SwingUtilities.invokeLater: When Should I Use It and How?

SwingUtilities.invokeLater: When and How to Use

When working with Swing GUI components, it's essential to understand the purpose and usage of SwingUtilities .invokeLater. This method plays a crucial role in managing GUI updates on the Event Dispatch Thread (EDT).

When to Use SwingUtilities.invokeLater

invokeLater is necessary when you need to update GUI components from threads other than the EDT. The EDT is responsible for processing User interface events such as mouse clicks and key presses. Therefore, if modifications are made to the GUI from other threads, these updates need to be scheduled to be performed on the EDT.

How to use SwingUtilities.invokeLater

In order to schedule GUI on EDT Update, you can use the following syntax:

SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
  @Override
  public void run() {
    // GUI update code
  }
});

Alternatives

SwingUtilities.invokeLater is not the only method for scheduling GUI updates on the EDT. Other alternatives include:

• SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait - Similar to invokeLater, but blocks the calling thread until the GUI update is complete.
• Callable.invokeLater and Runnable.invokeLater - Added in Java 9 and 10, respectively, these methods simplifyinvokeLaterby providing more concise lambda syntax.

It's important to note that while these methods can eliminate some "seemingly unnecessary code," they still serve the fundamental purpose of ensuring that GUI updates are performed safely on the EDT.

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