Java: Swing Libraries & Thread Safety

by

  1. Never do long running tasks in response to a button, event, etc as these are on the event thread. If you block the event thread, the ENTIRE GUI will be completely unresponsive resulting in REALLY pissed off users. This is why Swing seems slow and crusty.

  2. Use Threads, Executors, and SwingWorker to run tasks NOT ON THE EDT ( event dispatch thread).

  3. Do not update or create widgets outside of the EDT. Just about the only call you can do outside of the EDT is Component.repaint(). Use SwingUtilitis.invokeLater to ensure certain code executes on the EDT.

  4. Use EDT Debug Techniques and a smart look and feel (like Substance, which checks for EDT violation)

If you follow these rules, Swing can make some very attractive and RESPONSIVE GUIs

An example of some REALLY awesome Swing UI work: Palantir Technologies. Note: I DO NOT work for them, just an example of awesome swing. Shame no public demo… Their blog is good too, sparse, but good

More Related Contents:

  1. JTextFields on top of active drawing on JPanel, threading problems
  2. Waiting for multiple SwingWorkers
  3. SwingUtilities.invokeLater
  4. Threads with Key Bindings
  5. using sleep() for a single thread
  6. What does SwingUtilities.invokeLater do? [duplicate]
  7. java thread.sleep puts swing ui to sleep too
  8. Swing animation running extremely slow
  9. Calling one JFrame from another using Timer without any buttons
  10. Main Thread vs. UI Thread in Java
  11. How cancel the execution of a SwingWorker?
  12. Java Wait for thread to finish
  13. Is it safe to construct Swing/AWT widgets NOT on the Event Dispatch Thread?
  14. MVC Progress Bar Threading
  15. SwingWorker in Java [closed]
  16. How to Pause and Resume a Thread in Java from another Thread
  17. Refreshing GUI by another thread in java (swing)
  18. How could I add a simple delay in a Java Swing application?
  19. Prevent Swing GUI locking up during a background task
  20. Busy loop in other thread delays EDT processing
  21. Javafx: Difference between javafx.concurent and Platform.runLater?
  22. Is the Swing repaint() method still safe to use outside the EDT in Java 7+?
  23. Animations when using Gridbag Layout.
  24. Why is Swing threading model considered wrong and how should it be? [closed]
  25. JTextArea appending problems
  26. Java getting download progress
  27. Dynamically refresh JTextArea as processing occurs?
  28. Swing repaint() doesn’t work in loop or thread
  29. Java – Transparent JScrollPane
  30. Adding JPanels from other classes to the cardLayout

Leave a Comment