How do I extend classes in Java?

Inheritance is one of object-oriented programming concepts. This concept allows classes to inherit commonly used state and behavior from other classes. Inheritance is the way to put commonly used states and behaviors into one class and reuse it.

The class that inherits all the attributes from other class is called as sub class. While, the class that inherited is called as superclass. You can use the extends keyword in class definition to inherit from other classes.

When you apply the final keyword to the class declaration you will make the class final, a final class cannot be extended by other class.

For example below we have, a Truck class and a Sedan that derived from a Car class.

package org.kodejava.basic;

public class CarDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Car car = new Car();
        car.setBrand("Honda");
        System.out.println("Brand = " + car.getBrand());

        // The setBrand() and getBrand() is inherited from the Car
        // class.
        Truck truck = new Truck();
        truck.setBrand("Ford");
        System.out.println("Brand = " + truck.getBrand());
        int loadCapacity = truck.getLoadCapacity();

        // The setBrand(), getBrand() and setNumberOfSeat methods
        // are is inherited from the Car class.
        Sedan sedan = new Sedan();
        sedan.setBrand("Hyundai");
        System.out.println("Brand = " + sedan.getBrand());
        sedan.setNumberOfSeat(2);
        int gearType = sedan.getGearType();
    }
}

Here the definition of the Car, the Truck and the Sedan classes.

package org.kodejava.basic;

public class Car {
    private String type;
    private String brand;
    private String model;
    private int numberOfSeat;

    public Car() {
    }

    public Car(String type, String brand, String model) {
        this.type = type;
        this.brand = brand;
        this.model = model;
    }

    public String getType() {
        return type;
    }

    public void setType(String type) {
        this.type = type;
    }

    public String getBrand() {
        return brand;
    }

    public void setBrand(String brand) {
        this.brand = brand;
    }

    public String getModel() {
        return model;
    }

    public void setModel(String model) {
        this.model = model;
    }

    public int getNumberOfSeat() {
        return numberOfSeat;
    }

    public void setNumberOfSeat(int numberOfSeat) {
        this.numberOfSeat = numberOfSeat;
    }

    public String getCarInfo() {
        return "Type: " + type
                + "; Brand: " + brand
                + "; Model: " + model;
    }
}
package org.kodejava.basic;

public class Truck extends Car {
private int loadCapacity;

    public Truck() {
    }

    public Truck(String type, String brand, String model) {
        super(type, brand, model);
    }

    public int getLoadCapacity() {
        return loadCapacity;
    }

    public void setLoadCapacity(int loadCapacity) {
        this.loadCapacity = loadCapacity;
    }

    @Override
    public String getCarInfo() {
        return "Type: " + getType()
                + "; Brand: " + getBrand()
                + "; Model: " + getModel()
                + "; Load capacity: " + getLoadCapacity();
    }
}
package org.kodejava.basic;

public class Sedan extends Car {
    private int gearType;

    public Sedan() {
    }

    public int getGearType() {
        return gearType;
    }

    public void setGearType(int gearType) {
        this.gearType = gearType;
    }
}

How do I create a class in Java?

A class is a specification or blueprint from which individual objects are created. A class contains fields that represent the object’s states and methods that defines the operations that are possible on the objects of the class.

The file name that contains the definition of a class is always the same as the public class name and the extension is .java to identify that the file contains a Java source code.

A class has constructors, a special method that is used to create an instance or object of the class. When no constructor define a default constructor will be used. The constructor method have the same name with the class name without a return value. The constructors can have parameters that will be used to initialize object’s states.

Here is a Person.java file that defines the Person class.

package org.kodejava.example.fundamental;

public class Person {
    private String name;
    private String title;
    private String address;

    /**
     * Constructor to create Person object
     */
    public Person() {

    }

    /**
     * Constructor with parameter
     *
     * @param name
     */
    public Person(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    /**
     * Method to get the name of person
     *
     * @return name
     */
    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    /**
     * Method to set the name of person
     *
     * @param name
     */
    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    /**
     * Method to get the title of person
     *
     * @return title
     */
    public String getTitle() {
        return title;
    }

    /**
     * Method to set the title of person
     *
     * @param title
     */
    public void setTitle(String title) {
        this.title = title;
    }

    /**
     * Method to get address of person
     *
     * @return address
     */
    public String getAddress() {
        return address;
    }

    /**
     * Method to set the address of person
     *
     * @param address
     */
    public void setAddress(String address) {
        this.address = address;
    }

    /**
     * Method to get name with title of person
     *
     * @return nameTitle
     */
    public String getNameWithTitle() {
        String nameTitle;
        if (title != null) {
            nameTitle = name + ", " + title;
        } else {
            nameTitle = name;
        }
        return nameTitle;
    }

    /**
     * Method used to print the information of person
     */
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Info [" +
                "name='" + name + ''' +
                ", title='" + title + ''' +
                ", address='" + address + ''' +
                ']';
    }
}

Here is a ClassExample.java file that defines the ClassExample class that use the Person class.

package org.kodejava.example.fundamental;

public class ClassExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Person person = new Person();
        person.setName("Andy");
        person.setTitle("MBA");
        person.setAddress("NY City");
        System.out.println(person);

        String nameTitle1 = person.getNameWithTitle();
        System.out.println("Name with title: " + nameTitle1);

        Person person2 = new Person("Sarah");
        String nameTitle2 = person2.getNameWithTitle();
        System.out.println("Name with title 2: " + nameTitle2);
    }
}

How do I reverse JSlider’s value-range?

On a normal JSlider the value range displayed left-to-right on a horizontal JSlider and bottom-to-top on vertical JSlider. To reverse the slider values from their normal order you can use the setInverted() method of the JSlider instance. Passing a true boolean value into this method call reverse the values order.

package org.kodejava.swing;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class JSliderInvertedDemo extends JPanel {
    public JSliderInvertedDemo() {
        initializeUI();
    }

    public static void showFrame() {
        JPanel panel = new JSliderInvertedDemo();

        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Inverted JSlider");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setContentPane(panel);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(JSliderInvertedDemo::showFrame);
    }

    private void initializeUI() {
        setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500, 200));

        JSlider slider = new JSlider(JSlider.HORIZONTAL, 0, 20, 10);
        slider.setMinorTickSpacing(1);
        slider.setMajorTickSpacing(5);
        slider.setPaintLabels(true);
        slider.setPaintTicks(true);

        // Reverse the value-range of a JSlider. On a normal
        // horizontal JSlider the maximum value is on the right
        // side. Specifying inverted to true makes the maximum
        // value placed on the left side.
        slider.setInverted(true);

        add(slider, BorderLayout.CENTER);
    }
}

The result of the code snippet above is:

Inverted JSlider Demo

How do I create a JSlider with custom labels?

The JSlider‘s setLabelTable() method allows you to define a custom labels for the JSlider. The label table is a Hashtable that contains an Integer number as the keys and a JLabel component as their values. The integer keys correspond to the JSlider tick where the labels will be customized.

package org.kodejava.swing;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.util.Hashtable;

public class JSliderCustomLabel extends JPanel {
    public JSliderCustomLabel() {
        initializeUI();
    }

    public static void showFrame() {
        JPanel panel = new JSliderCustomLabel();

        JFrame frame = new JFrame("JSlider Custom Label");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setContentPane(panel);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(JSliderCustomLabel::showFrame);
    }

    private void initializeUI() {
        setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500, 200));

        JSlider slider = new JSlider(JSlider.VERTICAL, 0, 40, 0);
        slider.setMinorTickSpacing(1);
        slider.setMajorTickSpacing(5);
        slider.setPaintTicks(true);

        Hashtable<Integer, JLabel> labels = new Hashtable<>();
        labels.put(0, new JLabel("Freezing"));
        labels.put(15, new JLabel("Cold"));
        labels.put(25, new JLabel("Warm"));
        labels.put(35, new JLabel("Hot"));
        slider.setLabelTable(labels);

        slider.setPaintLabels(true);

        add(slider, BorderLayout.CENTER);
    }
}

The screen capture of the example above is:

JSlider with Custom Labels Demo

How do I create a JSlider that snap to the closest tick mark?

The JSlider‘s setSnapToTicks() method call is used to move JSlider‘s knob to the nearest tick mark from where you positioned the knob. The default value of this property is false. To make it snap to the closest tick set this property to true.

package org.kodejava.swing;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;

public class SnapToTickJSlider extends JPanel {
    public SnapToTickJSlider() {
        initializeUI();
    }

    public static void showFrame() {
        JPanel panel = new SnapToTickJSlider();

        JFrame frame = new JFrame("JSlider - Snap to Tick");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setContentPane(panel);
        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(SnapToTickJSlider::showFrame);
    }

    private void initializeUI() {
        setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500, 200));

        JSlider slider = new JSlider(JSlider.HORIZONTAL, 0, 30, 0);
        slider.setMinorTickSpacing(5);
        slider.setMajorTickSpacing(10);
        slider.setPaintLabels(true);
        slider.setPaintTicks(true);

        // Snaps to the closest tick mark next to where the user
        // positioned the knob.
        slider.setSnapToTicks(true);

        add(slider, BorderLayout.CENTER);
    }
}

The screen capture of the result of the code snippet above is:

JSlider Snap to Ticks Demo