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So currently I am attempting to make my first simple game in Java and I have begun dealing with GUI's. I've already planned exactly how I want the UI to look but I haven't really spent much time dealing with GUI's in java so I am a little lost. I don't understand if the GUI should be a separate entity from the logic or built in the same class. For example: I have a card class which holds a color and a value but is it better to code a separate class for only displaying and using the graphic to represent the card where its action listeners use the logic of my actual object Card class? Or do I just code both the GUI and the Logic into one class because then I have to extend JComponent and what not to my original card class.

Also I am really confused on how a professional looking GUI would look like coding wise? Like the game League of Legends the client was coded in Java and the Frame isn't even the native Windows frame. Are the buttons and frames and what not all custom pictures coded to be like buttons or are the components extending JComponent, etc? I know a lot about the logic of programming java as I am in AP Computer Science but the class is really basic for GUI's for what I would like to accomplish and I can't find anywhere on Google to learn professional techniques and practices.

I currently use the Netbeans IDE

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    Read, read, read. And practice a lot. Commented Feb 28, 2012 at 4:08
  • A really good place to start would be the Java tutorials that oracle has posted. They generally contain examples as well as notes about how best to use the components: docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/components Commented Feb 28, 2012 at 4:12
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    Look into MVC (model view controller). You should strive for separation of concerns- each class should perform one purpose. Commented Feb 28, 2012 at 4:12

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You will learn a lot through experience.

Many of the most advanced interfaces don't even look like Java anymore. At least the top level extends JComponent, but the buttons don't necessarily have to. The main application can use custom paint methods for custom appearances or other libraries to display 3-D images. Once you have experience using many of the different components and libraries, you'll start to see how they can all go together to form a cohesive application.

To address your object model questions, definitely have separate classes from your objects to display them. One object can ultimately be used by different parts of your application, transmitted over networks, displayed on screens, sent as text, or any number of different things. If you tried to put all of this code into your object model, it would be a total mess.

Try to build common-sense methods on your objects. Think about what sorts of methods, questions, properties would be used by all of the different parts of your application when interacting with these objects. Anything that's one-off and is only useful in one place, don't put it in your main object classes.

Also, remember, you can always move functionality. Using a good IDE like Eclipse makes it easy to pull up or push down methods, properties, and other parts of a class into a superclass or subclass. If you write some functionality dealing with an object, put it in the module that's using it. When you need that same functionality in another module, move it to your object model so it can be shared. It's easy to do with the right tools.

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Echoing the above - subclass everything you use from the framework. Even if its to allow you to override something long in the future. In real-life, you're not writing throwaway code, you're writing something you'll have to support in the future.
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If you are doing a AWT or Swing GUI I would recommend using an IDE like Netbeans which has a built-in GUI builder for AWT and Swing. Whether or not you want to use it, it can help you learn one way to structure your GUI.

As commentors mentioned tutorials are also very good, although I personally find books to be much easier to read than online tutorials.

Also the code completion is really useful for reading Java Docs and learning what possible methods each class has.

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I am currently using Netbeans but due to learning purposes I would prefer to hardcode mostly everything to understand images and what not. It's really more of a how should i structure my programming with GUI's to resemble professional programs.
@Rendition I'm just saying the generated code can be a reference of one way to do this feel free to do it yourself if you can do it better. In fact I encourage you to do it yourself! Just a suggestion if you're truly lost.
I'd stay away from GUI builders and learn the language. I could probably whip up a GUI that's more functional and accurate to a design than any story-boarding GUI builder could generate.
@Chris just a starting point; merely happens to be the one I used first (I actually analyzed the format and replicated it by hand in my distaste for WYSIWYG, but I did end up using it in some capacity).
@Chris yes, I agree, but it is nevertheless a starting point. Of sorts.
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First of all,You should have a clear concept about Java. I would like to recommend you to use Swing and IDE NetBeans. You will find good GUI related tutorial on NetBeans website and youtube.Hope that will help you a lot.

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