![]() | Session 9 | ![]() |
Anonymous inner class handlers
An anonymous inner class is an inner class without a name. It combines defining an inner class and creating an instance of the class into one step.
Inner-class handlers can be shortened using anonymous inner classes. The inner class in previous part can be replaced by an anonymous inner class as shown below.
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The syntax for an anonymous inner class is shown below:
new SuperClassName/InterfaceName() { // Implement or override methods of the superclass or interface // Other methods if necessary }
Since an anonymous inner class is a special kind of inner classes, it is treated like an inner class with the following features:
- The anonymous inner class must always extend a superclass or implement an interface, but it cannot have an explicit
extends
orimplements
clause. - The anonymous inner class must implement all the abstract methods of the superclass or of the interface.
- The anonymous inner class always uses the default constructor without arguments from its superclass to create an object. If an anonymous inner class implements an interface, the constructor is
Object()
. - The anonymous inner class is compiled into a class named
OuterClassName$n.class
.
The following program demonstrates an anonymous inner class handler for the mouse event.
import javafx.application.Application; import javafx.event.ActionEvent; import javafx.event.EventHandler; import javafx.scene.Group; import javafx.scene.Scene; import javafx.scene.control.Button; import javafx.scene.input.MouseEvent; import javafx.scene.layout.VBox; import javafx.scene.paint.Color; import javafx.scene.shape.Circle; import javafx.scene.shape.Rectangle; import javafx.stage.Stage; public class ExampleRectangle extends Application { public static void main(String[] args) { launch(args); } @Override public void start(Stage primaryStage) { Group root = new Group(); Rectangle rect = new Rectangle(50, 50, 100, 100);; root.getChildren().add(rect); // Create and register anonymous inner class handler rect.setOnMouseEntered(new EventHandler<MouseEvent>(){ public void handle(MouseEvent event){ System.out.println("Mouse and rectangle"); rect.setFill(Color.THISTLE); } }); // Create scene and place it on the stage Scene scene = new Scene(root, 200, 200, Color.SNOW); primaryStage.setTitle("Rectangle"); primaryStage.setScene(scene); primaryStage.show(); } }
Try out
Try to run the program given above.
![]() | Session 9 | ![]() |