Develop Reference

Add moving objects to JFrame

I'm creating a java game. In the game there are a hero and a bubble. The hero is supposed to move when I press the arrow keys and the bubble is supposed to have continuous diagonal movement. When I add the hero or the bubble directly into to the JFrame separately I get the desired behavior, but when I add them both I just get a very small square! I tried to add them to the same JPanel and after add that JPanel to the JFrame but it is not working. Probably I have to define some type of layout to the JPanels.
What am I doing wrong?
Code:
public class Pang {
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame f=new JFrame();
JPanel gamePanel=new JPanel();
gamePanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(800, 600));
DrawHero d=new DrawHero();
DrawBubble bubble=new DrawBubble();
gamePanel.add(d);
gamePanel.add(bubble);
f.add(gamePanel);
f.setVisible(true);
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setSize(800, 600);
}
}
public class DrawHero extends JPanel implements ActionListener, KeyListener {
Timer myTimer = new Timer(5, this);
int x = 0, y = 0, dx = 0, dy = 0, step = 10;
private transient Image imageHero = null;
public DrawHero() {
myTimer.start();
addKeyListener(this);
setFocusable(true);
setFocusTraversalKeysEnabled(false);
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
imageHero = getHeroImage();
g2.drawImage(imageHero, x, y, 40, 40, null);
}
public Image getHeroImage() {
Image image = null;
image = getImage("hero.png");
return image;
}
public Image getImage(String path) {
Image tempImage = null;
try {
URL heroiURL = DrawHero.class.getResource(path);
tempImage = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getImage(heroiURL);
} catch (Exception e) {
System.out.println("Error loading hero image! - "
+ e.getMessage());
}
return tempImage;
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
repaint();
}
public void moveUp() {
y = y - step;
}
public void moveDown() {
y = y + step;
}
public void moveLeft() {
x = x - step;
}
public void moveRight() {
x = x + step;
}
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
int keyCode = e.getKeyCode();
if (keyCode == KeyEvent.VK_UP) {
moveUp();
}
if (keyCode == KeyEvent.VK_DOWN) {
moveDown();
}
if (keyCode == KeyEvent.VK_LEFT) {
moveLeft();
}
if (keyCode == KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT) {
moveRight();
}
}
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
}
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
}
}
public class DrawBubble extends JPanel implements ActionListener, KeyListener {
Timer myTimer = new Timer(5, this);
int x = 100, y = 200, dx = 0, dy = 0, step = 10;
private transient Image imageHero = null;
public DrawBubble() {
myTimer.start();
addKeyListener(this);
setFocusable(true);
setFocusTraversalKeysEnabled(false);
}
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
g2.fill(new Ellipse2D.Double(x, y, 40, 40));
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
x=x+dx;
y=y+dy;
repaint();
}
public void moveBubble() {
dy=2;
dx=2;
}
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
moveBubble();
}
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
}
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
}
}

I recommend that neither the DrawHero nor DrawBubble (which should be called Hero nor Bubble respectively) should extend any JComponent. Instead each should simply know how to draw itself to a Graphics object passed to it, when requested to do so.
Then a single GameField or PlayingArea class should keep references to all the Bubble objects and the Hero and draw call the draw(Graphics) method of those objects.
Using this approach it is not necessary to worry about layouts within the GameField component (they become irrelevant).
That is the basic strategy I pursue for rendering the stationary objects in this answer to [Collision detection with complex shapes.

When I add the hero or the bubble directly into to the JFrame separately I get the desired behavior, but when I add them both i just get a very small square!
The default layout manager for a JFrame is a BorderLayout. When you use add(component) without a constraint the component goes to the CENTER. Only one component can be added to the CENTER, so only the last one added is displayed.
I tried to add them to the same JPanel and after add that JPanel to the JFrame but it is not working.
The default layout manager for a JPanel is the FlowLayout which respects the preferred size of component. The problem is you don't override the getPreferredSize() method so the size is (0, 0) and there is nothing to paint.
Probably I have to define some type of layout to the JPanels.
Actually since you want random motion you need to use a null layout on the panel and then use the setSize() and setLocation() method of your components to position the components.
Then when you do this the custom painting should always be done at (0, 0) instead of (x, y) since the location will control where the component is painted on the panel.

Using KeyListener on a JFrame to move a component

So I want to move the String towards the direction the user pushes but it's not working. It worked with the mouselistener so I thought this would be adequate. Should I be adding the listener to something else?
public class Snake extends JComponent implements KeyListener{
private int x;
private int y;
private String s;
public Snake(String s, int x, int y){
this.s = s;
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
addKeyListener(this);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
g.drawString(s, x, y);
}
#Override
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
}
#Override
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
int code = e.getKeyCode();
switch(code) {
case KeyEvent.VK_UP:
y-=15;
case KeyEvent.VK_DOWN:
y+=15;
case KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT:
x+=15;
case KeyEvent.VK_LEFT:
x-=15;
}
repaint();
}
#Override
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
}
}
public class Game {
public static void main(String[] args){
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Up Up And Away!");
JComponent star = new Snake("*", 250, 100);
frame.add(star);
frame.setSize(500, 300);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}

As someone else mentioned. It's probably better to use Key Bindings. However in your case, your focus is somewhere else, so your component just need to grab focus. Just add star.grabFocus(); in the main. Ie :
public static void main(String[] args){
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Up Up And Away!");
JComponent star = new Test2("*", 250, 100);
frame.add(star);
frame.setSize(500, 300);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setVisible(true);
star.grabFocus();
}
Then it should work.

Your KeyListener is Applied on the JComponent but not on JFrame, when you run the program the JFrame has the focus(only JFrame can listen to the KeyEvents), add the following line to your Game class then it should work :)
frame.addKeyListener((KeyListener)star);

Java drawimage in gameloop

I'm trying to learn to program my first game and I would like to understand correctly every step I make. I'll face double buffering and other things later.
I'm just trying to load an image in the game loop.
I have two classes. The first it's just a jframe calling the start method.
I wonder if there is some ugly code, in here (I think so).
So, why are my images not showing up?
public class myPanel extends JPanel implements Runnable{
//FIELDS
public static int WIDTH = 1024;
public static int HEIGHT = WIDTH / 16 * 9;
private BufferedImage bg;
private BufferedImage charac;
private boolean running;
private Thread t1;
private int startposX = WIDTH / 2;
private int startposY = HEIGHT / 2;
private int cordX = startposX;
private int cordY = startposY;
int speed = 50;
//METHODS
public synchronized void start (){
running = true;
t1 = new Thread (this);
t1.start();
}
public synchronized void stop (){
running = false;
try {
t1.join();
System.out.println("The game stopped");
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
//INIT
public myPanel(){
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(WIDTH, HEIGHT));
setFocusable(true);
requestFocus();
addKeyListener(this);
}
//MAIN RUN METHOD
public void run(){
while (running){
load();
System.out.println("The game runs");
repaint();
}
}
//PAINT WITH GRAPHICS METHOD
public void paint (Graphics g){
super.paint(g);
g.drawImage(bg, 0, 0, this);
g.drawImage(charac, 110, 280, this);
}
//LOAD IMAGES IN MEMORY
public void load (){
try {
String path1 = "res/bg.png";
bg = ImageIO.read(new File (path1));
String path2 = "res/charac.png";
charac = ImageIO.read(new File (path2));
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}

So, I did some testing about paint vs paintcomponent and I just saw that the first draws on top of the jpanel background. Anyway, I can't still see anything changing the lines to
public void run(){
while (running){
load();
System.out.println("The game runs");
}
}
//PAINT WITH GRAPHICS METHOD
public void paintComponent (Graphics g){
super.paint(g);
g.drawImage(bg, 0, 0, null);
g.drawImage(charac, 110, 280, null);
}
//LOAD IMAGES METHOD AS ABOVE
And yes, I've added the panel to the frame, here is the other class
public class Game {
public static void main (String [] args){
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setIgnoreRepaint(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setContentPane(new myPanel());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
myPanel game = new myPanel();
game.start();
}

Custom painting in Java - drawing UI elements onto the JPanel

I am creating a drawing board program, basically a simplified version of MS Paint. It is working for the most part but when I draw on the board, the currently selected UI element shows up on the drawing area.
I tried paintComponent, which worked when I called super.paintComponent(g) (as one does) but it cleared the drawing area before I drew the next object. I overrode update and put a println statement in there and it is never being called.
The buttons at the top are red because I set the background to the bottom JPanel to red to see what the background of these buttons would be. So clearly they are part of the bottom JPanel. I am using a BorderLayout for the layout.
Here is my code (with some irrelevant bits removed):
public class JSPaint extends JFrame implements Serializable
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = -8787645153679803322L;
private JFrame mainFrame;
private JPanel bp;
private JButton ...
private DrawingArea da;
public JSPaint()
{
setTitle("JS Paint");
setSize(1024, 768);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// Drawing area
da = new DrawingArea();
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
// add the buttons to the panel
buttonPanel();
// Add the drawing area
add(bp, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
bp.setBackground(Color.RED);
add(da, BorderLayout.CENTER);
da.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
setVisible(true);
}
// I put it here too just in case
#Override
public void update(Graphics g)
{
System.out.println("update in JSPaint called.");
paint(g);
}
/*
* Creates the panel for the buttons, creates the buttons and places them on
* the panel
*/
public void buttonPanel()
{
// Create the panel for the buttons to be placed in
bp = new JPanel();
saveButton = new JButton("Save");
loadButton = new JButton("Load");
//more buttons
bp.add(saveButton);
bp.add(loadButton);
//more buttons
// ActionListeners
colorButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae)
{
System.out.println("color");
da.color();
}
});
}
public class DrawingArea extends JPanel
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = -8299084743195098560L;
boolean dragged = false;
#Override
public void update(Graphics g)
{
System.out.println("Update in DrawingArea called");
paint(g);
}
/*
* Draws the selected shape onto the screen and saves it into a Stack.
*
*/
public void draw()
{
this.addMouseMotionListener(new MouseMotionListener()
{
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent me)
{
dragged = true;
}
public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent me) {}
});
//more listeners...
});
}
/*
* Draws the selected String onto the screen when the mouse is held down.
*
*/
public void brush()
{
this.addMouseMotionListener(new MouseMotionListener()
{
public void mouseDragged(MouseEvent me)
{
// If we are in drawing mode, draw the String. Create a new
// Figure Object and push it onto the Stack
if(activeButton == "brush")
{
startPoint = me.getPoint();
Figure fig = new Figure("String", startPoint, null, currentColor);
// figures.push(calculate(fig));
toPaint.push(calculate(fig));
repaint();
}
}
public void mouseMoved(MouseEvent me) {}
});
}
// more of the same...
public void paint(Graphics g)
{
toSave.addAll(toPaint);
while(!toPaint.isEmpty())
{
Figure f = toPaint.pop();
String t = f.type;
if(f.color != null)
{
g.setColor(f.color);
}
switch(t)
{
case "Rectangle": g.drawRect(f.x1, f.y1, f.width, f.height);
break;
case "Oval": g.drawOval(f.x1, f.y1, f.width, f.height);
break;
case "Line": g.drawLine(f.x1, f.y1, f.x2, f.y2);
break;
case "Clear":
g.fillRect(0, 0, da.getWidth(), da.getHeight());
clearStack(toSave);
break;
case "String": g.drawString(f.toPrint, f.x1, f.y1);
break;
}
}
}
}
private class Figure implements Serializable
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 4690475365105752994L;
String type, toPrint;
Color color;
Point start;
Point end;
int x1, y1, x2, y2, width, height;
public Figure(String figureType,
Point startPoint, Point endPoint, Color figureColor)
{
type = figureType;
color = figureColor;
start = startPoint;
end = endPoint;
}
// Rect, Oval
public Figure(String figureType, int figureX, int figureY,
int figureWidth, int figureHeight, Color figureColor)
{
type = figureType;
x1 = figureX;
y1 = figureY;
width = figureWidth;
height = figureHeight;
color = figureColor;
}
// more shapes
}
public static void main(String args[])
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
new JSPaint();
}
});
}
}

If the currently selected UI element shows up on the drawing area, this can have only one reason: you are doing something wrong with the Graphics objects, possibly calling a translate on them, and not resetting the tranlation when you are done. (See this link for an example of translate used correctly).

JPanel won't paint correctly

I am quite new to Java and Swing, and this is also my first post so sorry if it doesn't make too much sense.
What I am trying to do is when I click on a JPanel, I want it to add a circle where I click. At the moment, all that seems to happen is when I click, a small grey square appears inside the JPanel I want to add to, but I can't seem to find any way of making it draw as a circle.
I have a class that extends JPanel called "Ball" which is what is being added when I click.
At the moment, I am not too worried about it being in the correct location, just for it to draw the ball correctly.
Below is the code for my "Ball" class:
package paintsliders;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
class Ball extends JPanel{
private int x,y,w,h;
//I will use this constructor to put the ball in the correct location later.
Ball(){
/*this.w = 100;
this.h = 100;
this.x = 200;
this.y = 200;*/
}
//draw the ball
#Override
public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
g.drawOval(200,200,10,10);
g.setColor(Color.RED);
}
}
I can kind of guess that it is something to do with the paintComponent method, but everywhere I have looked doesn't seem to have a solution for me.
Any help would be great, thanks!

The Graphcis context has already been translated to meet the x/y location that the component should appear within it's parent container, this means that the top, left corner of the Graphics context within the paintComponent method is actually 0x0.
You need to define some size for the ball, you're painting at 10x10, which would suggest that your ball component should return a preferredSize of 10x10
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(10, 10);
}
You will become responsible for providing appropriate layout details to the ball when it's added to the parent container...
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent evt) {
Point p = evt.getPoint();
Ball ball = new Ball();
Dimension size = ball.getPreferredSize();
ball.setBounds(new Rectangle(p, size));
add(ball);
}
This, of course, assumes you have a null layout set for the parent container
UPDATED
Something like...
public class PaintBalls {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new PaintBalls();
}
public PaintBalls() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {
} catch (InstantiationException ex) {
} catch (IllegalAccessException ex) {
} catch (UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new Board());
frame.setSize(200, 200);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class Board extends JPanel {
public Board() {
setLayout(null);
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter() {
#Override
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
Point p = e.getPoint();
Ball ball = new Ball();
Dimension size = ball.getPreferredSize();
p.x -= size.width / 2;
p.y -= size.height / 2;
ball.setBounds(new Rectangle(p, size));
add(ball);
repaint();
}
});
}
}
public class Ball extends JPanel {
public Ball() {
setOpaque(false);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(10, 10);
}
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent(g);
Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g.create();
g2d.setColor(Color.RED);
g2d.fillOval(0, 0, 10, 10);
g2d.dispose();
}
}
}

You probably have a main JPanel where you click.
I would rather design the main panel to handle the mouse click and the Ball class to be a simple Object that defines a drawBall(Graphics g, int x, int y) method that knows how to paint a Ball. This would be called by the paintComponent() method in the main panel. In the main panel, you handle the mouse click, create an object of type Ball and call repaint(). Inside the paintComponent() you call ball.drawBall().