Module java.desktop

Package java.awt

Contains all of the classes for creating user interfaces and for painting graphics and images. A user interface object such as a button or a scrollbar is called, in AWT terminology, a component. The Component class is the root of all AWT components. See Component for a detailed description of properties that all AWT components share.

Some components fire events when a user interacts with the components. The AWTEvent class and its subclasses are used to represent the events that AWT components can fire. See AWTEvent for a description of the AWT event model.

A container is a component that can contain components and other containers. A container can also have a layout manager that controls the visual placement of components in the container. The AWT package contains several layout manager classes and an interface for building your own layout manager. See Container and LayoutManager for more information.

Each Component object is limited in its maximum size and its location because the values are stored as an integer. Also, a platform may further restrict maximum size and location coordinates. The exact maximum values are dependent on the platform. There is no way to change these maximum values, either in Java code or in native code. These limitations also impose restrictions on component layout. If the bounds of a Component object exceed a platform limit, there is no way to properly arrange them within a Container object. The object's bounds are defined by any object's coordinate in combination with its size on a respective axis.

Additional Specification

Since:
1.0
  • Interface Summary 
    Interface Description
    ActiveEvent
    An interface for events that know how to dispatch themselves.
    Adjustable
    The interface for objects which have an adjustable numeric value contained within a bounded range of values.
    Composite
    The Composite interface, along with CompositeContext, defines the methods to compose a draw primitive with the underlying graphics area.
    CompositeContext
    The CompositeContext interface defines the encapsulated and optimized environment for a compositing operation.
    ItemSelectable
    The interface for objects which contain a set of items for which zero or more can be selected.
    KeyEventDispatcher
    A KeyEventDispatcher cooperates with the current KeyboardFocusManager in the targeting and dispatching of all KeyEvents.
    KeyEventPostProcessor
    A KeyEventPostProcessor cooperates with the current KeyboardFocusManager in the final resolution of all unconsumed KeyEvents.
    LayoutManager
    Defines the interface for classes that know how to lay out Containers.
    LayoutManager2
    Defines an interface for classes that know how to layout Containers based on a layout constraints object.
    MenuContainer
    The super class of all menu related containers.
    Paint
    This Paint interface defines how color patterns can be generated for Graphics2D operations.
    PaintContext
    The PaintContext interface defines the encapsulated and optimized environment to generate color patterns in device space for fill or stroke operations on a Graphics2D.
    PrintGraphics
    An abstract class which provides a print graphics context for a page.
    SecondaryLoop
    A helper interface to run the nested event loop.
    Shape
    The Shape interface provides definitions for objects that represent some form of geometric shape.
    Stroke
    The Stroke interface allows a Graphics2D object to obtain a Shape that is the decorated outline, or stylistic representation of the outline, of the specified Shape.
    Transparency
    The Transparency interface defines the common transparency modes for implementing classes.
  • Class Summary 
    Class Description
    AlphaComposite
    The AlphaComposite class implements basic alpha compositing rules for combining source and destination colors to achieve blending and transparency effects with graphics and images.
    AWTEvent
    The root event class for all AWT events.
    AWTEventMulticaster
    AWTEventMulticaster implements efficient and thread-safe multi-cast event dispatching for the AWT events defined in the java.awt.event package.
    AWTKeyStroke
    An AWTKeyStroke represents a key action on the keyboard, or equivalent input device.
    AWTPermission
    This class is for AWT permissions.
    BasicStroke
    The BasicStroke class defines a basic set of rendering attributes for the outlines of graphics primitives, which are rendered with a Graphics2D object that has its Stroke attribute set to this BasicStroke.
    BorderLayout
    A border layout lays out a container, arranging and resizing its components to fit in five regions: north, south, east, west, and center.
    BufferCapabilities
    Capabilities and properties of buffers.
    BufferCapabilities.FlipContents
    A type-safe enumeration of the possible back buffer contents after page-flipping
    Button
    This class creates a labeled button.
    Canvas
    A Canvas component represents a blank rectangular area of the screen onto which the application can draw or from which the application can trap input events from the user.
    CardLayout
    A CardLayout object is a layout manager for a container.
    Checkbox
    A check box is a graphical component that can be in either an "on" (true) or "off" (false) state.
    CheckboxGroup
    The CheckboxGroup class is used to group together a set of Checkbox buttons.
    CheckboxMenuItem
    This class represents a check box that can be included in a menu.
    Choice
    The Choice class presents a pop-up menu of choices.
    Color
    The Color class is used to encapsulate colors in the default sRGB color space or colors in arbitrary color spaces identified by a ColorSpace.
    Component
    A component is an object having a graphical representation that can be displayed on the screen and that can interact with the user.
    ComponentOrientation
    The ComponentOrientation class encapsulates the language-sensitive orientation that is to be used to order the elements of a component or of text.
    Container
    A generic Abstract Window Toolkit(AWT) container object is a component that can contain other AWT components.
    ContainerOrderFocusTraversalPolicy
    A FocusTraversalPolicy that determines traversal order based on the order of child Components in a Container.
    Cursor
    A class to encapsulate the bitmap representation of the mouse cursor.
    DefaultFocusTraversalPolicy
    A FocusTraversalPolicy that determines traversal order based on the order of child Components in a Container.
    DefaultKeyboardFocusManager
    The default KeyboardFocusManager for AWT applications.
    Desktop
    The Desktop class allows interact with various desktop capabilities.
    Dialog
    A Dialog is a top-level window with a title and a border that is typically used to take some form of input from the user.
    Dimension
    The Dimension class encapsulates the width and height of a component (in integer precision) in a single object.
    DisplayMode
    The DisplayMode class encapsulates the bit depth, height, width, and refresh rate of a GraphicsDevice.
    Event Deprecated.
    It is recommended that AWTEvent and its subclasses be used instead
    EventQueue
    EventQueue is a platform-independent class that queues events, both from the underlying peer classes and from trusted application classes.
    FileDialog
    The FileDialog class displays a dialog window from which the user can select a file.
    FlowLayout
    A flow layout arranges components in a directional flow, much like lines of text in a paragraph.
    FocusTraversalPolicy
    A FocusTraversalPolicy defines the order in which Components with a particular focus cycle root are traversed.
    Font
    The Font class represents fonts, which are used to render text in a visible way.
    FontMetrics
    The FontMetrics class defines a font metrics object, which encapsulates information about the rendering of a particular font on a particular screen.
    Frame
    A Frame is a top-level window with a title and a border.
    GradientPaint
    The GradientPaint class provides a way to fill a Shape with a linear color gradient pattern.
    Graphics
    The Graphics class is the abstract base class for all graphics contexts that allow an application to draw onto components that are realized on various devices, as well as onto off-screen images.
    Graphics2D
    This Graphics2D class extends the Graphics class to provide more sophisticated control over geometry, coordinate transformations, color management, and text layout.
    GraphicsConfigTemplate
    The GraphicsConfigTemplate class is used to obtain a valid GraphicsConfiguration.
    GraphicsConfiguration
    The GraphicsConfiguration class describes the characteristics of a graphics destination such as a printer or monitor.
    GraphicsDevice
    The GraphicsDevice class describes the graphics devices that might be available in a particular graphics environment.
    GraphicsEnvironment
    The GraphicsEnvironment class describes the collection of GraphicsDevice objects and Font objects available to a Java(tm) application on a particular platform.
    GridBagConstraints
    The GridBagConstraints class specifies constraints for components that are laid out using the GridBagLayout class.
    GridBagLayout
    The GridBagLayout class is a flexible layout manager that aligns components vertically, horizontally or along their baseline without requiring that the components be of the same size.
    GridBagLayoutInfo
    The GridBagLayoutInfo is an utility class for GridBagLayout layout manager.
    GridLayout
    The GridLayout class is a layout manager that lays out a container's components in a rectangular grid.
    Image
    The abstract class Image is the superclass of all classes that represent graphical images.
    ImageCapabilities
    Capabilities and properties of images.
    Insets
    An Insets object is a representation of the borders of a container.
    JobAttributes
    A set of attributes which control a print job.
    JobAttributes.DefaultSelectionType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible default selection states.
    JobAttributes.DestinationType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible job destinations.
    JobAttributes.DialogType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible dialogs to display to the user.
    JobAttributes.MultipleDocumentHandlingType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible multiple copy handling states.
    JobAttributes.SidesType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible multi-page impositions.
    KeyboardFocusManager
    The KeyboardFocusManager is responsible for managing the active and focused Windows, and the current focus owner.
    Label
    A Label object is a component for placing text in a container.
    LinearGradientPaint
    The LinearGradientPaint class provides a way to fill a Shape with a linear color gradient pattern.
    List
    The List component presents the user with a scrolling list of text items.
    MediaTracker
    The MediaTracker class is a utility class to track the status of a number of media objects.
    Menu
    A Menu object is a pull-down menu component that is deployed from a menu bar.
    MenuBar
    The MenuBar class encapsulates the platform's concept of a menu bar bound to a frame.
    MenuComponent
    The abstract class MenuComponent is the superclass of all menu-related components.
    MenuItem
    All items in a menu must belong to the class MenuItem, or one of its subclasses.
    MenuShortcut
    The MenuShortcut class represents a keyboard accelerator for a MenuItem.
    MouseInfo
    MouseInfo provides methods for getting information about the mouse, such as mouse pointer location and the number of mouse buttons.
    MultipleGradientPaint
    This is the superclass for Paints which use a multiple color gradient to fill in their raster.
    PageAttributes
    A set of attributes which control the output of a printed page.
    PageAttributes.ColorType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible color states.
    PageAttributes.MediaType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible paper sizes.
    PageAttributes.OrientationRequestedType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible orientations.
    PageAttributes.OriginType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible origins.
    PageAttributes.PrintQualityType
    A type-safe enumeration of possible print qualities.
    Panel
    Panel is the simplest container class.
    Point
    A point representing a location in (x,y) coordinate space, specified in integer precision.
    PointerInfo
    A class that describes the pointer position.
    Polygon
    The Polygon class encapsulates a description of a closed, two-dimensional region within a coordinate space.
    PopupMenu
    A class that implements a menu which can be dynamically popped up at a specified position within a component.
    PrintJob
    An abstract class which initiates and executes a print job.
    RadialGradientPaint
    The RadialGradientPaint class provides a way to fill a shape with a circular radial color gradient pattern.
    Rectangle
    A Rectangle specifies an area in a coordinate space that is enclosed by the Rectangle object's upper-left point (x,y) in the coordinate space, its width, and its height.
    RenderingHints
    The RenderingHints class defines and manages collections of keys and associated values which allow an application to provide input into the choice of algorithms used by other classes which perform rendering and image manipulation services.
    RenderingHints.Key
    Defines the base type of all keys used along with the RenderingHints class to control various algorithm choices in the rendering and imaging pipelines.
    Robot
    This class is used to generate native system input events for the purposes of test automation, self-running demos, and other applications where control of the mouse and keyboard is needed.
    Scrollbar
    The Scrollbar class embodies a scroll bar, a familiar user-interface object.
    ScrollPane
    A container class which implements automatic horizontal and/or vertical scrolling for a single child component.
    ScrollPaneAdjustable
    This class represents the state of a horizontal or vertical scrollbar of a ScrollPane.
    SplashScreen
    The splash screen can be displayed at application startup, before the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) starts.
    SystemColor
    A class to encapsulate symbolic colors representing the color of native GUI objects on a system.
    SystemTray
    The SystemTray class represents the system tray for a desktop.
    Taskbar
    The Taskbar class allows a Java application to interact with the system task area (taskbar, Dock, etc.).
    TextArea
    A TextArea object is a multi-line region that displays text.
    TextComponent
    The TextComponent class is the superclass of any component that allows the editing of some text.
    TextField
    A TextField object is a text component that allows for the editing of a single line of text.
    TexturePaint
    The TexturePaint class provides a way to fill a Shape with a texture that is specified as a BufferedImage.
    Toolkit
    This class is the abstract superclass of all actual implementations of the Abstract Window Toolkit.
    TrayIcon
    A TrayIcon object represents a tray icon that can be added to the system tray.
    Window
    A Window object is a top-level window with no borders and no menubar.
  • Enum Summary 
    Enum Description
    Component.BaselineResizeBehavior
    Enumeration of the common ways the baseline of a component can change as the size changes.
    Desktop.Action
    Represents an action type.
    Dialog.ModalExclusionType
    Any top-level window can be marked not to be blocked by modal dialogs.
    Dialog.ModalityType
    Modal dialogs block all input to some top-level windows.
    GraphicsDevice.WindowTranslucency
    Kinds of translucency supported by the underlying system.
    MultipleGradientPaint.ColorSpaceType
    The color space in which to perform the gradient interpolation.
    MultipleGradientPaint.CycleMethod
    The method to use when painting outside the gradient bounds.
    Taskbar.Feature
    List of provided features.
    Taskbar.State
    Kinds of available window progress states.
    TrayIcon.MessageType
    The message type determines which icon will be displayed in the caption of the message, and a possible system sound a message may generate upon showing.
    Window.Type
    Enumeration of available window types.
  • Exception Summary 
    Exception Description
    AWTException
    Signals that an Abstract Window Toolkit exception has occurred.
    FontFormatException
    Thrown by method createFont in the Font class to indicate that the specified font is bad.
    HeadlessException
    Thrown when code that is dependent on a keyboard, display, or mouse is called in an environment that does not support a keyboard, display, or mouse.
    IllegalComponentStateException
    Signals that an AWT component is not in an appropriate state for the requested operation.
  • Error Summary 
    Error Description
    AWTError
    Thrown when a serious Abstract Window Toolkit error has occurred.