Swing (Java): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:47, 28 May 2024

Revision as of 09:40, 22 August 2024

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The Swing library makes heavy use of the [[model–view–controller]] software [[design pattern (computer science)|design pattern]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fowler |first1=Amy |url=https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/a-swing-architecture.html |title=A Swing Architecture Overview |publisher=[[Sun Microsystems]] |access-date=2020-07-26}}</ref> which conceptually decouples the data being viewed from the user interface controls through which it is viewed. Because of this, most Swing components have associated ''models'' (which are specified in terms of Java [[interface (computer science)|interfaces]]), and the programmers can use various default implementations or provide their own. The framework provides default implementations of model interfaces for all of its concrete components. The typical use of the Swing framework does not require the creation of custom models, as the framework provides a set of default implementations that are transparently, by default, associated with the corresponding {{Javadoc|module=java.desktop|package=javax.swing|class=JComponent|text=JComponent|monotype=y}} child class in the Swing library. In general, only complex components, such as tables, trees and sometimes lists, may require the custom model implementations around the application-specific data structures. To get a good sense of the potential that the Swing architecture makes possible, consider the hypothetical situation where custom models for tables and lists are wrappers over [[Data Access Object|DAO]] and/or [[Ejb|EJB]] services.

Typically, Swing component model objects are responsible for providing a concise interface defining events fired, and accessible properties for the (conceptual) data model for use by the associated JComponent. Given that the overall MVC pattern is a loosely coupled collaborative object relationship pattern, the model provides the programmatic means for attaching event listeners to the data model object. Typically,wat these events are model centric (ex: a "row inserted" event in a table model) and are mapped by the JComponent [[Subclass (computer science)#Subclasses and superclasses|specialization]] into a meaningful event for the GUI component.

For example, the {{Javadoc|module=java.desktop|package=javax.swing|class=JTable|text=JTable|monotype=y}} has a model called {{Javadoc|module=java.desktop|package=javax.swing.table|class=TableModel|text=TableModel|monotype=y}} that describes an interface for how a table would access tabular data. A default implementation of this operates on a two-dimensional [[Array data structure|array]].