConwaysLife () {
//Display the window, centred on the screen
Dimension screensize = java.awt.Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
int x = screensize.width/2 - 400;
int y = screensize.height/2 - 400;
setBounds(x, y, 800, 800);
setVisible(true);
this.setTitle("Conway's game of life");
// initialise double-buffering
createBufferStrategy(2);
strategy = getBufferStrategy();
offscreenBuffer = strategy.getDrawGraphics();
// register the Jframe itself to receive mouse events
addMouseListener(this);
// initialise the game state
for (x=0;x<40;x++) {
for (y=0;y<40;y++) {
gameState[x][y]=false;
}
}
// create and start our animation thread
Thread t = new Thread(this);
t.start();
}
// thread's entry point
public void run() {
while ( 1==1 ) {
// 1: sleep for 1/5 sec
try {
Thread.sleep(200);
} catch (InterruptedException e) { }
// 2: animate game objects [nothing yet!]
/*if (isGameInProgress == false) {
this.repaint();
}*/
// 3: force an application repaint
this.repaint();
}
}
// mouse events which must be implemented for MouseListener
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
while (!isGameInProgress) {
int x = e.getX()/20;
int y = e.getY()/20;
if(x >= 10 && x <= 80 && y >= 40 && y <= 65) {
isGameInProgress = !isGameInProgress;
this.repaint();
}
}
// determine which cell of the gameState array was clicked on
int x = e.getX()/20;
int y = e.getY()/20;
// toggle the state of the cell
gameState[x][y] = !gameState[x][y];
// request an extra repaint, to get immediate visual feedback
this.repaint();
}
public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent e) { }
public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e) { }
public void mouseExited(MouseEvent e) { }
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) { }
//
// application's paint method
public void paint(Graphics g) {
Font font = new Font("Veranda", Font.BOLD, 20);
g = offscreenBuffer; // draw to off screen buffer
// clear the canvas with a big black rectangle
g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g.fillRect(0, 0, 800, 800);
/*look to add a while game in progress loop here!!!*/
// draw menu options
if(!isGameInProgress) {
g.setColor(Color.green);
g.fillRect(10, 40, 70, 25);
g.fillRect(100, 40, 100, 25);
g.fillRect(300, 40, 170, 25);
g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g.setFont(font);
g.drawString("Start", 15, 60);
g.drawString("Random", 105, 60);
g.drawString("Load", 305, 60);
g.drawString("Save", 395, 60);
}
// redraw all game objects
g.setColor(Color.WHITE);
for (int x=0;x<40;x++) {
for (int y=0;y<40;y++) {
if (gameState[x][y]) {
g.fillRect(x*20, y*20, 20, 20);
}
}
}
// flip the buffers
strategy.show();
}
// application entry point
public static void main(String[] args) {
ConwaysLife w = new ConwaysLife();
}
}

You're not going to like the answer, but it's the "correct" way to approach the problem.
What you need to understand is, Swing/AWT is using a "passive" rendering workflow and BufferStrategy is using a "active" rendering workflow, these are incompatible with each other.
As a general rule, you should not be overriding paint of top level containers like JFrame, this is going to end in no end of issues. Instead, you should be starting with something like JPanel and overriding it's paintComponent method instead.
Having said that, there's a "simpler" solution available to you. CardLayout. This will allow you to seperate the workflows of the menu from the game and resolve the issue between Swing/AWT and BufferStrategy
For example...
import java.awt.Canvas;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.FontMetrics;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.image.BufferStrategy;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public final class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Main();
}
public Main() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(new MainPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class MainPane extends JPanel {
enum View {
MENU, GAME;
}
private CardLayout cardLayout = new CardLayout();
private GamePane gamePane;
public MainPane() {
setLayout(cardLayout);
gamePane = new GamePane();
add(new MenuPane(new MenuPane.Observer() {
#Override
public void startNewGame() {
showGame();
}
#Override
public void randomGame() {
}
#Override
public void loadGame() {
}
#Override
public void saveGame() {
}
}), View.MENU);
add(gamePane, View.GAME);
}
protected void add(Component compent, View view) {
add(compent, view.name());
}
protected void showGame() {
show(View.GAME);
gamePane.start();
}
protected void showMenu() {
gamePane.stop();
show(View.MENU);
}
protected void show(View view) {
cardLayout.show(this, view.name());
}
}
public class MenuPane extends JPanel {
public interface Observer {
public void startNewGame();
public void randomGame();
public void loadGame();
public void saveGame();
}
private Observer observer;
public MenuPane(Observer observer) {
this.observer = observer;
JButton startButton = new JButton("Start");
JButton randomButton = new JButton("Random");
JButton loadButton = new JButton("Load");
JButton saveButton = new JButton("Save");
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.ipadx = 10;
gbc.ipady = 10;
gbc.insets = new Insets(8, 8, 8, 8);
gbc.weightx = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
add(startButton, gbc);
add(randomButton, gbc);
add(loadButton, gbc);
add(saveButton, gbc);
startButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
observer.startNewGame();
}
});
randomButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
observer.randomGame();
}
});
loadButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
observer.loadGame();
}
});
saveButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
observer.saveGame();
}
});
}
}
public class GamePane extends Canvas {
private Thread thread;
private volatile boolean isRunning = false;
public GamePane() {
setBackground(Color.BLACK);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(800, 800);
}
protected void start() {
if (isRunning) {
return;
}
createBufferStrategy(3);
isRunning = true;
thread = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
mainLoop();
}
});
thread.start();
}
protected void stop() {
if (!isRunning || thread == null) {
return;
}
isRunning = false;
try {
thread.join();
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
}
thread = null;
}
protected void mainLoop() {
try {
while (isRunning) {
render();
Thread.sleep(16);
}
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
}
}
protected void render() {
BufferStrategy strategy = getBufferStrategy();
if (strategy == null) {
return;
}
// Render single frame
do {
// The following loop ensures that the contents of the drawing buffer
// are consistent in case the underlying surface was recreated
do {
// Get a new graphics context every time through the loop
// to make sure the strategy is validated
Graphics graphics = strategy.getDrawGraphics();
FontMetrics fm = graphics.getFontMetrics();
String text = "All your game are belong to us";
int x = (getWidth() - fm.stringWidth(text)) / 2;
int y = (getHeight() - fm.getHeight()) / 2;
graphics.setColor(Color.WHITE);
graphics.drawString(text, x, y + fm.getAscent());
// Render to graphics
// ...
// Dispose the graphics
graphics.dispose();
// Repeat the rendering if the drawing buffer contents
// were restored
} while (strategy.contentsRestored());
// Display the buffer
strategy.show();
// Repeat the rendering if the drawing buffer was lost
} while (strategy.contentsLost());
}
}
}
I would strongly recommend that you take the time to read through:
Creating a GUI With Swing
A Visual Guide to Layout Managers
Performing Custom Painting
Painting in AWT and Swing
BufferStrategy and BufferCapabilities
JavaDocs for BufferStrategy which demonstrate how the API should be used.
A "fully" BufferStrategy based approach...
Now, if you can't use Swing, "for reasons", you can still achieve a simular concept using "delegation".
Basically this means "delegating" responsibility for performing some workflow to another. In this case, we want to delegate the rendering and the handling of the mouse events.
This allows you to have a dedicated workflow for the menu and a dedicated workflow for the game, without having to try and mix a lot of state.
Why do I keep on insisting on separating these two workflows? Simply, because it makes it MUCH easier to manage and reason about, but also because it supports the Single Responsibility Principle.
The follow example makes use of Renderable interface to define the core functionality that end "render" delegate will need to implement, in this case, it's pretty simple, we want to tell the renderer to "render" it's content on each paint pass and we want to (optionally) delegate mouse clicked events (this could be done via a second interface or even just the MouseListener interface directly, but I've made it a requirement of the Renderable interface for demonstration purposes.
The "basic" solution to your actual question is found through the use of Rectangle#contains(Point).
This basically inspects each "button" Rectangle to determine if the supplied MouseEvent occurs within it's bounds, if it does, we take action.
It is, however, a little more complicated then that, as we need to have the Rectangles built ahead of time, not difficult, but it's state which is actually reliant on the parent, as we need to know the area in which the renderer is been displayed, run the example, you'll see what I mean 😉
import java.awt.Canvas;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.FontMetrics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.awt.RenderingHints;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.geom.RoundRectangle2D;
import java.awt.image.BufferStrategy;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
public final class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Main();
}
public Main() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
MainPane mainPane = new MainPane();
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(mainPane);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
mainPane.start();
}
});
}
public interface Renderable {
public void render(Graphics2D g2d, Dimension size);
// We could just extend from MouseListener
// but I don't need all those event handlers
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e);
}
public class MainPane extends Canvas {
private Thread thread;
private volatile boolean isRunning = false;
private Renderable currentRenderer;
private MenuRenderer menuRenderer;
private GameRenderer gameRenderer;
public MainPane() {
setBackground(Color.BLACK);
gameRenderer = new GameRenderer();
menuRenderer = new MenuRenderer(new MenuRenderer.Observer() {
#Override
public void startNewGame() {
showGame();
}
#Override
public void randomGame() {
}
#Override
public void loadGame() {
}
#Override
public void saveGame() {
}
});
showMenu();
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
if (currentRenderer == null) {
return;
}
currentRenderer.mouseClicked(e);
}
});
}
protected void showMenu() {
// This may need to tell the game renderer to stop
// or pause
currentRenderer = menuRenderer;
}
protected void showGame() {
currentRenderer = gameRenderer;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(800, 800);
}
protected void start() {
if (isRunning) {
return;
}
createBufferStrategy(3);
isRunning = true;
thread = new Thread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
mainLoop();
}
});
thread.start();
}
protected void stop() {
if (!isRunning || thread == null) {
return;
}
isRunning = false;
try {
thread.join();
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
}
thread = null;
}
protected void mainLoop() {
try {
while (isRunning) {
render();
Thread.sleep(16);
}
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
}
}
protected void render() {
BufferStrategy strategy = getBufferStrategy();
if (strategy == null && currentRenderer != null) {
return;
}
// Render single frame
do {
// The following loop ensures that the contents of the drawing buffer
// are consistent in case the underlying surface was recreated
do {
// Get a new graphics context every time through the loop
// to make sure the strategy is validated
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) strategy.getDrawGraphics();
g2d.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
g2d.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
RenderingHints hints = new RenderingHints(
RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON
);
g2d.setRenderingHints(hints);
// Render to graphics
currentRenderer.render(g2d, getSize());
// Dispose the graphics
g2d.dispose();
// Repeat the rendering if the drawing buffer contents
// were restored
} while (strategy.contentsRestored());
// Display the buffer
strategy.show();
// Repeat the rendering if the drawing buffer was lost
} while (strategy.contentsLost());
}
}
public class GameRenderer implements Renderable {
#Override
public void render(Graphics2D g2d, Dimension size) {
FontMetrics fm = g2d.getFontMetrics();
String text = "All your game are belong to us";
int x = (size.width - fm.stringWidth(text)) / 2;
int y = (size.height - fm.getHeight()) / 2;
g2d.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g2d.drawString(text, x, y + fm.getAscent());
}
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
}
}
public class MenuRenderer implements Renderable {
public interface Observer {
public void startNewGame();
public void randomGame();
public void loadGame();
public void saveGame();
}
private Observer observer;
private String[] menuOptions = new String[]{
"New Game",
"Random",
"Load Game",
"Save Game"
};
private Rectangle[] menuBounds;
private int internalPadding = 20;
private int horizontalGap = 16;
public MenuRenderer(Observer observer) {
this.observer = observer;
}
#Override
public void render(Graphics2D g2d, Dimension size) {
if (menuBounds == null) {
createMenus(g2d, size);
}
renderMenus(g2d);
}
protected void createMenus(Graphics2D g2d, Dimension size) {
FontMetrics fm = g2d.getFontMetrics();
int totalHeight = (((fm.getHeight() + internalPadding) + horizontalGap) * menuOptions.length) - horizontalGap;
int buttonHeight = fm.getHeight() + internalPadding;
menuBounds = new Rectangle[menuOptions.length];
int buttonWidth = 0;
for (int index = 0; index < menuOptions.length; index++) {
int width = fm.stringWidth(menuOptions[index]) + internalPadding;
buttonWidth = Math.max(width, buttonWidth);
}
int yPos = (size.height - totalHeight) / 2;
for (int index = 0; index < menuOptions.length; index++) {
int xPos = (size.width - buttonWidth) / 2;
Rectangle menuRectangle = new Rectangle(xPos, yPos, buttonWidth, buttonHeight);
menuBounds[index] = menuRectangle;
yPos += buttonHeight + (horizontalGap / 2);
}
}
protected void renderMenus(Graphics2D g2d) {
for (int index = 0; index < menuOptions.length; index++) {
String text = menuOptions[index];
Rectangle bounds = menuBounds[index];
renderMenu(g2d, text, bounds);
}
}
protected void renderMenu(Graphics2D g2d, String text, Rectangle bounds) {
FontMetrics fm = g2d.getFontMetrics();
int textWidth = fm.stringWidth(text);
int textXPos = (bounds.x + (internalPadding / 2)) + ((bounds.width - internalPadding - textWidth) / 2);
int textYPos = bounds.y + (internalPadding / 2);
RoundRectangle2D buttonBackground = new RoundRectangle2D.Double(bounds.x, bounds.y, bounds.width, bounds.height, 20, 20);
g2d.setColor(Color.BLUE.darker());
g2d.fill(buttonBackground);
g2d.setColor(Color.WHITE);
g2d.drawString(text, textXPos, textYPos + fm.getAscent());
}
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
if (menuBounds == null) {
return;
}
for (int index = 0; index < menuOptions.length; index++) {
if (menuBounds[index].contains(e.getPoint())) {
switch (index) {
case 0:
observer.startNewGame();
break;
case 2:
observer.randomGame();
break;
case 3:
observer.loadGame();
break;
case 4:
observer.saveGame();
break;
}
}
}
}
}
}

How to move graphics based on input from arrow keys? [duplicate]

I'm trying to make a program in java that involves making an object move constantly from a single key press. Think Pacman, where you press up once and Pacman continues to go up until you press another key. I want to keep the code simple if possible. My original movement (one keypress = one movement) is like this:
public class AL extends KeyAdapter {
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if(keyCode == e.VK_A){
x -= 5;
}
if(keyCode == e.VK_D){
x += 5;
}
if(keyCode == e.VK_W){
y -= 5;
}
if(keyCode == e.VK_S){
y += 5;
}
}
The x and y in values are the position of an oval. This works perfectly, but I want it to keep moving after I press the key only once, instead of having to hold it to keep the movement going. I tried a while loop with a boolean parameter that moves while true and doesn't while false, but as soon as I activate the loop, it freezes the program. Here's an example of that bit of code:
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if(keyCode == e.VK_LEFT && moveL==false){
moveL=true;
moveR=false;
moveU=false;
moveD=false;
while(moveL){
x--;
}
}
Please help me figure this out, I've been trying and looking around for days now. I appreciate any help you guys can give. Thanks.

The basic concept revolves around this idea of a "delta" or "change" value. This value is then applied to the state you want to change by either incrementing or decrementing the state value by it.
Because of the nature of Swing, you can't block the Event Dispatching Thread, otherwise you end up preventing from processing incoming events (such as paint and key events).
Equally, you should never try and update any UI component (or state variable that might effect the UI) from any thread other then the EDT.
While there are tricks you can apply to facilitate these requirements, the simplest is to use a javax.swing.Timer, which triggers a actionPerformed event on a regular bases within the EDT.
When this occurs you "update" all the elements by the prescribed amount and repaint the screen.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.geom.AffineTransform;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.ActionMap;
import javax.swing.InputMap;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
import javax.swing.Timer;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class PacManTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new PacManTest();
}
public PacManTest() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new MazePane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class PacMan {
private int x;
private int y;
private int deltaX;
private int deltaY;
private BufferedImage sprite;
public PacMan() {
try {
sprite = ImageIO.read(new File("PacMan.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void move(int x, int y) {
deltaX = x;
deltaY = y;
}
public void update(MazePane pane) {
x += deltaX;
y += deltaY;
if (x + sprite.getWidth() > pane.getWidth()) {
x = pane.getWidth() - sprite.getWidth();
} else if (x < 0) {
x = 0;
}
if (y + sprite.getHeight() > pane.getHeight()) {
y = pane.getHeight() - sprite.getHeight();
} else if (y < 0) {
y = 0;
}
}
public void paint(MazePane pane, Graphics2D g2d) {
Graphics2D g = (Graphics2D) g2d.create();
float angle = 0;
if (deltaX != 0) {
angle = deltaX > 0 ? 0 : 180;
} else if (deltaY != 0) {
angle = deltaY > 0 ? 90 : 270;
}
AffineTransform t = new AffineTransform();
t.translate(x, y);
t.rotate(Math.toRadians(angle), sprite.getWidth() / 2, sprite.getHeight() / 2);
g.setTransform(t);
g.drawImage(sprite, 0, 0, pane);
g.dispose();
}
}
public class MazePane extends JPanel {
private PacMan pacMan;
public MazePane() {
pacMan = new PacMan();
Timer timer = new Timer(40, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
pacMan.update(MazePane.this);
repaint();
}
});
timer.start();
InputMap im = getInputMap(WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);
ActionMap am = getActionMap();
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_LEFT, 0), "left");
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT, 0), "right");
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_UP, 0), "up");
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_DOWN, 0), "down");
am.put("left", new MoveAction(pacMan, -4, 0));
am.put("right", new MoveAction(pacMan, 4, 0));
am.put("up", new MoveAction(pacMan, 0, -4));
am.put("down", new MoveAction(pacMan, 0, 4));
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g.create();
pacMan.paint(this, g2d);
g2d.dispose();
}
public class MoveAction extends AbstractAction {
private int deltaX;
private int deltaY;
private PacMan pacMan;
public MoveAction(PacMan pacMan, int deltaX, int deltaY) {
this.deltaX = deltaX;
this.deltaY = deltaY;
this.pacMan = pacMan;
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
pacMan.move(deltaX, deltaY);
}
}
}
}
I would also recommend that you take the time to learn about Key Bindings, KeyListener suffer from focus issues, which key bindings are capable of addressing...

You need to process the move in a separate thread. I.e.:
public class Pacman implements Runnable
{
public void run(){
//moving code, i.e. in a while loop
//every move will notify the EDT:
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
public void run(){
//update the Swing here - i.e. move Pacman
}
}
}
public void startMoving(){
new Thread(this).start();
}
//more methods to set speed, direction, etc...
}
Then you keep a reference to an instance of Pacman class in your Gui class and respond to various key presses by changing pacman's parameters:
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if(keyCode == e.VK_LEFT){
pacman.newDirection(LEFT); //for exmaple, enum with direction LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN...
}
//etc... more logic
}

Swing requires createBufferStrategy(2) to properly paint

I have some grids that is painted to screen one by one. I use arrow keys to move grids around as a group. Swing is said to be doubleBuffered by default so I believe frame.createBufferStrategy(2) is a bad practice but the problem is when I don't use manual double buffering, the grids are misaligned and some holes are appearing between them. Using manual double buffering fixes it.
I'm also experiencing some graphical problems(such as a dialog's buttons not displaying properly) in the actual program(not in SSCCE) so I thought it might be caused by the incorrect implementation of the double buffering.
Here is the SSCCE of the program, that causes grids to misalign when not manually double buffered:
package SSCCE;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.LayoutManager;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyListener;
import java.awt.image.BufferStrategy;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Main {
boolean manuallyDoubleBuffered = false; //change this
static Main main;
public final JFrame frame = new JFrame();
public final Keys keys = new Keys();
private JPanel panel;
private BufferStrategy bufferStrategy;
public static void main(String[] args) {
main = new Main();
main.initiate();
// --START LOOP--
Thread loop = new Thread(main.new Looper());
loop.start();
}
public void initiate() {
frameInit();
keys.start();
}
private void frameInit() {
frame.setSize(1200, 750);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setVisible(true);
setUpGUI();
if (manuallyDoubleBuffered)
frame.createBufferStrategy(2); // manual double buffering
bufferStrategy = frame.getBufferStrategy();
}
private void setUpGUI() {
panel = new JPanel() {
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
Main.main.rendering(g2d);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
LayoutManager layout = new FlowLayout();
frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.black);
panel.setLayout(layout);
panel.setOpaque(false);//
JButton but1 = new JButton("but1");
panel.add(but1);
frame.add(panel);
}
class Looper implements Runnable {
#Override
public void run() {
Main.main.gameLoop();
}
}
private void gameLoop() {
// variables are declared at start
while (true) {
if (manuallyDoubleBuffered)
paint(); // MANUAL double buffering
else
frame.repaint();// no manual double buffering
update();
try {
Thread.sleep(1000 / 60);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}// loop end
private void update() {
move();
}
private void rendering(Graphics2D g2d) {
// // testing
paintGrids(g2d);
}
private void move() {
x += sx;
y += sy;
}
int sx = 0; //speedX
int sy = 0; //speedY
//top left corner of the grid
int x = 0;
int y = 0;
private void paintGrids(Graphics2D g) {
for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
for (int t = 0; t < 100; t++) {
g.setColor(Color.GRAY);
g.fillRect(i * 50 + x, t * 50 + y, 50, 50);
g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
g.drawString(i + "," + t, i * 50 + x, t * 50 + y + 10);
}
}
}
public void paint() {
// uses double buffering system.
do {
do {
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) bufferStrategy.getDrawGraphics();
g2d.fillRect(0, 0, frame.getWidth(), frame.getHeight());
try {
frame.paint(g2d);
} catch (NullPointerException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
g2d.dispose();
} while (bufferStrategy.contentsRestored());
bufferStrategy.show();
} while (bufferStrategy.contentsLost());
}
}
class Keys implements KeyListener {// Trimmed down to shorten SSCCE
private final int leftKey = 37; // left b.
private final int rightKey = 39; // Right b.
private final int upKey = 38;// up k.
private final int downKey = 40;// down k.
public void start() {
Main.main.frame.addKeyListener(this);
Main.main.frame.setFocusable(true);
}
private void left() {
Main.main.sx -= 10;
}
private void right() {
Main.main.sx += 10;
}
private void up() {
Main.main.sy -= 10;
}
private void down() {
Main.main.sy += 10;
}
#Override
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
System.out.println(e.getKeyCode());
switch (e.getKeyCode()) {
case leftKey:
left();
break;
case rightKey:
right();
break;
case downKey:
down();
break;
case upKey:
up();
break;
}
}
#Override
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent arg0) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}// END OF THE KEYS CLASS
Oracle tutorials of swing does not explain the usage with a game loop. What is the best way to do it? Am I doing anything wrong?
In case the visual error is not reproduced on other computers, I'm uploading a screenshot:
Black lines are caused by the misalinging of the rectangles. They don't exist when manual double buffering is set to true.
Thanks in advance.
Edit: I've forgot to mention that the black lines occur when grids are moving.
I' have also found out, manual double buffering drastically reduces performance.
Edit 2 : I've fixed the problem and posted it as an answer but feel free to comment on my code. Main class(except the gameLoop) is similar to the actual main class I use in my program.

I couldn't see any change in the background. Here's the code change I made.
public static void main(String[] args) {
main = new Main();
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
main.initiate();
}
});
// --START LOOP--
Thread loop = new Thread(main.new Looper());
loop.start();
}
You must always start a Swing application with a call to SwingUtilities.invokeLater.

I've found the problem and writing here in case something like that ever happens to anyone else.
The problem was caused due to program being multi-threaded. Top left coordinates of the grids(x and y) were updated by the other thread in the middle of the paintGrids() method. Manual double buffering was slowing the program down (by hundreds of times) and that was allowing the paintGrids method to finish painting before x and y was updated by the keys.
To fix it I've added the following to the start of the paintGrids method:
int x = this.x;
int y = this.y;

How can I scroll more than one object at the same time?

New question was asked after this one, found here.
I'm new to Java, but I am working on a recreation of "Flappy Bird" to learn more about java and the way that graphics are displayed. Any solutions or suggestions to any of my questions is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Right now, my program makes a random pipe and scrolls it, but I don't need it to keep scrolling when x1-3 = -83 (this is when the pipe will be off of the screen completely and is no longer needed).
Questions
How can I make my Game.class scroll more than one instance of Pipes.class while adding a preset distance between them? I could find out the distance to put between them, but as far as displaying more than one, I'm not sure how to do that. At most, 3 pipes have to be displayed at the same time.
How can I display a panel for the main menu, and then switch to the pipes panel after a start button is pressed?
Classes
Game.java
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class Game {
Pipes panel = new Pipes();
public Game() {
JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.add(panel);
f.setTitle("Pipe Game");
f.setResizable(false);
f.pack();
f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setVisible(true);
Timer timer = new Timer(10, new ActionListener() { //pipe speed
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
panel.move();
}
});
timer.start();
Timer refresh = new Timer(30, new ActionListener() { //refresh rate
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
panel.repaint();
}
});
refresh.start();
}
public static void main(String args[]) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Game();
}
});
}
}
Pipes.java
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Pipes extends JPanel {
//Declare and initialiaze variables
int x1 = 754; //xVal start
int x2 = 75; //pipe width
//total width is 83
int y1 = -1; //yVal start
int y2 = setHeightVal(); //pipe height
int gap = 130; //gap height
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.clearRect(0,0,750,500); //Clear screen
g.drawRect(x1,y1,x2,y2); //Draw part 1
g.drawRect(x1-3,y2-1,x2+6,25); //Draw part 2
g.drawRect(x1-3,y2+25+gap,x2+6,25); //Draw part 3
g.drawRect(x1,y2+25+gap+25,x2,500-y2-49-gap); //Draw part 4
}
public void move() {
x1--;
}
public int getMyX() { //To determine where the pipe is horizontally
return x1-3;
}
public int getMyY() { //To determine where the pipe is vertically
return y2+25;
}
public int setHeightVal() { //Get a random number and select a preset height
int num = (int)(9*Math.random() + 1);
int val = 0;
if (num == 9)
{
val = 295;
}
else if (num == 8)
{
val = 246;
}
else if (num == 7)
{
val = 216;
}
else if (num == 6)
{
val = 185;
}
else if (num == 5)
{
val = 156;
}
else if (num == 4)
{
val = 125;
}
else if (num == 3)
{
val = 96;
}
else if (num == 2)
{
val = 66;
}
else
{
val = 25;
}
return val;
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(751, 501);
}
}

"How can I make my Game.class scroll more than one instance of Pipes.class while adding a preset distance between them? "
Here's some simple logic. You want to use a data structure to hold you pipes. What this data structure will hold is whatever data is required to paint then, like x, y, coordinates. For this task, I prefer just to create a new class with it's own draw method, that I pass the paintComponent's Graphics context to. For example
public class Pipe {
int x;
int y;
public class Pipe(int x, int y) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
}
public void drawPipe(Graphics g) {
g.fillRect(x, y, 50, 100);
}
}
Now this is just an example class. The above only draws a rectangle, but this is just to show you what you should be doing.
So next you want to have the data structure to hold three Pipe objects, like an array. I prefer to use a List. You'll want that List in your Pipes class, and add three Pipe object to it. You can specify the x to be anything you like, to keep them the same distance apart
public class Pipes extends JPanel {
List<Pipe> pipes = new ArrayList<Pipe>();
public Pipes() {
pipes.add(new Pipe(50, 100));
pipes.add(new Pipe(150, 100));
pipes.add(new Pipe(250, 100));
}
}
Now in the paintComponent method, all you need to do is loop through them and use its drawPipe method
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
for ( Pipe pipe : pipes ){
pipe.drawPipe(g);
}
}
Now you move them all you need to do is move there x positions in the timer, and call repaint. You may also want to check against the x to make sure it doesn't do off the screen, or if you moving them the right, you could put them the the very left then whey go off the screen, like a conveyor belt. So you could do something like this
private static final int X_INC = 5;
...
Timer timer = new Timer(40, new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
for (Pipe pipe : pipes ){
if (pipe.x >= screenWidth) {
pipe.x = 0;
} else {
pipe.x += X_INC;
}
}
repaint();
}
});
As you can see, what I do is loop through the List and just change all their x coordinates, then repaint(). So you can create your own Pipe class with whatever values you need to paint, and just move them around in the loop.
For the changing of speed, instead of using a hard coded vakue like 10 for the timer, use a variable delay, that you can change like with the click of a button
int delay = 100;
JButton speedUp = new JButton("Speed UP");
JButton slowDown = new JButton("Slow Down");
Timer timer = null;
public Pipes() {
timer = new Timer(delay, new ActionListener(){
...
});
timer.start();
speedUp.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (!((delay - 20) < 0)) {
delay -=20;
timer.setDelay(delay);
}
}
});
// do the same for slowDown, but decrease the delay
}
Test this out
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.Timer;
public class Mario extends JPanel {
private static final int D_W = 800;
private static final int D_H = 300;
private static final int X_INC = 5;
BufferedImage bg;
BufferedImage pipeImg;
List<Pipe> pipes = new ArrayList<>();
int delay = 50;
Timer timer = null;
public Mario() {
try {
bg = ImageIO.read(new URL("http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7341/12338164043_0f68c73fe4_o.png"));
pipeImg = ImageIO.read(new URL("http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2882/12338452484_7c72da0929_o.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
Logger.getLogger(Mario.class.getName()).log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
pipes.add(new Pipe(100, 150, pipeImg));
pipes.add(new Pipe(400, 150, pipeImg));
pipes.add(new Pipe(700, 150, pipeImg));
timer = new Timer(delay, new ActionListener(){
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
for (Pipe pipe : pipes) {
if (pipe.x > D_W) {
pipe.x = 0;
} else {
pipe.x += X_INC;
}
}
repaint();
}
});
timer.start();
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawImage(bg, 0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight(), this);
for (Pipe pipe : pipes) {
pipe.drawPipe(g);
}
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(D_W, D_H);
}
public class Pipe {
int x;
int y;
Image pipe;
public Pipe(int x, int y, Image pipe) {
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
this.pipe = pipe;
}
public void drawPipe(Graphics g) {
g.drawImage(pipe, x, y, 75, 150, Mario.this);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Mario Pipes");
frame.add(new Mario());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}

Continuous movement with a single key press?

I'm trying to make a program in java that involves making an object move constantly from a single key press. Think Pacman, where you press up once and Pacman continues to go up until you press another key. I want to keep the code simple if possible. My original movement (one keypress = one movement) is like this:
public class AL extends KeyAdapter {
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if(keyCode == e.VK_A){
x -= 5;
}
if(keyCode == e.VK_D){
x += 5;
}
if(keyCode == e.VK_W){
y -= 5;
}
if(keyCode == e.VK_S){
y += 5;
}
}
The x and y in values are the position of an oval. This works perfectly, but I want it to keep moving after I press the key only once, instead of having to hold it to keep the movement going. I tried a while loop with a boolean parameter that moves while true and doesn't while false, but as soon as I activate the loop, it freezes the program. Here's an example of that bit of code:
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if(keyCode == e.VK_LEFT && moveL==false){
moveL=true;
moveR=false;
moveU=false;
moveD=false;
while(moveL){
x--;
}
}
Please help me figure this out, I've been trying and looking around for days now. I appreciate any help you guys can give. Thanks.

The basic concept revolves around this idea of a "delta" or "change" value. This value is then applied to the state you want to change by either incrementing or decrementing the state value by it.
Because of the nature of Swing, you can't block the Event Dispatching Thread, otherwise you end up preventing from processing incoming events (such as paint and key events).
Equally, you should never try and update any UI component (or state variable that might effect the UI) from any thread other then the EDT.
While there are tricks you can apply to facilitate these requirements, the simplest is to use a javax.swing.Timer, which triggers a actionPerformed event on a regular bases within the EDT.
When this occurs you "update" all the elements by the prescribed amount and repaint the screen.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.geom.AffineTransform;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.ActionMap;
import javax.swing.InputMap;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
import javax.swing.Timer;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class PacManTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new PacManTest();
}
public PacManTest() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new MazePane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class PacMan {
private int x;
private int y;
private int deltaX;
private int deltaY;
private BufferedImage sprite;
public PacMan() {
try {
sprite = ImageIO.read(new File("PacMan.png"));
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void move(int x, int y) {
deltaX = x;
deltaY = y;
}
public void update(MazePane pane) {
x += deltaX;
y += deltaY;
if (x + sprite.getWidth() > pane.getWidth()) {
x = pane.getWidth() - sprite.getWidth();
} else if (x < 0) {
x = 0;
}
if (y + sprite.getHeight() > pane.getHeight()) {
y = pane.getHeight() - sprite.getHeight();
} else if (y < 0) {
y = 0;
}
}
public void paint(MazePane pane, Graphics2D g2d) {
Graphics2D g = (Graphics2D) g2d.create();
float angle = 0;
if (deltaX != 0) {
angle = deltaX > 0 ? 0 : 180;
} else if (deltaY != 0) {
angle = deltaY > 0 ? 90 : 270;
}
AffineTransform t = new AffineTransform();
t.translate(x, y);
t.rotate(Math.toRadians(angle), sprite.getWidth() / 2, sprite.getHeight() / 2);
g.setTransform(t);
g.drawImage(sprite, 0, 0, pane);
g.dispose();
}
}
public class MazePane extends JPanel {
private PacMan pacMan;
public MazePane() {
pacMan = new PacMan();
Timer timer = new Timer(40, new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
pacMan.update(MazePane.this);
repaint();
}
});
timer.start();
InputMap im = getInputMap(WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);
ActionMap am = getActionMap();
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_LEFT, 0), "left");
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT, 0), "right");
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_UP, 0), "up");
im.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_DOWN, 0), "down");
am.put("left", new MoveAction(pacMan, -4, 0));
am.put("right", new MoveAction(pacMan, 4, 0));
am.put("up", new MoveAction(pacMan, 0, -4));
am.put("down", new MoveAction(pacMan, 0, 4));
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g.create();
pacMan.paint(this, g2d);
g2d.dispose();
}
public class MoveAction extends AbstractAction {
private int deltaX;
private int deltaY;
private PacMan pacMan;
public MoveAction(PacMan pacMan, int deltaX, int deltaY) {
this.deltaX = deltaX;
this.deltaY = deltaY;
this.pacMan = pacMan;
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
pacMan.move(deltaX, deltaY);
}
}
}
}
I would also recommend that you take the time to learn about Key Bindings, KeyListener suffer from focus issues, which key bindings are capable of addressing...

You need to process the move in a separate thread. I.e.:
public class Pacman implements Runnable
{
public void run(){
//moving code, i.e. in a while loop
//every move will notify the EDT:
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
public void run(){
//update the Swing here - i.e. move Pacman
}
}
}
public void startMoving(){
new Thread(this).start();
}
//more methods to set speed, direction, etc...
}
Then you keep a reference to an instance of Pacman class in your Gui class and respond to various key presses by changing pacman's parameters:
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if(keyCode == e.VK_LEFT){
pacman.newDirection(LEFT); //for exmaple, enum with direction LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN...
}
//etc... more logic
}