Extending JCheckbox through multiple classes

Question

I am trying to create a character creator using JCheckBox. I have created all my classes, however, when extending each class into the next, I am unable to see the return results for the prior class. For example, I have a Gender class and a Race class. The Gender class has two check boxes, one for male and one for female. By itself, this class works. However, when I use the Race class to extend the Gender class, everything shows up, but clicking the boxes does not output into the JTextField. Below is my Code for Gender and for Race.

import java.awt.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
public class Gender extends JFrame implements ItemListener  
{

   FlowLayout flow = new FlowLayout();  
   JLabel label = new JLabel("What gender would you like to be?");


   JCheckBox male = new JCheckBox("Male", false);  
   JCheckBox female = new JCheckBox("Female", false);  

   JTextField GENDER = new JTextField(12);  

   String output, insChosen;  
   String Gender = "";  

   public Gender()  
   {  
      super("Character Creation");  
      setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);  
      setLayout(new FlowLayout());  
      label.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.ITALIC, 15));  


      GENDER.setText("Gender" + Gender + ".");  
      male.addItemListener(this);  
      female.addItemListener(this);  


      add(label);  
      add(male);  
      add(female);  
      add(GENDER);  


   }  

   public void itemStateChanged(ItemEvent event)  
   {  
      Object source = event.getSource();  
      int selects = event.getStateChange();  


      if(male.isSelected())  
         Gender = "Male";  
      else  
         if(female.isSelected())  
            Gender = "Female";  

      GENDER.setText("Gender: " + Gender);  
   }  

   public static void main(String[] args)  
   {  
      final int FRAME_WIDTH = 300;  
      final int FRAME_HEIGHT = 600;  
      Gender frame = new Gender();  
      frame.setSize(FRAME_WIDTH, FRAME_HEIGHT);  
      frame.setVisible(true);  

   }  

}

and here is the code for Race.

import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class Race extends Gender
{
   FlowLayout flow = new FlowLayout();
   JLabel label = new JLabel("What race would you like to play as?");


   JCheckBox elf = new JCheckBox("Elf", false);
   JCheckBox troll = new JCheckBox("Troll", false);
   JCheckBox human = new JCheckBox("Human", false);
   JCheckBox dwarf = new JCheckBox("Dwarf", false);
   JCheckBox orc = new JCheckBox("Orc", false);

   JTextField RACE = new JTextField(12);

   String output, insChosen;
   String Race = "";


   public Race()
   {

      setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      setLayout(new FlowLayout());
      label.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.ITALIC, 15));


      RACE.setText("Race" + Race + ".");


      elf.addItemListener(this);
      troll.addItemListener(this);
      human.addItemListener(this);
      dwarf.addItemListener(this);
      orc.addItemListener(this);


      add(label);
      add(elf);
      add(troll);
      add(human);
      add(dwarf);
      add(orc);
      add(RACE);

   }

   public void itemStateChanged(ItemEvent event)
   {
      Object source = event.getSource();
      int select = event.getStateChange();

      if(elf.isSelected())
         Race = "Elf";
      else
         if(troll.isSelected())
            Race = "Troll";
         else
            if(human.isSelected())
               Race = "Human";
            else
               if(dwarf.isSelected())
                  Race = "Dwarf";
               else
                  if(orc.isSelected())
                     Race = "Orc";
       RACE.setText("Race: " + Race);

   }



   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
      final int FRAME_WIDTH = 350;
      final int FRAME_HEIGHT = 300;
      Race frame = new Race();
      frame.setSize(FRAME_WIDTH, FRAME_HEIGHT);
      frame.setVisible(true);
   }

}

Each work seperately, but will not work in conjuction. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Because you've overridden itemStateChanged in Race, which was inherited from Gender but failed to call super.itemStateChanged, it is no longer been called in Gender.

Add super.itemStateChanged(event); to Race's itemStateChanged method, for example:

public void itemStateChanged(ItemEvent event) {
    super.itemStateChanged(event);

Consider using JRadioButtons, grouped through the use of a ButtonGroup for the gender, as it's (typically) and either/or selection, maybe even a JComboBox which will limit what the user can select

I would avoid extending directly from JFrame as you've automatically limited any future expansion or use of the class.

Instead, consider using a JPanel instead. This would mean you wouldn't "need" to extend from Gender but could simply "include" within the Race class.

I'd also encourage you to separate the model/data from the UI itself, so the UI modifies the model and responds to changes made to the model, but that's just me