Thread: Learning Graphical user interface in java

Hi,

I have learned the basics of java in my first year of uni. I was wanting to learn some graphical user interface now during my vacations although they are almost over now.

Could someone suggest me an online book ?
Also, which is better to learn, Swing or the SWT? And whats the difference between the two ? I would be grateful if somebody could answer my questions.

Thanks

Welcome to the forum! Please read this topic to learn how to post code in code or highlight tags and other useful info for new members.

The Oracle Tutorials are a great place to start, but ignore the part about using the Netbeans GUIBuilder and learn to code the basics by hand.

As for whether to learn AWT or Swing, Swing is built on top of AWT, improves upon it, and solves many of the problems with it. Start with Swing. You might also consider starting with JavaFX.

Update: If you want to give JavaFX a try, work through the JavaFX Getting Started Guide. There's also a .pdf version at that link.

Originally Posted by GregBrannon

Welcome to the forum! Please read this topic to learn how to post code in code or highlight tags and other useful info for new members.

The Oracle Tutorials are a great place to start, but ignore the part about using the Netbeans GUIBuilder and learn to code the basics by hand.

As for whether to learn AWT or Swing, Swing is built on top of AWT, improves upon it, and solves many of the problems with it. Start with Swing. You might also consider starting with JavaFX.
Btw, I'm using eclipse

Update: If you want to give JavaFX a try, work through the JavaFX Getting Started Guide. There's also a .pdf version at that link.

Yes, I want to learn to code by hand but in the oracle tutorials their teaching by drag and drop. That is why i posted here, I am not sure where I should start to learn graphical user interface

I agree that it gets harder and harder to pull the "do it by hand" portions out of Oracle's Swing tutorials, so I understand your frustration. Fortunately, there are literally hundreds of Swing tutorials, downloadable books/pdfs, and online references available. Search for them using your favorite search engine and pick one or several that suit you. I had to do a dozen or so of them before I started getting it. Try to find references that use Java 1.5 or later.