Java changing multiple panel

Question

I want to create a GUI that allows me to change through different frames. I have a main frame where there are multiple buttons and when clicking on the button, I want to open a new page (like a "display PDF" button). When closing the page created by the button, I want to go back to main frame.

I made a code with creation of different Jframe, and it works as I want, but I would like to know if there is a better and simpler way to do this.

    public class MultiplePanelsExample {
    private JFrame mainFrame;
    private JPanel mainPanel;
    private JButton[] buttons;

    public MultiplePanelsExample() {
        // Step 1: Create the main frame and panel
        mainFrame = new JFrame("Main Panel");
        mainPanel = new JPanel();

        // Step 2: Create an array of buttons
        buttons = new JButton[3]; // Adjust the number based on how many buttons you need

        for (int i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
            buttons[i] = new JButton("Open Panel " + (i + 1));
            mainPanel.add(buttons[i]);
        }

        mainFrame.add(mainPanel);
        mainFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        mainFrame.pack();
        mainFrame.setVisible(true);

        // Step 3: Add action listeners to the buttons
        for (int i = 0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
            final int buttonIndex = i;
            buttons[i].addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                @Override
                public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
                    openSecondaryPanel(buttonIndex);
                    mainFrame.setVisible(false);
                }
            });
        }


    }

    private void openSecondaryPanel(int buttonIndex) {
        // Step 4: Create the secondary frame and panel
        JFrame secondaryFrame = new JFrame("Panel " + (buttonIndex + 1));
        JPanel secondaryPanel = new JPanel();
        JTextArea tx = new JTextArea("Name ");

        secondaryPanel.add(tx);
        secondaryFrame.add(secondaryPanel);
        secondaryFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DO_NOTHING_ON_CLOSE);
        secondaryFrame.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter() {
            @Override
            public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e) {


                    // NOW we change it to dispose on close..
                    secondaryFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
                    secondaryFrame.setVisible(false);
                    secondaryFrame.dispose();
                    mainFrame.setVisible(true);

            }
        });
        secondaryFrame.setVisible(true);





        secondaryFrame.pack();

    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
            public void run() {
                new MultiplePanelsExample();
            }
        });
    }
}

Martin Frank · Accepted Answer · 2023-07-21 06:21:44Z

Strong dependency

each frame must know about the other, they are strong dependent on each other. Instead of using a class that solves this (strong) dependency (in your case: MultiplePanelsExample) you should try to create independent components.

Idea (pseudo code) of using independent classes:

public MyComponent {

private final Component successor;

public MyComponent(Component successor){
    this.successor = successor;
}

...

public void onClose(){
    successor.setVisible(true)
}

this approach would let you build independent components and you are open to adjust your workflow more easily. Additionally it increases testability since you can test each component now on its own.

side notes

declare an interface SuccessorComponent that can be injected to your components! doing this will further increase testability since you can now very easy mock/simulate your successor.
having such an architektur you can easily create new/different workflow: A-->B-->C-->A for example
the example code above is not really working it should only provide an idea of how independet components would look like

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Strong dependency

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