GUI
[Framework practical 6 of 7]

So, where do we put the code that used to create the io and store objects?

The place to put these in the Analyst class is the same place we put the data array inside the Storage class: at the top of the class, just after the class declaration and just before the first method. That way they are instance variables that can be seen across the whole class. Make your io and store objects in this location in the Analyst class now.

Stick a System.out.println("Hello World"); in the setData method of Storage so we can test that our menu code is working, compile the code and run it.

Even though the code runs from a Window now, there's nothing to stop you still printing stuff to the command line with System.out.println to test code is working. Ultimately, though, we don't want the user seeing any System.out.println stuff so we need to turn it off before we release the code.

Anyhow, you should find that nothing happens. This is because the MenuItem currently doesn't know anything about the Listener code: we haven't attached the two together. Add the following line to the end of the code making the menu in Analyst's constructor:

   openMenuItem.addActionListener(this);

This code registers the Analyst class as the listener of the MenuItem (as this code is inside the Analyst class, the "this" refers to the Analyst class code). Compile and run the code, and you should now see the "Hello World" code running. You can then remove the System.out.println.

Now that all works, see if you can add in a new MenuItem to the File menu that allows you to "Save..." the data as a file, using the code we wrote last week.

Once you've done that, show us you've got it working, and you're done.

If you want to experiment, try making yourself a "Process" menu that has an option on it for generating random data. You could also add FileDialogs to your code.