This 5-day course introduces the Java programmer to the Java Foundation Classes -- a.k.a. Swing -- the Java environment's comprehensive framework for GUI development. The student will study the fundamentals of the JFC architecture and quickly move to building simple JFC frame-based applications. By the end of the course the student will be comfortable building simple or complex interfaces with the most common Swing controls and classes -- including buttons, lists, combo boxes, checkboxes and radio buttons, text controls, trees, and tables -- controlling multiple windows and dialogs, using panes to manage related interfaces, implementing popup menus, and using data transfer packages for clipboard and drag-and-drop implementations.

The first module of the course provides an introduction to the JFC architecture and standard practices. AWT concepts such as the event model and basic layout management are reviewed as necessary. The standard controls are covered, including labels, text components, buttons, listboxes, and comboboxes. Architectural patterns are emphasized, especially JFC's strict use of the Model-View-Controller paradigm. Understanding the thorough use of this pattern in JFC is critical to using the framework effectively. Event handling is treated, both handling AWT-style events, such as action events from button clicks, and handling events fired by the model that lies under a particular control.

In the second module, more sophisticated and powerful controls are studied: the tree and table controls. Each is presented in a separate chapter, allowing students to dig into the underlying architecture and to develop a firm grasp of the many powerful features lying behind the direct use of the control classes themselves. Especially, customization of the controls using renderers and editors is considered. The final chapter of this module discusses the effective use of the separate model class and object, which pattern is built into all Swing controls, to implement trees and tables that present very large data sets. This allows the student to confront problems common to enterprise-class GUI building, and to find sound solutions using techniques such as lazy evaluation and LRU eviction.

In the third and final module, advanced GUI-management features are studied. Students learn to implement and/or customize scrolling, and to use splitter panes to combine related user interfaces. Popup elements such as dialog boxes, message boxes, and menus are also considered. The module concludes with a treatment of JFC's data transfer model, which empowers clipboard copy, cut, and paste features as well as drag-and-drop. A simple application is developed over the course of this module that implements all the above features.

The course software also includes an optional overlay of workspace and project files to support use of the Eclipse IDE in the classroom. (This requires that the instructor be experienced in use of Eclipse and able to walk students through basic tasks in the IDE.)

Java Training Prerequisites

Solid experience with Java programming is required. Wintrac, “Java Programming,” is excellent preparation.

Java Training Learning Objectives

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: