GUI representation of arrays in java

Question

I'm kinda new to java and I'm making an applet where I need to display an array (numbers from 0 to 255) like the ones in this applet (I am putting it inside a JScrollPane):

RC4 Cipher Applet

I also want to deal with each entry and the value inside it later. I tried using JTable but the maximum number of columns is 100. I thought about a JLabel for each entry but it would take forever..

Excuse me if this is a repeated question but I searched the questions here I couldn't find what I need

Oh and no this is not a homework I'm just working on a little project for myself :) Thanks!

Answer 1

Well, using JLabels wouldn't take forever if you do something like this:

for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
    contentPanel.add(new JLabel(array[i]));
}

That's the first approach. You could also draw a grid with the numbers yourself by subclassing JPanel and overriding paintComponent(Graphics). Example:

public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
    super.paintComponent(g);
    int currX = 10, currY = 10; // A 10px offset
    int gridBoxSize = 50; // In pixels. Should be large enough for three digits.

    for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
        if (currX + gridBoxSize > this.getWidth()) {
            currX = 10;
            currY += gridBoxSize;
        }
        g.setColor(Color.BLACK);
        g.drawRect(currX, currY, gridBoxSize, gridBoxSize);
        g.drawString(new String(array[i]), currX + 2, currY + 2);
    }
}

Note:

• I assumed the array you are talking about in your question is declared like this: int[] array;;
• The above code is only a quick draft, I didn't compile or test it.