The Java TM Tutorial

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Trail: Creating a GUI with JFC/Swing
Lesson: Writing Event Listeners

## How to Write a List Data Listener

> List data events occur when the contents of a mutable list change. The list's model fires these events, the list does not. So you have to register a list data listener with the list model. If you haven't explicitly created a list with a mutable list model, then your list is immutable, and its model will not fire these events.

> The following applet demonstrates list data events on a mutable list:

> This is a picture of the applet's GUI. To run the applet, click the picture. The applet will appear in a new browser window.

> > Try this:
> > 1. Type in the name of your favorite ski resort and click the Add button.
> > 2. Select a few continguous items in the list and click the Delete button.
> > 3. Select one item and move it up or down in the list with the arrow buttons.

> You can find the applet's code in `ListDataEventDemo.java`. You will also need two image files.

> Here's the code from the applet that registers a list data listener on the list model and implements the listener:

> >     //...where member variables are declared...
> >     private DefaultListModel listModel;
> >     ...
> >     //Create and populate the list model
> >     listModel = new DefaultListModel();
> >     ...
> >     listModel.addListDataListener(new MyListDataListener());

> >     class MyListDataListener implements ListDataListener {
> >         public void contentsChanged(ListDataEvent e) {
> >             log.append("contentsChanged: " + e.getIndex0() +
> >     	           ", " + e.getIndex1() + newline);
> >         }
> >         public void intervalAdded(ListDataEvent e) {
> >             log.append("intervalAdded: " + e.getIndex0() +
> >     	           ", " + e.getIndex1() + newline);
> >         }
> >         public void intervalRemoved(ListDataEvent e) {
> >             log.append("intervalRemoved: " + e.getIndex0() +
> >     	           ", " + e.getIndex1() + newline);
> >         }
> >     }

### The List Data Event API

> The `ListDataListener` interface contains these three methods:
> `void intervalAdded(ListDataEvent)`
>   Called when one or more items have been added to the list.
> `void intervalRemoved(ListDataEvent)`
>   Called when one or more items ahve been removed from the list.
> `void contentsChanged(ListDataEvent)`
>   Called when the contents of one or more items in the list have changed.
> Each list selection event method has a single parameter: a `ListDataEvent` object. To get the source of a `ListDataEvent`, use the `getSource` method, which `ListDataEvent` inherits from `EventObject`.

> The `ListDataEvent` class defines the following handy methods:

> `int getIndex0()`
>   Returns the index of the first item whose value has changed.
> `int getIndex1()`
>   Returns the index of the last item whose value has changed.

### Examples that Use List Data Listeners

> The following table lists the examples that use list data listeners.

> Example | Where Described | Notes
> --- | --- | ---
> `ListDataEventDemo` | This section | Reports all list data events that occur on a list.

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