How do I create a gradient paint in Java 2D?

To change the color of a graphics shape we can use the setPaint() method. For a simple coloring we can pass the color object into this method, such as Color.RED or Color.GREEN.

If you want to paint with a gradient paint you can use the GradientPaint class. This class provides a way to fill a shape with a linear color gradient pattern. To create a gradient color pattern you can pass the following parameter to the object constructor.

  • x1: x coordinate of the first specified point in user space
  • y1: y coordinate of the first specified point in user space
  • color1: color at the first specified point
  • x2: x coordinate of the second specified point in user space
  • y2: y coordinate of the second specified point in user space
  • color2: color at the second specified point
package org.kodejava.awt.geom;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;

public class GradientPaintDemo extends JComponent {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Gradient Paint Demo");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.getContentPane().add(new GradientPaintDemo());
        frame.pack();
        frame.setSize(new Dimension(420, 350));
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    @Override
    public void paint(Graphics g) {
        Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;

        GradientPaint blackToGray = new GradientPaint(50, 50, Color.BLACK,
                300, 100, Color.LIGHT_GRAY);
        g2.setPaint(blackToGray);
        g2.fill(new Rectangle2D.Double(50, 50, 300, 100));

        GradientPaint blueToBlack = new GradientPaint(0, 0, Color.BLUE,
                400, 400, Color.BLACK);
        g2.setPaint(blueToBlack);
        g2.fill(new Rectangle2D.Double(50, 160, 300, 100));
    }
}

This code snippet produce the following output:

2D Gradient Paint Demo

2D Gradient Paint Demo

How do I draw a rectangle in Java 2D?

The code snippet below show you how to use the Graphics2D class the draw a rectangle. You can see the snippet in the paintComponent(Graphics g) method defined in the anonymous JPanel object.

To draw a rectangle we use the Rectangle2D.Double static-inner class. The constructor of this class accept the information about the rectangle x, y coordinates and its width and height.

package org.kodejava.awt.geom;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;

public class DrawRectangle {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
            JFrame frame = new JFrame("Draw Rectangle");
            frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
            frame.add(new JPanel() {
                @Override
                protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
                    // Draw a rectangle using Rectangle2D class
                    Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
                    g2.setColor(Color.RED);

                    double x = 100;
                    double y = 100;
                    double width = x + 200;
                    double height = y + 50;

                    // Draw the red rectangle
                    g2.draw(new Rectangle2D.Double(x, y, width, height));

                    g2.setColor(Color.BLUE);
                    // Draw the blue rectangle
                    g2.draw(new Rectangle2D.Double(150, 50, 200, 250));
                }
            }, BorderLayout.CENTER);

            frame.pack();
            frame.setSize(new Dimension(500, 400));
            frame.setVisible(true);
        });
    }
}

Here is the result you’ll get when you run the snippet:

Draw 2D Rectangle

Draw 2D Rectangle

How do I draw / plot a graph?

This program read a file of data and draw a graph of the data points in the file. The graph is drawn in a window with three sections. The first section contains three buttons that initiate the program’s actions. Actions can also be initiated via control keys.

The second section displays the data to be graphed and allows the user to edit the graph data. The last section displays the graph.

package org.kodejava.awt.geom;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.font.FontRenderContext;
import java.awt.font.LineMetrics;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import java.awt.geom.Line2D;
import java.awt.geom.Point2D;
import java.awt.geom.Rectangle2D;
import java.io.*;

public class Plot {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Plot");
        frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

        String className = UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName();
        UIManager.setLookAndFeel(className);

        JPanel commandPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
        JButton openButton = new JButton("Open  Ctrl-O");
        JButton plotButton = new JButton("Plot  Ctrl-P");
        JButton quitButton = new JButton("Quit  Ctrl-Q");
        quitButton.addActionListener(e -> System.exit(0));
        commandPanel.registerKeyboardAction(e -> System.exit(0),
                KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("control Q"), JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);
        commandPanel.add(openButton);
        commandPanel.add(plotButton);
        commandPanel.add(quitButton);
        frame.getContentPane().add(commandPanel, "North");

        GraphPanel graphpanel = new GraphPanel(frame);
        plotButton.addActionListener(graphpanel);
        commandPanel.registerKeyboardAction(graphpanel,
                KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("control P"),
                JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);

        openButton.addActionListener(graphpanel.getDataPanel());
        commandPanel.registerKeyboardAction(graphpanel.getDataPanel(),
                KeyStroke.getKeyStroke("control O"),
                JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);

        frame.setVisible(true);
        frame.pack();
    }
}

class GraphPanel implements ActionListener {
    private final DataPanel datapanel;
    private final JFrame frame;
    private final GraphicPanel panel;

    GraphPanel(JFrame newFrame) {
        frame = newFrame;
        panel = new GraphicPanel();
        panel.setDisplayPlot(false);
        datapanel = new DataPanel(frame);
        panel.setDataPanel(datapanel);
        frame.getContentPane().add(panel, "Center");
    }

    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        if (!datapanel.isInitialized()) {
            return;
        }
        datapanel.refreshData();
        panel.setDisplayPlot(true);
        panel.update(panel.getGraphics());
        frame.setSize(700, 600);
        frame.setVisible(true);
        frame.pack();
    }

    ActionListener getDataPanel() {
        return datapanel;
    }
}

class GraphicPanel extends JPanel {
    private boolean display_plot;
    private DataPanel d;

    public void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        super.paintComponent(g);
        Graphics2D g2d = (Graphics2D) g;
        g2d.setPaint(Color.black);
        g2d.setStroke(new BasicStroke());
        g2d.setFont(new Font("Century Schoolbook", Font.PLAIN, 12));
        if (d.isInitialized() && display_plot) {
            d.refreshData();
            float xLower = d.getXLower();
            float xUpper = d.getXUpper();
            float xInterval = d.getXInterval();
            float yLower = d.getYLower();
            float yUpper = d.getYUpper();
            float yInterval = d.getYInterval();
            float dx = xUpper - xLower;
            float dy = yUpper - yLower;

            drawCenteredString(g2d, d.getTitle(), 250, 25, (float) 0.);
            drawCenteredString(g2d, d.getXTitle(), 250, 475, (float) 0.);
            drawCenteredString(g2d, d.getYTitle(), 25, 250,
                    (float) -Math.PI / 2);
            drawCenteredString(g2d, Float.toString(xLower), 50, 475, (float) 0);
            drawCenteredString(g2d, Float.toString(xUpper), 450, 475, (float) 0);
            drawCenteredString(g2d, Float.toString(yLower), 25, 450, (float) 0);
            drawCenteredString(g2d, Float.toString(yUpper), 25, 50, (float) 0);

            g2d.setPaint(Color.gray);
            for (float x = 50f; x <= 450; x += 400 * xInterval / dx)
                g2d.draw(new Line2D.Float(x, 450, x, 50));
            for (float y = 50f; y <= 450; y += 400 * yInterval / dy)
                g2d.draw(new Line2D.Float(45, y, 450, y));

            g2d.setPaint(Color.red);
            float diam = 8f;
            int num_points = d.getNumberOfPoints();
            for (int i = 0; i < num_points; i++) {
                float ex = 400 * (d.getPoint(i).x - xLower) / dx + 50;
                ex -= diam / 2;
                float ey = -400 * (d.getPoint(i).y - yLower) / dy + 450;
                ey -= diam / 2;
                g2d.fill(new Ellipse2D.Float(ex, ey, diam, diam));
            }
        }
    }

    void setDataPanel(DataPanel new_d) {
        d = new_d;
    }

    void setDisplayPlot(boolean new_display) {
        display_plot = new_display;
    }

    private void drawCenteredString(Graphics2D g2d, String string,
                                    int x0, int y0, float angle) {
        FontRenderContext frc = g2d.getFontRenderContext();
        Rectangle2D bounds = g2d.getFont().getStringBounds(string, frc);
        LineMetrics metrics = g2d.getFont().getLineMetrics(string, frc);
        if (angle == 0) {
            g2d.drawString(string, x0 - (float) bounds.getWidth() / 2,
                    y0 + metrics.getHeight() / 2);
        } else {
            g2d.rotate(angle, x0, y0);
            g2d.drawString(string, x0 - (float) bounds.getWidth() / 2,
                    y0 + metrics.getHeight() / 2);
            g2d.rotate(-angle, x0, y0);
        }
    }
}

class DataPanel implements ActionListener {
    private final int titleIndex;
    private final int xTitleIndex;
    private final int yTitleIndex;
    private final int xLowerIndex;
    private final int xUpperIndex;
    private final int xIntervalIndex;
    private final int yLowerIndex;
    private final int yUpperIndex;
    private final int yIntervalIndex;
    private final JFrame frame;
    private final JLabel[] paramLabels;
    private final JTextField[] paramFields;
    private boolean initialized;
    private JPanel panel;
    private String title;
    private String xTitle;
    private String yTitle;
    private float xLower, xUpper, xInterval;
    private float yLower, yUpper, yInterval;
    private Point2D.Float[] points;
    private JTextField[] dataFields;

    DataPanel(JFrame newFrame) {
        initialized = false;
        titleIndex = 0;
        xTitleIndex = 1;
        xLowerIndex = 2;
        xUpperIndex = 3;
        xIntervalIndex = 4;
        yTitleIndex = 5;
        yLowerIndex = 6;
        yUpperIndex = 7;
        yIntervalIndex = 8;
        paramLabels = new JLabel[9];
        paramLabels[titleIndex] = new JLabel("Title");
        paramLabels[xTitleIndex] = new JLabel("X Axis Title");
        paramLabels[yTitleIndex] = new JLabel("Y Axis Title");
        paramLabels[xLowerIndex] = new JLabel("X lower bound");
        paramLabels[xUpperIndex] = new JLabel("X upper bound");
        paramLabels[xIntervalIndex] = new JLabel("X tick interval");
        paramLabels[yLowerIndex] = new JLabel("Y lower bound");
        paramLabels[yUpperIndex] = new JLabel("Y upper bound");
        paramLabels[yIntervalIndex] = new JLabel("Y tick interval");
        paramFields = new JTextField[9];
        paramFields[titleIndex] = new JTextField("Test Title");
        paramFields[xTitleIndex] = new JTextField("X");
        paramFields[yTitleIndex] = new JTextField("Y");
        paramFields[xLowerIndex] = new JTextField("0");
        paramFields[xUpperIndex] = new JTextField("10");
        paramFields[xIntervalIndex] = new JTextField("1");
        paramFields[yLowerIndex] = new JTextField("0");
        paramFields[yUpperIndex] = new JTextField("10");
        paramFields[yIntervalIndex] = new JTextField("1");
        frame = newFrame;
        panel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
        frame.getContentPane().add(panel, "West");
    }

    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        JFrame fileFrame = new JFrame();
        JPanel filePanel = new JPanel();
        JFileChooser fileChooser = new JFileChooser();
        fileFrame.getContentPane().add(filePanel);
        filePanel.add(fileChooser);
        fileChooser.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.FILES_ONLY);
        int result = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(filePanel);
        if (result != JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) {
            JLabel msg = new JLabel("No file selected");
            panel.add(msg);
            return;
        }

        File datafile = fileChooser.getSelectedFile();
        initialized = readFile(datafile);
        panel.update(panel.getGraphics());
        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }

    // The data file contains two sections.
    // The first section contains parameters used for configuring the graph.
    // Each line starts with a single word identifier followed by a space.
    // The rest of the line is the value.
    // It is terminated by a line containing the word "Data".
    // The second section contains the data pairs that will be graphed.
    private boolean readFile(File datafile) {
        int numAllocated = 10;
        int numRead = 0;
        int numDataPoints = 0;
        String[] dataStrings = new String[numAllocated];
        BufferedReader reader = null;

        try {
            reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(datafile));
            String text;
            while ((text = reader.readLine()) != null) {
                if (numRead >= numAllocated) {
                    numAllocated = 2 * numAllocated;
                    String[] temp = dataStrings;
                    dataStrings = new String[numAllocated];
                    System.arraycopy(temp, 0, dataStrings, 0, numRead);
                }

                dataStrings[numRead] = text;
                numRead = numRead + 1;
            }
        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
            System.out.println("File not found");
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.out.println("IO Exception");
        }
        try {
            if (reader != null)
                reader.close();
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.out.println("IO Exception on close");
        }

        int thisCase = -2;
        int thisDataPoint = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < numRead; i++) {
            String[] segments = dataStrings[i].split(" ");
            if (segments[0].equals("Title")) {
                thisCase = titleIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("xTitle")) {
                thisCase = xTitleIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("yTitle")) {
                thisCase = yTitleIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("xLower")) {
                thisCase = xLowerIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("xUpper")) {
                thisCase = xUpperIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("xInterval")) {
                thisCase = xIntervalIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("yLower")) {
                thisCase = yLowerIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("yUpper")) {
                thisCase = yUpperIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("yInterval")) {
                thisCase = yIntervalIndex;
            } else if (segments[0].equals("Data")) {
                thisCase = -1;
                numDataPoints = numRead - i - 1;
                dataFields = new JTextField[2 * numDataPoints];
                points = new Point2D.Float[numDataPoints];
            } else if (thisCase != -1) {
                thisCase = -2;
            }

            if (thisCase >= 0 && segments.length > 1) {
                StringBuilder temp = new StringBuilder(segments[1]);
                for (int j = 2; j < segments.length; j++)
                    temp.append(" ").append(segments[j]);
                paramFields[thisCase].setText(temp.toString());
                thisCase = -2;
            } else if (thisCase == -1 && !segments[0].equals("Data")
                    && thisDataPoint < numDataPoints) {
                dataFields[2 * thisDataPoint] = new JTextField(segments[0]);
                dataFields[2 * thisDataPoint + 1] = new JTextField(segments[1]);
                thisDataPoint++;
            }
        }


        frame.getContentPane().remove(panel);
        panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(9 + numDataPoints, 2));
        for (int i = 0; i < 9; i++) {
            panel.add(paramLabels[i]);
            panel.add(paramFields[i]);
        }
        for (int i = 0; i < numDataPoints; i++) {
            panel.add(dataFields[2 * i]);
            panel.add(dataFields[2 * i + 1]);
        }
        frame.getContentPane().add(panel, "West");

        return true;
    }

    // Read data from panel in case user made any changes
    void refreshData() {
        if (!initialized) {
            return;
        }
        title = paramFields[titleIndex].getText();
        xTitle = paramFields[xTitleIndex].getText();
        yTitle = paramFields[yTitleIndex].getText();
        xLower = Float.parseFloat(paramFields[xLowerIndex].getText());
        xUpper = Float.parseFloat(paramFields[xUpperIndex].getText());
        xInterval = Float.parseFloat(paramFields[xIntervalIndex].getText());
        yLower = Float.parseFloat(paramFields[yLowerIndex].getText());
        yUpper = Float.parseFloat(paramFields[yUpperIndex].getText());
        yInterval = Float.parseFloat(paramFields[yIntervalIndex].getText());
        for (int i = 0; i < points.length; i++) {
            float x = Float.parseFloat(dataFields[2 * i].getText());
            float y = Float.parseFloat(dataFields[2 * i + 1].getText());
            points[i] = new Point2D.Float(x, y);
        }
    }

    boolean isInitialized() {
        return initialized;
    }

    String getTitle() {
        return title;
    }

    String getXTitle() {
        return xTitle;
    }

    String getYTitle() {
        return yTitle;
    }

    float getXLower() {
        return xLower;
    }

    float getXUpper() {
        return xUpper;
    }

    float getXInterval() {
        return xInterval;
    }

    float getYLower() {
        return yLower;
    }

    float getYUpper() {
        return yUpper;
    }

    float getYInterval() {
        return yInterval;
    }

    int getNumberOfPoints() {
        return points.length;
    }

    Point2D.Float getPoint(int i) {
        if (i < 0) {
            i = 0;
        } else if (i >= points.length) {
            i = points.length - 1;
        }
        return points[i];
    }
}

Here is the data file example, you can save it as plot.txt.

Title Test String
Xtitle X axis
Ytitle Y axis
Xlower 0
Xupper 10
Xinterval 1.0
Ylower 0
Yupper 10
Yinterval 1
Data
0 0
0.25 0.0625
0.5 0.25
0.75 0.5625
1 1
1.25 1.5625
1.5 2.25
1.75 3.0625
2 4
2.25 5.0625
2.5 6.25
2.75 7.5625
3 9
3.25 7.5625
3.5 6.25
3.75 5.0625
4.0 4
4.25 3.0625
4.5 2.25
4.75 1.5625
5.0 1
5.25 0.5625
5.5 0.25
5.75 0.0625
6 0

The following screen capture show you the result of the program.

Plot a Graph