Skip to Main Content
Java Swing, 2nd Edition
book

Java Swing, 2nd Edition

by Dave Wood, Robert Eckstein, Marc Loy, James Elliott, Brian Cole
November 2002
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
1278 pages
38h 26m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Java Swing, 2nd Edition

What Is an Internal Frame?

Before we start coding, here’s a brief rundown of the features of an internal frame:

  • Same functions as a normal Frame object, but confined to the visible area of the container it is placed in

  • Can be iconified (icon stays inside main application frame)

  • Can be maximized (frame consumes entire main application frame area)

  • Can be closed using the standard controls for application windows

  • Can be placed in a “layer,” which dictates how the frame displays itself relative to other internal frames (a frame in layer 1 can never hide a frame in layer 2)

To be honest, in practice, standalone frames are often more useful than internal frames. You’ll want to know about both; we have chapters dedicated to each of these topics (Chapter 8 and Chapter 9, respectively).

Figure 2-6 shows a simple internal frame using the Metal L&F.

The SimpleInternalFrame application using the Metal L&F

Figure 2-6. The SimpleInternalFrame application using the Metal L&F

For this first example, we’ll add an empty internal frame to an application. Once that’s working, we’ll expand the simple frame to create a couple of different types of internal frames and create the framework for a simple application.

One of the prerequisites for using internal frames is that you need a window capable of managing them. The Swing package provides the JDesktopPane class for this purpose. You’ll see the details of the JDesktopPane in Chapter 9, but for now, here’s how to get ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Java Threads, 3rd Edition

Java Threads, 3rd Edition

Scott Oaks, Henry Wong

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 0596004087Errata PageSupplemental Content