Just finished my first GUI program (a planner application) ... could you give me feedback?

[Sebastion Hill]

Since I'm not in any kind of java programming class I can't really get graded on my projects to see if I did things well or not. I was hoping you, the community, could help me out and give me a grade and feedback on my application.

I'm still new to OO so I probably could have done a few things differently in regards to being more efficient with my coding. I also have a few runtime errors that don't really affect my program but I'd like to understand why they are there and how I can fix them.

If you wouldn't mind reposting bits of code with suggestions/improvement/comments/etc. that would be great so that I can visually see what you are talking about. I often have to write down my thoughts since I am not very adept at seeing code in my head like most people on the forum. Thanks in advance :-)

   /* 
  * PlannerApp2.java 
  */  
   
 import java.awt.*;  
 import java.awt.event.*;  
 import javax.swing.*;  
 import java.util.*;  
 import java.text.*;  
 import java.io.*;  
   
   
 public class PlannerApp2 {  
   
     JTabbedPane optionsPane;  
     JTabbedPane listPane;  
   
     JLabel titleLabel;  
     JLabel descriptionLabel;  
     JLabel importantLabel;  
     JLabel urgentLabel;  
     JLabel dueDateLabel;  
     JLabel timeLabel;  

     JLabel editTL;  
     JLabel editDL;  
     JLabel editIL;  
     JLabel editUL;  
     JLabel editDDL;  
     JLabel editDTL;  
   
     JTextField titleText;  
     JTextField descriptionText;  
     JRadioButton radioYesImportant;  
     JRadioButton radioNoImportant;  
     JRadioButton radioImportant;  
     JRadioButton radioYesUrgent;  
     JRadioButton radioNoUrgent;  
     JRadioButton radioUrgent;  
     JSpinner dateSpinner;  
     JSpinner timeSpinner;  
     ButtonGroup buttonGroupA;  
     ButtonGroup buttonGroupB;

     JTextField editTT;  
     JTextField editDT;  
     JRadioButton editRYI;  
     JRadioButton editRNI;  
     JRadioButton editRI;  
     JRadioButton editRYU;  
     JRadioButton editRNU;  
     JRadioButton editRU;  
     JSpinner editDS;  
     JSpinner editTS;  
     ButtonGroup editBGA;  
     ButtonGroup editBGB;
  
     boolean isButtonSelected = false;  //delete later
     boolean isGroupClear = true;  //delete later
     JButton saveButton;
     JButton saveChangesButton;
     JButton cancelChangesButton;  
     int buttonClicks = 0;  

     java.util.List<JTextPane> customTextPane = new ArrayList<JTextPane>();
     java.util.List<Activity> priority = new ArrayList<Activity>();
     
     boolean isEditable = false;  
     Object dateValue;  
     Object timeValue;  
     Object editDV;  
     Object editTV; 
 
   //new inner class that implements comparator
   class PriorityandDateCompare implements Comparator<Activity> {
	public int compare(Activity one, Activity two) {
	  int pc1 = one.getPriorityCode();
	  int pc2 = two.getPriorityCode();
	  if(pc1 < pc2) return -1;
	  if(pc2 < pc1) return 1;
	  return one.getActivityDueDate().getTime().compareTo(two.getActivityDueDate().getTime());
	}
   } 

   class ActivityInfo {

	JPanel createPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout()); //goes in the 'Create New Activity' tab under the optionsPane 
	JPanel topPanel;
	JPanel middlePanel;
	JPanel bottomPanel;

	void setUp() { 
	createPanel.setBackground(Color.blue);  
   
	//stuff that goes in the top panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
	topPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
	GridBagConstraints a = new GridBagConstraints();  
	topPanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	a.gridx = 0;  
	a.gridy = 0;  
	a.gridwidth = 3;  
	a.gridheight = 3;  
	a.weightx = 1;  
	a.weighty = 1;  
	a.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	createPanel.add(topPanel,a);  
	
	titleLabel = new JLabel("Title:");  
	GridBagConstraints a00 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a00.gridx = 0;  
	a00.gridy = 0;  
	a00.weightx = 1;  
	a00.weighty = 1;  
	a00.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a00.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	topPanel.add(titleLabel, a00);  

	descriptionLabel = new JLabel("Description:");  
	GridBagConstraints a01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a01.gridx = 0;  
	a01.gridy = 1;  
	a01.weightx = 1;  
	a01.weighty = 1;  
	a01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	topPanel.add(descriptionLabel, a01);  

	importantLabel = new JLabel("Important:");  
	GridBagConstraints a02 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a02.gridx = 0;  
	a02.gridy = 2;  
	a02.weightx = 1;  
	a02.weighty = 1;  
	a02.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a02.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;  
	topPanel.add(importantLabel, a02);  

	titleText = new JTextField();  
	titleText.setColumns(10);  
	GridBagConstraints a10 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a10.gridx = 1;  
	a10.gridy = 0;  
	a10.gridwidth = 2;  
	a10.weightx = 1;  
	a10.weighty = 1;  
	a10.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a10.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_START;  
	topPanel.add(titleText, a10);  

	descriptionText = new JTextField();  
	descriptionText.setColumns(10);  
	GridBagConstraints a11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a11.gridx = 1;  
	a11.gridy = 1;  
	a11.gridwidth = 2;  
	a11.weightx = 1;  
	a11.weighty = 1;  
	a11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;  
	topPanel.add(descriptionText, a11);  

	buttonGroupA = new ButtonGroup();  
	radioImportant = new JRadioButton();  
	buttonGroupA.add(radioImportant);  
	
	radioYesImportant = new JRadioButton("Yes");  
	radioYesImportant.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints a12 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a12.gridx = 1;  
	a12.gridy = 2;  
	a12.gridwidth = 1;  
	a12.weightx = 1;  
	a12.weighty = 1;  
	a12.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a12.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_END;  
	buttonGroupA.add(radioYesImportant);  
	topPanel.add(radioYesImportant, a12);  

	radioNoImportant = new JRadioButton("No");  
	radioNoImportant.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints a22 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a22.gridx = 2;  
	a22.gridy = 2;  
	a22.gridwidth = 1;  
	a22.weightx = 1;  
	a22.weighty = 1;  
	a22.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a22.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_END;  
	buttonGroupA.add(radioNoImportant);  
	topPanel.add(radioNoImportant, a22);      

	titleLabel.setLabelFor(titleText);  
	descriptionLabel.setLabelFor(descriptionText);  
	importantLabel.setLabelFor(radioYesImportant);  
	
	//stuff that goes in the middle panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
	middlePanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
	GridBagConstraints b = new GridBagConstraints();  
	middlePanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	b.gridx = 0;  
	b.gridy = 3;  
	b.gridwidth = 3;  
	b.gridheight = 3;  
	b.weightx = 1;  
	b.weighty = 1;  
	b.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	createPanel.add(middlePanel,b);  

	urgentLabel = new JLabel("Urgent:");  
	GridBagConstraints b00 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b00.gridx = 0;  
	b00.gridy = 0;  
	b00.weightx = 1;  
	b00.weighty = 1;  
	b00.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b00.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	middlePanel.add(urgentLabel, b00);  

	dueDateLabel = new JLabel("Due Date:");  
	GridBagConstraints b01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b01.gridx = 0;  
	b01.gridy = 1;  
	b01.weightx = 1;  
	b01.weighty = 1;  
	b01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	middlePanel.add(dueDateLabel, b01);  

	timeLabel = new JLabel("Complete By:");  
	GridBagConstraints b02 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b02.gridx = 0;  
	b02.gridy = 2;  
	b02.weightx = 1;  
	b02.weighty = 1;  
	b02.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b02.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;  
	middlePanel.add(timeLabel, b02);  
	
	buttonGroupB = new ButtonGroup();  
	radioUrgent = new JRadioButton();  
	buttonGroupB.add(radioUrgent);  

	radioYesUrgent = new JRadioButton("Yes");  
	radioYesUrgent.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints b10 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b10.gridx = 1;  
	b10.gridy = 0;  
	b10.gridwidth = 1;  
	b10.weightx = 1;  
	b10.weighty = 1;  
	b10.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b10.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_START;  
	buttonGroupB.add(radioYesUrgent);  
	middlePanel.add(radioYesUrgent, b10);  

	radioNoUrgent = new JRadioButton("No");  
	radioNoUrgent.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints b20 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b20.gridx = 2;  
	b20.gridy = 0;  
	b20.gridwidth = 1;  
	b20.weightx = 1;  
	b20.weighty = 1;  
	b20.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b20.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_END;  
	buttonGroupB.add(radioNoUrgent);  
	middlePanel.add(radioNoUrgent, b20);      

	//Date and Time Spinners  

	Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();  
	Date initialDate = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
	Date earliestDate = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, 200);  
	Date latestDate = calendar.getTime();  
	SpinnerDateModel dateModel = new SpinnerDateModel(initialDate, //initial date  
                               earliestDate, //minimum date  
                               latestDate,  //maximum date  
                               Calendar.YEAR);  
	dateSpinner = new JSpinner(dateModel);  
	dateSpinner.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(dateSpinner, "MM/dd/yyyy"));  
	dateValue = dateSpinner.getValue();  
	GridBagConstraints b11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b11.gridx = 1;  
	b11.gridy = 1;  
	b11.gridwidth = 2;  
	b11.weightx = 1;  
	b11.weighty = 1;  
	b11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;  
	middlePanel.add(dateSpinner, b11);  
	
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
	Date initialTime = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
	Date earliestTime = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, 200);  
	Date latestTime = calendar.getTime();  
	SpinnerDateModel timeModel = new SpinnerDateModel(initialTime, //initial date  
                               earliestTime, //minimum date  
                               latestTime,  //maximum date  
                               Calendar.YEAR);  
	timeSpinner = new JSpinner(timeModel);  
	timeSpinner.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(timeSpinner, "hh:mm aa"));  
	timeValue = timeSpinner.getValue();  
	GridBagConstraints b12 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b12.gridx = 1;  
	b12.gridy = 2;  
	b12.gridwidth = 2;  
	b12.weightx = 1;  
	b12.weighty = 1;  
	b12.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b12.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_END;  
	middlePanel.add(timeSpinner, b12);  

	urgentLabel.setLabelFor(radioYesUrgent);  
	dueDateLabel.setLabelFor(dateSpinner);  
	timeLabel.setLabelFor(timeSpinner);  

	//stuff that goes in the bottom panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
	bottomPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
	GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();  
	bottomPanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	c.gridx = 0;  
	c.gridy = 6;  
	c.gridwidth = 3;  
	c.gridheight = 3;  
	c.weightx = 1;  
	c.weighty = 1;  
	c.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	c.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	createPanel.add(bottomPanel,c);  
	}

	void addButton(JButton buttonOne) {
	GridBagConstraints c01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	c01.gridx = 0;  
	c01.gridy = 1;  
	c01.gridwidth = 1;  
	c01.gridheight = 2;  
	c01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	c01.insets = new Insets(5,10,5,10);  
	c01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	c01.weightx = 1;  
	c01.weighty = 1;  
	bottomPanel.add(buttonOne, c01);  
	}

	void addSecondButton(JButton buttonTwo) {
	GridBagConstraints c11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	c11.gridx = 1;  
	c11.gridy = 1;  
	c11.gridwidth = 1;  
	c11.gridheight = 2;  
	c11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	c11.insets = new Insets(5,10,5,10);  
	c11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	c11.weightx = 1;  
	c11.weighty = 1;  
	bottomPanel.add(buttonTwo, c11);  
	}

	JPanel getPanel() {
	return createPanel;
	}
   }
 
   class ActivityTab {

	private String atTitle;
	private String atDescription;
	private boolean atIsImportant;
	private boolean atIsUrgent;
	private int atPriorityCode;
	private Calendar atDueDate;
	private String pText;
	private boolean isEditable = false;
	private String tabTitle;
	private Object atDateValue;
	private Object atTimeValue;
	private long atID;

	private JPanel atPanel;
	private JTextPane atText;
	private JScrollPane scrollPane;
	JButton completeButton;
	JButton editButton;
	JButton deleteButton;

	void setupTab(Activity a) {
		//setup activity info inside tab
		atTitle = a.getActivityName();
		atDescription = a.getActivityDescription();
		atIsImportant = a.getActivityImportance();
		atIsUrgent = a.getActivityUrgency();
		atPriorityCode = a.getPriorityCode();
		atDueDate = a.getActivityDueDate();
		atDateValue = a.getActivityDateValue();
		atTimeValue = a.getActivityTimeValue();
		atID = a.getActivityID();
		
		//setup actual tab
		atPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
		GridBagConstraints main = new GridBagConstraints();
		main.gridx = 3;
		main.gridy = 10;
		atText = new JTextPane();
		pText = String.format("%s%n%nComplete by:%n%2$tB %2$te, %2$tY at %2$tl:%2$tM %2$tp",
				      atDescription,atDueDate);
		atText.setText(pText);
		atText.setEditable(isEditable);
		atText.revalidate();
		if (atTitle.length() > 9) {
		   tabTitle = String.format("%s...", atTitle.substring(0,8));
                	} else {
	                tabTitle = atTitle;
                	}
		scrollPane = new JScrollPane(atText, JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED, JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);
		scrollPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,100));
		atText.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,100));
		
		GridBagConstraints p = new GridBagConstraints();
		p.gridx = 0;
		p.gridy = 0;
		p.gridwidth = 3;
		p.gridheight = 7;
		p.weightx = 100;
		p.weighty = 100;
		p.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
		p.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;
		atPanel.add(scrollPane,p);

		completeButton = new JButton("Completed");
		GridBagConstraints cB = new GridBagConstraints();
		cB.gridx = 0;
		cB.gridy = 7;
		cB.gridwidth = 1;
		cB.gridheight = 1;
		cB.weightx = 1;
		cB.weighty = 1;
		cB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
		cB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
		atPanel.add(completeButton,cB);

		editButton = new JButton("Edit");
		GridBagConstraints eB = new GridBagConstraints();
		eB.gridx = 0;
		eB.gridy = 8;
		eB.gridwidth = 1;
		eB.gridheight = 1;
		eB.weightx = 1;
		eB.weighty = 1;
		eB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
		eB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;
		atPanel.add(editButton,eB);	

		deleteButton = new JButton("Delete");
		GridBagConstraints dB = new GridBagConstraints();
		dB.gridx = 0;
		dB.gridy = 9;
		dB.gridwidth = 1;
		dB.gridheight = 1;
		dB.weightx = 1;
		dB.weighty = 1;
		dB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
		dB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;
		atPanel.add(deleteButton,dB);

		completeButton.addActionListener(new CompleteButtonListener());
		editButton.addActionListener(new EditButtonListener());
		deleteButton.addActionListener(new DeleteButtonListener());
	}

	JPanel getTab() {
		return atPanel;
	}

	String getTitle() {
		return tabTitle;
	}

	String getTip() {
		return atTitle;
	}

	Calendar getDueDate() {
		return atDueDate;
	}

   class CompleteButtonListener implements ActionListener {  
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { 
	//later we'll send this information to a file to see your completed tasks but for now we'll just delete
	JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Pretend to send to a completed tasks file");
	deleteTabIndex(atID);
	saveActivities();
     }
   }

   class DeleteButtonListener implements ActionListener {  
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { 

	JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,atTitle);
	deleteTabIndex(atID);
	saveActivities();
     }
   }

   class EditButtonListener implements ActionListener { 
	long currentID;
	JFrame f;
 
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {  
	currentID = atID;
	EditActivityInfo edit = new EditActivityInfo();
	edit.setUp();
	saveChangesButton = new JButton(" Save ");
	saveChangesButton.addActionListener(new SaveChangesButtonListener());
	edit.addButton(saveChangesButton);
	cancelChangesButton = new JButton("Cancel");
	cancelChangesButton.addActionListener(new CancelChangesButtonListener());
	edit.addSecondButton(cancelChangesButton);
	edit.setTitle(atTitle);
	edit.setDescription(atDescription);
	edit.setImportance(atIsImportant);
	edit.setUrgency(atIsUrgent);
	edit.setDueDate(atDateValue);
	edit.setDueTime(atTimeValue);
	f = new JFrame("Frame Title");
	f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
	f.setSize(210, 240);
	f.setLocation(1,1);
	f.add(edit.getPanel());
	f.setVisible(true);
	f.requestFocus();
     }

   class SaveChangesButtonListener extends ButtonListener {  
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { 	
	if ((editRYI.isSelected() || editRNI.isSelected())  
			&& (editRYU.isSelected() || editRNU.isSelected())) {  
		deleteTabIndex(currentID);

		//setup date   
		Date dS = (Date) editDS.getValue();  
		Date tS= (Date) editTS.getValue();
		Calendar editDueDate = Calendar.getInstance();  
		String dateLine = String.format("%1$tm/%1$td/%1$tY %2$tl:%2$tM %2$Tp",dS,tS);  
		SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa");  
		try {  
			Date date = sdf.parse(dateLine);  
			editDueDate.setTime(date);  
		} catch (ParseException dateE) {  
			System.out.format("oops!");  
		}         

		//collect important info and make an activity object  
		Activity activity = new Activity();  
		activity.setActivityName(editTT.getText());  
		activity.setActivityDescription(editDT.getText());  
		activity.setActivityImportance(editRYI.isSelected());  
		activity.setActivityUrgency(editRYU.isSelected());  
		activity.setPriorityCode(editRYI.isSelected(),editRYU.isSelected());  
		activity.setActivityDueDate(editDueDate);
		activity.setActivityDateValue(editDS.getValue());
		activity.setActivityTimeValue(editTS.getValue());
		activity.setActivityID(System.currentTimeMillis());
		priority.add(activity);
		saveActivities();

		//call ActivityTab object  
		final ActivityTab tab = new ActivityTab();  
		tab.setupTab(activity);  
		listPane.insertTab(tab.getTitle(),null,tab.getTab(),tab.getTip(),tabIndex(activity));

		//need to exit frame
		f.dispose();
	} //end of if
      } //end of action performed
   } //end of SaveChanges

   class CancelChangesButtonListener implements ActionListener {  
      public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { 	
	f.dispose(); //take no action other than closing the frame
      } 
   } //end of CancelChanges

   } //end of class EditButton 

  } //end of class ActivityTab

class EditActivityInfo {

	JPanel editPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout()); //goes in the 'Create New Activity' tab under the optionsPane 
	JPanel editTP;
	JPanel editMP;
	JPanel editBP;

	void setUp() { 
	editPanel.setBackground(Color.blue);  
   
	//stuff that goes in the top panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
	editTP = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
	GridBagConstraints a = new GridBagConstraints();  
	editTP.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	a.gridx = 0;  
	a.gridy = 0;  
	a.gridwidth = 3;  
	a.gridheight = 3;  
	a.weightx = 1;  
	a.weighty = 1;  
	a.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	editPanel.add(editTP,a);  
	
	editTL = new JLabel("Title:");  
	GridBagConstraints a00 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a00.gridx = 0;  
	a00.gridy = 0;  
	a00.weightx = 1;  
	a00.weighty = 1;  
	a00.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a00.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	editTP.add(editTL, a00);  

	editDL = new JLabel("Description:");  
	GridBagConstraints a01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a01.gridx = 0;  
	a01.gridy = 1;  
	a01.weightx = 1;  
	a01.weighty = 1;  
	a01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	editTP.add(editDL, a01);  

	editIL = new JLabel("Important:");  
	GridBagConstraints a02 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a02.gridx = 0;  
	a02.gridy = 2;  
	a02.weightx = 1;  
	a02.weighty = 1;  
	a02.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a02.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;  
	editTP.add(editIL, a02);  

	editTT = new JTextField();  
	editTT.setColumns(10);  
	GridBagConstraints a10 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a10.gridx = 1;  
	a10.gridy = 0;  
	a10.gridwidth = 2;  
	a10.weightx = 1;  
	a10.weighty = 1;  
	a10.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a10.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_START;  
	editTP.add(editTT, a10);  

	editDT = new JTextField();  
	editDT.setColumns(10);  
	GridBagConstraints a11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a11.gridx = 1;  
	a11.gridy = 1;  
	a11.gridwidth = 2;  
	a11.weightx = 1;  
	a11.weighty = 1;  
	a11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;  
	editTP.add(editDT, a11);  

	editBGA = new ButtonGroup();  
	editRI = new JRadioButton();  
	editBGA.add(editRI);  
	
	editRYI = new JRadioButton("Yes");  
	editRYI.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints a12 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a12.gridx = 1;  
	a12.gridy = 2;  
	a12.gridwidth = 1;  
	a12.weightx = 1;  
	a12.weighty = 1;  
	a12.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a12.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_END;  
	editBGA.add(editRYI);  
	editTP.add(editRYI, a12);  

	editRNI = new JRadioButton("No");  
	editRNI.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints a22 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	a22.gridx = 2;  
	a22.gridy = 2;  
	a22.gridwidth = 1;  
	a22.weightx = 1;  
	a22.weighty = 1;  
	a22.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	a22.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_END;  
	editBGA.add(editRNI);  
	editTP.add(editRNI, a22);      

	editTL.setLabelFor(editTT);  
	editDL.setLabelFor(editDT);  
	editIL.setLabelFor(editRYI);  
	
	//stuff that goes in the middle panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
	editMP = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
	GridBagConstraints b = new GridBagConstraints();  
	editMP.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	b.gridx = 0;  
	b.gridy = 3;  
	b.gridwidth = 3;  
	b.gridheight = 3;  
	b.weightx = 1;  
	b.weighty = 1;  
	b.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	editPanel.add(editMP,b);  

	editUL = new JLabel("Urgent:");  
	GridBagConstraints b00 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b00.gridx = 0;  
	b00.gridy = 0;  
	b00.weightx = 1;  
	b00.weighty = 1;  
	b00.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b00.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	editMP.add(editUL, b00);  

	editDDL = new JLabel("Due Date:");  
	GridBagConstraints b01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b01.gridx = 0;  
	b01.gridy = 1;  
	b01.weightx = 1;  
	b01.weighty = 1;  
	b01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	editMP.add(editDDL, b01);  

	editDTL = new JLabel("Complete By:");  
	GridBagConstraints b02 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b02.gridx = 0;  
	b02.gridy = 2;  
	b02.weightx = 1;  
	b02.weighty = 1;  
	b02.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b02.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;  
	editMP.add(editDTL, b02);  
	
	editBGB = new ButtonGroup();  
	editRU = new JRadioButton();  
	editBGB.add(editRU);  

	editRYU = new JRadioButton("Yes");  
	editRYU.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints b10 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b10.gridx = 1;  
	b10.gridy = 0;  
	b10.gridwidth = 1;  
	b10.weightx = 1;  
	b10.weighty = 1;  
	b10.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b10.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_START;  
	editBGB.add(editRYU);  
	editMP.add(editRYU, b10);  

	editRNU = new JRadioButton("No");  
	editRNU.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	GridBagConstraints b20 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b20.gridx = 2;  
	b20.gridy = 0;  
	b20.gridwidth = 1;  
	b20.weightx = 1;  
	b20.weighty = 1;  
	b20.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b20.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_END;  
	editBGB.add(editRNU);  
	editMP.add(editRNU, b20);      

	//Date and Time Spinners  

	Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();  
	Date initialDate = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
	Date earliestDate = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, 200);  
	Date latestDate = calendar.getTime();  
	SpinnerDateModel dateModel = new SpinnerDateModel(initialDate, //initial date  
                               earliestDate, //minimum date  
                               latestDate,  //maximum date  
                               Calendar.YEAR);  
	editDS = new JSpinner(dateModel);  
	editDS.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(editDS, "MM/dd/yyyy"));  
	editDV = editDS.getValue();  
	GridBagConstraints b11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b11.gridx = 1;  
	b11.gridy = 1;  
	b11.gridwidth = 2;  
	b11.weightx = 1;  
	b11.weighty = 1;  
	b11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;  
	editMP.add(editDS, b11);  
	
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
	Date initialTime = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
	Date earliestTime = calendar.getTime();  
	calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, 200);  
	Date latestTime = calendar.getTime();  
	SpinnerDateModel timeModel = new SpinnerDateModel(initialTime, //initial date  
                               earliestTime, //minimum date  
                               latestTime,  //maximum date  
                               Calendar.YEAR);  
	editTS = new JSpinner(timeModel);  
	editTS.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(editTS, "hh:mm aa"));  
	editTV = editTS.getValue();  
	GridBagConstraints b12 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	b12.gridx = 1;  
	b12.gridy = 2;  
	b12.gridwidth = 2;  
	b12.weightx = 1;  
	b12.weighty = 1;  
	b12.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	b12.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_END;  
	editMP.add(editTS, b12);  

	editUL.setLabelFor(editRYU);  
	editDDL.setLabelFor(editDS);  
	editTL.setLabelFor(editTS);  

	//stuff that goes in the bottom panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
	editBP = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
	GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();  
	editBP.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
	c.gridx = 0;  
	c.gridy = 6;  
	c.gridwidth = 3;  
	c.gridheight = 3;  
	c.weightx = 1;  
	c.weighty = 1;  
	c.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	c.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
	editPanel.add(editBP,c);  
	}

	void addButton(JButton buttonOne) {
	GridBagConstraints c01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	c01.gridx = 0;  
	c01.gridy = 1;  
	c01.gridwidth = 1;  
	c01.gridheight = 2;  
	c01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	c01.insets = new Insets(5,10,5,10);  
	c01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	c01.weightx = 1;  
	c01.weighty = 1;  
	editBP.add(buttonOne, c01);  
	}

	void addSecondButton(JButton buttonTwo) {
	GridBagConstraints c11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
	c11.gridx = 1;  
	c11.gridy = 1;  
	c11.gridwidth = 1;  
	c11.gridheight = 2;  
	c11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
	c11.insets = new Insets(5,10,5,10);  
	c11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
	c11.weightx = 1;  
	c11.weighty = 1;  
	editBP.add(buttonTwo, c11);  
	}

	JPanel getPanel() {
	return editPanel;
	}

	void setTitle(String newTitle) {
	editTT.setText(newTitle);
	}

	void setDescription(String newDescription) {
	editDT.setText(newDescription);
	}

	void setImportance(boolean newIsImportant) {
	   if (newIsImportant) {
	   editRYI.setSelected(true);
	   } else {
	   editRNI.setSelected(true);
	   }
	}

	void setUrgency(boolean newIsUrgent) {
	   if (newIsUrgent) {
	   editRYU.setSelected(true);
	   } else {
	   editRNU.setSelected(true);
	   }
	}

	void setDueDate(Object newDueDate) {
	editDS.setValue(newDueDate);
	}

	void setDueTime(Object newDueTime) {
	editTS.setValue(newDueTime);
	}
   }

     public void addComponentToPane(Container pane) {  
   
	optionsPane = new JTabbedPane();//Main tabs at the top  
	listPane = new JTabbedPane();//goes in the 'List of Current Activities' tab under the optionsPane  
	listPane.setTabPlacement(JTabbedPane.LEFT);//secondary tabs, going up and down on the left hand side
	  
	ActivityInfo activityInfo = new ActivityInfo();
	activityInfo.setUp();
	saveButton = new JButton(" Save ");
	saveButton.addActionListener(new ButtonListener());
	activityInfo.addButton(saveButton);

	//adding the two main options to the tabs at the top  
	optionsPane.addTab("List of Current Activities", listPane);  
	optionsPane.addTab("Create New Activity", activityInfo.getPanel());  

	//put code to load previous ActivityTabs that have been saved
	Activity activityRestore = new Activity();
	             try {
	               ObjectInputStream is = new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream("Priorities.ser"));
	               if (is == null) {
	                 //do nothing
	               } else {
	                 try {
	                   while (is != null) {
	                     activityRestore = (Activity) is.readObject();
	                     priority.add(activityRestore);
		     //call ActivityTab object  
		     final ActivityTab tab = new ActivityTab();  	
		     tab.setupTab(activityRestore);  
		     listPane.insertTab(tab.getTitle(),null,tab.getTab(),tab.getTip(),tabIndex(activityRestore));
	                   }
	                 } catch (EOFException ex) {
	                     JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"End of File error I don't really understand");
	                 }
	               }
	             } catch (Exception ex) {
	               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Error from lack of .ser file");
	             }   	

	//puts the main optionsPane in    
	pane.add(optionsPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
     }  
   
   class ButtonListener implements ActionListener {  
   
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {  
   
	if ((radioYesImportant.isSelected() || radioNoImportant.isSelected())  
			&& (radioYesUrgent.isSelected() || radioNoUrgent.isSelected())) {  
		//setup date   
		Date dS = (Date) dateSpinner.getValue();  
		Date tS= (Date) timeSpinner.getValue();
		Calendar dueDate = Calendar.getInstance();  
		String dateLine = String.format("%1$tm/%1$td/%1$tY %2$tl:%2$tM %2$Tp",dS,tS);  
		SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa");  
		try {  
			Date date = sdf.parse(dateLine);  
			dueDate.setTime(date);  
		} catch (ParseException dateE) {  
			System.out.format("oops!");  
		}         

		//collect important info and make an activity object  
		Activity activity = new Activity();  
		activity.setActivityName(titleText.getText());  
		activity.setActivityDescription(descriptionText.getText());  
		activity.setActivityImportance(radioYesImportant.isSelected());  
		activity.setActivityUrgency(radioYesUrgent.isSelected());  
		activity.setPriorityCode(radioYesImportant.isSelected(),radioYesUrgent.isSelected());  
		activity.setActivityDueDate(dueDate);
		activity.setActivityDateValue(dateSpinner.getValue());
		activity.setActivityTimeValue(timeSpinner.getValue());
		activity.setActivityID(System.currentTimeMillis());
		priority.add(activity);
		saveActivities();

		//call ActivityTab object  
		final ActivityTab tab = new ActivityTab();  
		tab.setupTab(activity);  
		listPane.insertTab(tab.getTitle(),null,tab.getTab(),tab.getTip(),tabIndex(activity));

		//clear fields  
		titleText.setText("");  
		descriptionText.setText("");  
		radioImportant.setSelected(isGroupClear);  
		radioUrgent.setSelected(isGroupClear);  
		dateSpinner.setValue(dateValue);  
		timeSpinner.setValue(timeValue);  
	}  
   
     }  
   }  

     public int tabIndex(Activity index) {
	PriorityandDateCompare dateCompare = new PriorityandDateCompare();
	Collections.sort(priority, dateCompare); 
	int idx = priority.indexOf(index);
	return idx;
     }

     public void deleteTabIndex(long iD) {
	int idx = -1;
	PriorityandDateCompare dateCompare = new PriorityandDateCompare();
	Collections.sort(priority, dateCompare);
	for (Activity match : priority) {
	  if (match.getActivityID() == iD) {
	    idx = priority.indexOf(match);
	    priority.remove(match); //make sure to delete the activity from the arraylist as well
	    break;    	
	  }
	} 
	if (idx != -1) {
	listPane.remove(idx);//remove the tab
	}
     }

      public void saveActivities() {
             try {
                ObjectOutputStream os = new ObjectOutputStream(new FileOutputStream("Priorities.ser"));
                  if (priority.isEmpty()) {
	       JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"There are no activities listed and therefore nothing will be saved.");
                       os.writeObject(priority);
                       os.close();
                  } else {
                       for (Activity saveActivities : priority) {
                       os.writeObject(saveActivities);
                       }
                       os.close();
                  }                 
             } catch (IOException ex) {
                 JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Error");
             }
      }

     private static void createAndShowGUI() {  
	//Create and set up the window.  
	JFrame frame = new JFrame("PlannerApp2");  
	frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);  
	
	//Create and set up the content pane  
	PlannerApp2 demo = new PlannerApp2();  
	demo.addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane());  

	//Display the window.  
	frame.pack();  
	frame.setVisible(true);     
     }  
   
     public static void main(String[] args) {  
	try {  
		//UIManager.setLookAndFeel("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows.WindowsLookAndFeel");  
		UIManager.setLookAndFeel("javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel");  
	} catch (UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {  
		ex.printStackTrace();  
	} catch (IllegalAccessException ex) {  
		ex.printStackTrace();  
	} catch (InstantiationException ex) {  
		ex.printStackTrace();  
	} catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {  
		ex.printStackTrace();  
	}  

	UIManager.put("swing.boldMetal", Boolean.FALSE);  

	javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {  
		public void run() {  
			createAndShowGUI();  
		}  
	});  
     }  
 }    

  /**
 * The Activity class does ...
 */

import java.util.Calendar;
import java.io.*;

class Activity implements Serializable { //start of class
      
      private String activityName;
      private String activityDescription;
      private boolean activityImportance;
      private boolean activityUrgency;
      private int priorityCode;
      private Calendar activityDueDate;
      private Object activityDateValue;
      private Object activityTimeValue;
      private long activityID;
 
      String getActivityName() {
             return activityName;
      }

      void setActivityName(String anActivityName) {
             activityName = anActivityName;
      }

      String getActivityDescription() {
             return activityDescription;
      }

      void setActivityDescription(String anActivityDescription) {
             activityDescription = anActivityDescription;
      }

      boolean getActivityImportance() {
             return activityImportance;
      }

      void setActivityImportance(boolean anActivityImportance) {
             activityImportance = anActivityImportance;
      }

      boolean getActivityUrgency() {
             return activityUrgency;
      }

      void setActivityUrgency(boolean anActivityUrgency) {
             activityUrgency = anActivityUrgency;
      }

      int getPriorityCode() {
          return priorityCode;
      }

      void setPriorityCode(boolean anActivityImportance, boolean anActivityUrgency) {
             //code for determining priority code
             priorityCode = 0; // make sure it always starts off at zero
             // first check importance
             if (anActivityImportance) {
                priorityCode += 3;
             } else {
                priorityCode += 5;
             }
             // next check urgency before deciding on what to return
             if (anActivityUrgency) {
                //do nothing
             } else {
                priorityCode += 1;
             }    
             // this way there is a 3 returned for important and urgent 
             // there is a 4 returned for important but not urgent
             // there is a 5 returned for not important but urgent
             // there is a 6 returned for not important and not urgent
      }

      Calendar getActivityDueDate() {
             return activityDueDate;
      }
      
      void setActivityDueDate(Calendar anActivityDueDate) {
             activityDueDate = anActivityDueDate;
      }
      
      Object getActivityDateValue() {
             return activityDateValue;
      }

      void setActivityDateValue(Object anActivityDateValue) {
             activityDateValue = anActivityDateValue;
      }
      
      Object getActivityTimeValue() {
             return activityTimeValue;
      }

      void setActivityTimeValue(Object anActivityTimeValue) {
             activityTimeValue = anActivityTimeValue;
      }

      long getActivityID() {
             return activityID;
      }

      void setActivityID(long anActivityID) {
             activityID = anActivityID;
      }
} // end of class  

[pete stein]

This looks pretty good, and it's impressive that you're taking on a large and somewhat complex task. A couple of suggestions and points from a non-professional hobbiest, for what it's worth:

Activity.java:
* The priorityCode int field is always calculated based on two other fields, activityUrgency and activityImportance. What if the two properties that are used to calculate priority change but the setPriorityCode() accidently isn't called? What happens is that priorityCode will be out of sync with the object. To prevent this from happening, I'd not make it a field but instead a method that is calculated on the fly and only when it is needed.
* Consider having your Activity class implement the Comparable<Activity> interface and use the priorityCode and perhaps date results as the basis of the sort. <edit: I see that you are using a Comparator object for this purpose in your GUI section, good, but I'd be inclined to consider this a "natural" ordering of the class and would use Comparable on the class instead./>
* I'm a bit concerned with the two Object fields, activityDateValue and activityTimeValue. You should avoid using Object variables if possible as this goes against OOP principles of objects that are responsible for their own data and behavior. What behaviors do these entities have? Do you want to use java.util.Date or a Calendar object here instead?

PlannerApp2.java (The GUI)
* There's a lot of code there, so I can't say that I've gone through it all. Sorry.
* Kudos to you -- you're creating your GUI by hand, not via a code-generator.
* Kudos again -- you don't have your main GUI class subclass a JFrame or other GUI component.
* Bummer: you use GridBagLayout quite a bit, and I HATE GridBagLayout. I'll get over it, I suppose.
* PlannerApp2 is a very large class, perhaps too large, but I do see that a lot of it has been broken down into inner classes, which is good since divide and conquer is a very good strategy when dealing with a large and complex project. You may want to make some of these classes stand-alone and try to "de-couple" them as much as possible which is where interfaces may help. It can make debugging and enhancing easier.
* You may want to incorporate more MVC concepts in your code including getting the core model -- the list of activities -- out of the GUI and also extract out file IO as well.

Good luck and congrats on getting such a large program off the ground!
Pete

[Fred Hamilton]

I see you chose GridBagLayout for your first GUI, that certainly is a challenge, it is probably the most difficult to learn and implement, but if you can master it, it is pretty powerful. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but this page is really good for learning various layouts.

http://java.sun.com/developer/onlineTraining/GUI/AWTLayoutMgr/shortcourse.html

Also, I see you have a number of JPanels for various sections of the GUI, but it wasn't clear to me if you had one highlevel JPanel for all the 'sections', or if you laid out the sections directly in the contentPane of the JFrame. It looks like the second method, but I am not sure. One advantage of adding all the sections to a JPanel, then setting the single JPanel to the contentPane of the JFrame, is that you can just as easily add the single JPanel to a JApplet.

Anyways, if you could clarify the high level layout of your GUI, that would be helpful.

ps Pete beat me to it, looks like he is more adept than I at figuring out what is going on.

[pete stein]

Fred Hamilton wrote:Also, I see you have a number of JPanels for various sections of the GUI, but it wasn't clear to me if you had one highlevel JPanel for all the 'sections', or if you laid out the sections directly in the contentPane of the JFrame. It looks like the second method, but I am not sure. One advantage of adding all the sections to a JPanel, then setting the single JPanel to the contentPane of the JFrame, is that you can just as easily add the single JPanel to a JApplet.

Hey Fred, it looks like he's creating a JTabbedPane as the main JComponent and adding it to the contentPane via the method addComponentToPane(Container pane).

ps Pete beat me to it, looks like he is more adept than I at figuring out what is going on.

I'm certainly not sure about that, but perhaps I'm just as or more opinionated than you. ;) Good to see you.

[Sebastion Hill]

Thank you Pete and thank you Fred :-) I need to sit down and digest what you two had to say and see if I can figure out a way to address those things but I definitely appreciate your feedback and hope that I can do those things you suggested more naturally after I have programmed some more. Will be back with more questions for clarification though :-D thanks again

[Fred Hamilton]

pete stein wrote:

Fred Hamilton wrote:Also, I see you have a number of JPanels for various sections of the GUI, but it wasn't clear to me if you had one highlevel JPanel for all the 'sections', or if you laid out the sections directly in the contentPane of the JFrame. It looks like the second method, but I am not sure. One advantage of adding all the sections to a JPanel, then setting the single JPanel to the contentPane of the JFrame, is that you can just as easily add the single JPanel to a JApplet.

Hey Fred, it looks like he's creating a JTabbedPane as the main JComponent and adding it to the contentPane via the method addComponentToPane(Container pane).

ps Pete beat me to it, looks like he is more adept than I at figuring out what is going on.

I'm certainly not sure about that, but perhaps I'm just as or more opinionated than you. ;) Good to see you.

Well, I'm not too familiar with JTabbedPane, but I would imagine then that it is a single entity that houses the entire GUI, and since it is being added to the contentPane of a JPanel, that it can just as easily be added to a JApplet. Anyways, it all points to a strategy of mine, whenever practical I like my high level container class to be just a shell, for the reason I described, so I can easily drop my GUI in one piece into a JApplet.

[Rob Camick]

1) A big nitpick with me is readability of the code. One of the easiest ways to make code readable is to be consistent. Blocks of code should be indented by the same amount every time. You appear to use 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 ... or whatever you feel like.

2) I'll jump on the (anti) GridBagLayout bandwagon as well. Not so much because you used it but because it wasn't used properly. Try resizing the frame to see how the layout changes. All the text fields, spinner and buttons resize to unnatural large sizes as the frame size it increased. Layouts should grow gracefully. This generally means that text fields and spinners and buttons "should not" grow. Only components like scroll panes with tables, text areas etc should grow. By using other layout managers it will be much easier to control this.

Of course another alternative it to make popup dialogs non-resizeable, but I believe the proper design it to use the layout managers effectively first.

3) I don't think the "Create New Activity" should be a tab. Generally when you want more data from a user you use a popup dialog. Another advantage of this approach is that you only need a single form to create and/or maintain the data. Right now you have duplicated code because you didn't use a shared panel to enter/change the Activity information.

4) A picky comment about the 3 buttons on the "Current List of Activities". They take up way too much space. You should either have all 3 button in one row, or if you want them displayed vertically, then they should be in a vertical column to the right of the tabbed pane.

5) The "Delete" button should have a "Cancel" button so you can change your mind.

6) Generally a "Description" type field would be a text area to allow the user more room to provide a detailed description.

7) Also, I'm sure you packaged all the code in one class to make it easy for us to test, but you really should have multiple source files. That is another reason why using popup dialogs to gather information is a good idea. It allows you to design the dialog and its data in a separate source file, shrinking the size of the main class a great deal.

Overall its a good start, but I always say the best way to learn is to copy the LAF of existing applications. The general look of applications is:

a) title bar
b) menu bar
c) toolbar
d) application area
e) status bar

This is why Swing frames by default have a titlebar and a place for the menubar. That is also why the default layout is a border layout as it allows you to easily add a toolbar, application area and status bar to the north, center and south as required. So until you become more familiar with GUI design just follow this approach so you don't have to think too much.

[pete stein]

I've been playing with JTables and TableModels lately, so I implemented a quick and dirty JTable to try to display the data held in a Priorities.ser file:

import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.io.EOFException;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;

import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.table.DefaultTableCellRenderer;
import javax.swing.table.DefaultTableModel;
import javax.swing.table.TableCellRenderer;
import javax.swing.table.TableColumnModel;

public class PlannerMini {
   public static final String NAME = "Name";
   public static final String DESCRIPTION = "Description";
   public static final String IMPORTANCE = "Important";
   public static final String URGENCY = "Urgent";
   public static final String PRIORITY = "Priority";
   public static final String DUE_DATE = "Due Date";
   public static final String DUE_TIME = "Due Time";
   public static final String[] COLUMN_NAMES = {
      NAME, DESCRIPTION, IMPORTANCE, URGENCY, PRIORITY, DUE_DATE, DUE_TIME
   };
   private static final int[] PREF_COL_WIDTHS = {
      200, 400, 70, 70, 70, 100, 100
   };
   private static final String FILE_PATH = "Priorities.ser";
   
   private JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel();
   private ActivityTableModel model = new ActivityTableModel(COLUMN_NAMES);
   private JTable activityTable = new JTable(model);
   
   public PlannerMini() {
      activityTable.setFillsViewportHeight(true);
      //activityTable.setAutoResizeMode(JTable.AUTO_RESIZE_OFF);
      TableColumnModel tcModel = activityTable.getColumnModel();
      int totalWidth = 0;
      for (int i = 0; i < COLUMN_NAMES.length; i++) {
         tcModel.getColumn(i).setPreferredWidth(PREF_COL_WIDTHS[i]);
         totalWidth += PREF_COL_WIDTHS[i];
      }
      activityTable.setAutoResizeMode(JTable.AUTO_RESIZE_ALL_COLUMNS);
      activityTable.getColumn(DUE_TIME).setCellRenderer(new TimeCellRenderer());
      
      JScrollPane scrollpane = new JScrollPane(activityTable);

      Dimension spSize = scrollpane.getPreferredSize();
      scrollpane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(totalWidth, spSize.height));

      mainPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,0));
      mainPanel.add(scrollpane);
      
      addDataToModel(model);
      
   }

   private void addDataToModel(ActivityTableModel atModel) {
      ObjectInputStream ois = null;
      try {
         FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(FILE_PATH);
         ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);
         while (true) {
            Activity activity = (Activity)ois.readObject();
            atModel.addRow(activity);
         }
      }
      catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
         e.printStackTrace();
      }
      catch (EOFException eof) {
         // ignore this one as it is how 
         // ObjectInputStream detects end of file
      }
      catch (IOException e) {
         e.printStackTrace();
      }
      catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
         e.printStackTrace();
      }
      finally {
         if (ois != null) {
            try {
               ois.close();
            }
            catch (IOException e) {
               e.printStackTrace();
            }
         }
      }
   }

   public JComponent getComponent() {
      return mainPanel;
   }

   private static void createAndShowUI() {
      JFrame frame = new JFrame("Mini Planner");
      frame.getContentPane().add(new PlannerMini().getComponent());
      frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      frame.pack();
      frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
      frame.setVisible(true);
   }

   public static void main(String[] args) {
      java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
         public void run() {
            createAndShowUI();
         }
      });
   }
}

@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class ActivityTableModel extends DefaultTableModel {

   public ActivityTableModel(String[] columnNames) {
      super(columnNames, 0);
   }

   @Override
   public Class<?> getColumnClass(int columnIndex) {
      switch (columnIndex) {
         case 2:
            return Boolean.class;
         case 3:
            return Boolean.class;
         case 4:
            return Integer.class;
         case 5:
            return Date.class;
         case 6:
            return Date.class;

         default:
            return super.getColumnClass(columnIndex);
      }
   }
   
   public void addRow(Activity activity) {
      Object[] rowData = new Object[getColumnCount()];
      rowData[0] = activity.getActivityName();
      rowData[1] = activity.getActivityDescription();
      rowData[2] = activity.getActivityImportance();
      rowData[3] = activity.getActivityUrgency();
      rowData[4] = activity.getPriorityCode();
      rowData[5] = activity.getActivityDueDate().getTime();
      rowData[6] = activity.getActivityDueDate().getTime();
      super.addRow(rowData);
   }
}

@SuppressWarnings("serial")
class TimeCellRenderer extends DefaultTableCellRenderer {
   private SimpleDateFormat formatter;
   
   @Override
   protected void setValue(Object value) {
      
      if (formatter == null) {
         formatter = new SimpleDateFormat("hh:mm a");
      }
      setText((value == null) ? "" : formatter.format(value));
   }
}

edit: added due time column with a custom time cell renderer

[Sebastion Hill]

It's always a bit of a challenge trying to decide what information needs to accompany the code and what doesn't. My ultimate end goal is to make an application for cellphones (specifically Android phones). I think most of the comments posted are still valid but I just wanted to throw that out there in the event it changes any suggestions being made :-)

Again, thank you to EVERYONE for all the comments and suggestions :-D

[pete stein]

By the way, your "end of file error I don't really understand" is not an error. This is how ObjectInputStreams determine that they've finished reading a file: by throwing an EOFException. This is one of the few times where you can justifiably have an empty catch block.

[Sebastion Hill]

Pete
1) PriorityCode - you said "The priorityCode int field is always calculated based on two other fields, activityUrgency and activityImportance. What if the two properties that are used to calculate priority change but the setPriorityCode() accidently isn't called?"

I'm a bit unclear as to how this would happen. The two fields that the priority code is dependent upon can only be set at two different times (originally and when edited) and both times are followed by the setPriorityCode() method. These two times also are only registered when a button is pushed. So I am still a bit confused on this one ...

2) consider having Activity class implement the Comparable<Activity>interface

I definitely would not mind doing this but again I am a bit unclear as to what kind of value this provides, please remember I am a newbie :-) I am using the Activity objects in an ArrayList (priorities) and I thought that the comparing should be done to the list as opposed to the actual activity. Or can my Activity class contain the actual arraylist? :-/

3) Two OBJECT fields ... activityDateValue and activityTimeValue

Yeah I just didn't know what kind of "object" the value from dateSpinner.getValue() is ... I looked up the method in the API and it only shows " Object getValue()" ... could you tell me what type of object it is?

(dateSpinner = new JSpinner(dateModel);
dateSpinner.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(dateSpinner, "MM/dd/yyyy"));
dateValue = dateSpinner.getValue();)
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/javax/swing/JSpinner.html

4) Gridbaglayout

... the java tutorials said this was the easiest to learn

5) Make some classes stand alone, de-couple as much as possible and use interfaces

6) Incorporate more MVC concepts in my code including getting the core model - the list of activities - out of the GUI and also extracting out file IO as well

It seems like if I incorporate more MVC concepts into my code it will also address #5 ... so I am currently reading up on MVC with the following links:
http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/javase/mvc/
http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/tsc/articles/architecture/
http://java.sun.com/blueprints/patterns/MVC-detailed.html
http://www.javadude.com/articles/vaddmvc1/mvc1.htm


Fred
7) learn more about layout managers
8) high level containter class to be just a shell

Thanks for both comments Fred :-) I definitely need to learn more about layout managers and I think my high level container class is just a shell like you mentioned.

Rob
9) readability of the code ... consistency, indention

That's is not nit-picking ... i just have issues. I was really confused as to how much one should indent for each section ... i think I'm going to go with 3 spaces ... is there a way to change the indent size so I can just press the tab key?

10) fix resizing (text fields, spinners, buttons "should not" grow ... only components like scroll panes with tables, text areas, etc. should grow)

Will fix this as well. Thanks for letting me know which ones should and should not grow :-)

11) consider non-resizable popup dialogs

I tried using popup dialogs but I don't know how to include the JSpinner in them ... do you have any code example that shows the proper way to include the info like on my "create new"?

12) fix duplicate code and use a shared panel to enter/change the Activity information

Again, still don't know how to use a shared panel but I think that's what the Model-View-Component (MVC) is talking about correct?

13) 3 buttons on the "Current List of Activities" take up way to much space

I have it this way specifically for when I port it to cell phones ... won't be too much space on those screens

14) Add a "cancel" button for the "delete" button in case someone changes their mind

Will do :-) I think I'll be able to do that with the JOptionsPane right?

15) "Description" type field is usually a text area to allow the user more room to provide a detailed description

Again, just thinking about the screen real-estate size on cellphones :-)

16) Need multiple source files ... shrink the size of the main class a great deal

That's the MVC again right? I'm pretty scared of multiple source files since I don't know how to really access certain things from within ... methods seem easy but listeners scare me

17) learn to copy the LAF of exisiting applications. The general look of an application is:
a) title bar
b) menu bar
c) toolbar
d) application area
e) status bar


This definitely makes sense for Java programs so I guess I'll just look at Android programs as well and find out what their LAF is ... what is LAF by the way? :-) Thanks so much for the pointers

Pete
Quick and dirty JTable looks awesome! :-) For my complete activities I wanted to send them to a seperate file so that you can track what you've taken care of. This will be perfect :-D

[Rob Spoor]

Sebastion Hill wrote:4) Gridbaglayout

... the java tutorials said this was the easiest to learn

Are you kidding me? GridBagLayout is probably the hardest to learn.

[Sebastion Hill]

I guess I made that up :-) ... flexible and easy ... must have been tired that day :-)

"Note: This lesson covers writing layout code by hand, which can be challenging. If you are not interested in learning all the details of layout management, you might prefer to use the GroupLayout layout manager combined with a builder tool to lay out your GUI. One such builder tool is the NetBeans IDE. Otherwise, if you want to code by hand and do not want to use GroupLayout, then GridBagLayout is recommended as the next most flexible and powerful layout manager."

[Fred Hamilton]

A GUI layout can have different levels. At the highest level, your GUI may be laid out in a few sections according to one simple layout manager. Then within each section the individual components can be laid out according to another layout manager. By breaking it down this way, you can use a combination of simple layouts to achieve an overall effect that looks sophisticated.

catch my drift?

The article I linked in my first post is very good at describing this strategy of "layouts within layouts"

[Rob Camick]

2) consider having Activity class implement the Comparable<Activity>interface

> I definitely would not mind doing this but again I am a bit unclear as to what kind of value this provides

The "natural" sort order should be part of the class. Additional sort orders can be applied by using Comparators.

See http://forums.sun.com/thread.jspa?forumID=256&threadID=598401

3) Two OBJECT fields ... activityDateValue and activityTimeValue

> Yeah I just didn't know what kind of "object" the value from dateSpinner.getValue() is

Well, since you are using a DateEditor, the obvious guess would be "Date". Try it, the worst that will happen is you get a ClassCastException, in which case the message will tell you the class. Or you can always use the getClass() method to find the class of any Object.

9) readability of the code ... consistency, indention

> I was really confused as to how much one should indent for each section ... i think I'm going to go with 3 spaces

Well, you generally learn by example. Look at the examples in the Sun tutorial. Look at the examples in your text book.
Look at the examples in the forums. The first hit when you use "java coding standards" on Google is: http://java.sun.com/docs/codeconv/. It addresses this issue among others.

11) consider non-resizable popup dialogs

> I tried using popup dialogs but I don't know how to include the JSpinner

Sorry, bad terminoligy. I meant just use a JDialog. You build a dialog the same way you build a frame.

12) fix duplicate code and use a shared panel to enter/change the Activity information

> Again, still don't know how to use a shared panel but I think that's what the Model-View-Component (MVC) is talking about correct?

Not even that complicated. Just create an ActivityPanel that extend JPanel. The panel simply allows you to display and edit all the fields of your activity class. To use it you just do something like:

JDialog dialog = new JDialog("Edit Activity");
ActivityPanel activityPanel = new ActivityPanel();
dialog.add( activityPanel );

You would probably want to add setActivity() and getActivity() methods to the Activity panel class so you can display an Activity for editing and then retrieve the values after editing. The you add a couple of buttons to the dialog like "Save" and "Cancel" and your all set.

As I intially said, I don't believe this "Create Activity" should be a tab, but if you do leave it as one, then you can just add the ActivityPanel to the tabbed panel as well.

13) 3 buttons on the "Current List of Activities" take up way to much space

> I have it this way specifically for when I port it to cell phones ... won't be too much space on those screens

It will take up 2 more lines of space then it needs to. Extra space would be better allocated to the description field.

17) learn to copy the LAF of exisiting applications.

> I'll just look at Android programs as well and find out what their LAF is ... what is LAF by the way?

LAF - "Look and Feel". The original question didn't mention the "cell phone" requirement. I don't know what the LAF is in this case so some suggestions may be off.

[Sebastion Hill]

thanks again Rob, btw it was date for the .getValue() like you said :-)

I'm working on rewriting my code using principles/design from MVC ... should have something to post tomorrow and hopefully it addresses you and everyone else's suggestions thus far. thanks again! :-D

[Sebastion Hill]

I still haven't finished getting everything fixed but I did change my program up so that it is HOPEFULLY more ModelViewComponent-like ... I have run into a problem of saving and loading the activities I'm recording, not really sure how to fix it? Could someone help point me in the right direction please? :-D (I think the problem is somewhere in my PlannerAppDemo class) [Note: I have the two loading procedures blocked off by the "//" sign in the PlannerAppDemo class]

  /* 
 * PlannerAppDemo.java 
 */  
   
import java.awt.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.util.*;  
import java.text.*;  
import java.io.*;  
   
public class PlannerAppDemo {  

   int editing = -1;

   public void addComponentToPane(Container pane) {  
   
      final JTabbedPane optionsPane = new JTabbedPane();
      final JTabbedPane invisible = new JTabbedPane();

      final Activities test = new Activities();
      //test.loadCurrent();
      final TabView tabView = new TabView();
      //tabView.loadActivities();
      final FieldView newView = new FieldView();
      final FieldView editView = new FieldView();

      newView.setupPanel();
      newView.info();
      editView.setupPanel();
      editView.info();

      newView.buttonOneAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae1) {
            if (newView.fieldsCheck()) {
               Activity current = new Activity();
               current = newView.getActivityInfo();  
               test.add(current);
               tabView.addActivityTab(current, test.index(current));
               newView.clearFields();

               tabView.completeButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aec) {
                     int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
                     tabView.remove(idx);
                     test.sendToDelete(idx);
                  }
               });

               tabView.deleteButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aed) {
                     int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
                     tabView.remove(idx);
                     test.sendToDelete(idx);
                  }
               });

               tabView.editButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aee) {
                     int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
                     editing = idx;
                     editView.setActivityInfo(test.sendToEdit(idx));
                     optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,false);
                     optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,true);
                     optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(2);
                     optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,false);  	   
                  }
               });
            }
         }  
      });

      newView.buttonTwoAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae2) {
            newView.clearFields();
         }  
      });

      editView.buttonOneAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae1) {
            if (editView.fieldsCheck()) {
               Activity current = new Activity();
               current = editView.getActivityInfo();  
               tabView.remove(editing);
               test.sendToDelete(editing);
               editing = -1;
               test.add(current);
               tabView.addActivityTab(current, test.index(current));
               editView.clearFields();
               optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,true);
               optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,true);
               optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(0);
               optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,false);

               tabView.completeButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aec) {
                     int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
                     tabView.remove(idx);
                     test.sendToDelete(idx);
                  }
               });

               tabView.deleteButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aed) {
                     int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
                     tabView.remove(idx);
                     test.sendToDelete(idx);
                  }
               });

               tabView.editButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
                  public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aee) {
                     int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
                     editing = idx;
                     editView.setActivityInfo(test.sendToEdit(idx));
                     optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,false);
                     optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,true);
                     optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(2);
                     optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,false);  	   
                  }
               });
            } 
         }  
      });

      editView.buttonTwoAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae2) {
            editView.clearFields();
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,true);
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,true);
            optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(0);
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,false);	
         }  
      });

      optionsPane.addTab("List of Current Activities", tabView);
      optionsPane.addTab("Enter Activity Info", newView.getPanel());
      optionsPane.addTab("Edit Activity", editView.getPanel());
      optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,false); 
      pane.add(optionsPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
   }  

   private static void createAndShowGUI() {  
      //Create and set up the window.  
      JFrame frame = new JFrame("PlannerAppDemo");  
      frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);  
	
      //Create and set up the content pane  
      PlannerAppDemo demo = new PlannerAppDemo();  
      demo.addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane());  

      //Display the window.  
      frame.pack();  
      frame.setVisible(true);     
   }  
   
   public static void main(String[] args) {  
      try {  
         //UIManager.setLookAndFeel("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows.WindowsLookAndFeel");  
         UIManager.setLookAndFeel("javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel");  
      } catch (UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      } catch (IllegalAccessException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      } catch (InstantiationException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      } catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      }  

      UIManager.put("swing.boldMetal", Boolean.FALSE);  

      javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {  
         public void run() {  
            createAndShowGUI();  
         }  
      });  
   }  
}    

  /* 
 * TabView.java 
 */  
   
import java.awt.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.util.*;  
import java.text.*;  
import java.io.*;  

class TabView extends JTabbedPane {

   private String atTitle;
   private String atDescription;
   private boolean atIsImportant;
   private boolean atIsUrgent;
   private int atPriorityCode;
   private Calendar atDueDate;
   private String pText;
   private boolean isEditable = false;
   private String tabTitle;
   private Date atDateValue;
   private Date atTimeValue;
   private long atID;

   private JPanel atPanel;
   private JTextPane atText;
   private JScrollPane scrollPane;
   private JButton completeButton;
   private JButton editButton;
   private JButton deleteButton;

   void loadActivities() {
      int index = 0;
      Activity activityRestore = new Activity();
      try {
         ObjectInputStream is = new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream("currentActivities.ser"));
         if (is == null) {
            //do nothing
         } else {
            try {
               while (is != null) {
               activityRestore = (Activity) is.readObject();
               addActivityTab(activityRestore, index);
               index ++;
               }
            } catch (EOFException ex) {
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"End of File error I don't really understand");
            }
         }
      } catch (Exception ex) {
         JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Error from lack of .ser file");
      }  
   }

   void addActivityTab(Activity a, int index) {
      this.setTabPlacement(JTabbedPane.LEFT);
      //setup activity info inside tab
      atTitle = a.getActivityName();
      atDescription = a.getActivityDescription();
      atIsImportant = a.getActivityImportance();
      atIsUrgent = a.getActivityUrgency();
      atPriorityCode = a.getPriorityCode();
      atDueDate = a.getActivityDueDate();
      atDateValue = a.getActivityDateValue();
      atTimeValue = a.getActivityTimeValue();
      atID = a.getActivityID();
		
      //setup actual tab
      atPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
      GridBagConstraints main = new GridBagConstraints();
      main.gridx = 3;
      main.gridy = 10;
      atText = new JTextPane();
      pText = String.format("%s%n%nComplete by:%n%2$tB %2$te, %2$tY at %2$tl:%2$tM %2$tp",atDescription,atDueDate);
      atText.setText(pText);
      atText.setEditable(isEditable);
      atText.revalidate();
      if (atTitle.length() > 9) {
         tabTitle = String.format("%s...", atTitle.substring(0,8));
      } else {
         tabTitle = atTitle;
      }
      scrollPane = new JScrollPane(atText, JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED, JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);
      scrollPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,100));
      atText.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,100));
		
      GridBagConstraints p = new GridBagConstraints();
      p.gridx = 0;
      p.gridy = 0;
      p.gridwidth = 3;
      p.gridheight = 7;
      p.weightx = 100;
      p.weighty = 100;
      p.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      p.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(scrollPane,p);

      completeButton = new JButton("Completed");
      GridBagConstraints cB = new GridBagConstraints();
      cB.gridx = 0;
      cB.gridy = 7;
      cB.gridwidth = 1;
      cB.gridheight = 1;
      cB.weightx = 1;
      cB.weighty = 1;
      cB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      cB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(completeButton,cB);

      editButton = new JButton("Edit");
      GridBagConstraints eB = new GridBagConstraints();
      eB.gridx = 0;
      eB.gridy = 8;
      eB.gridwidth = 1;
      eB.gridheight = 1;
      eB.weightx = 1;
      eB.weighty = 1;
      eB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      eB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(editButton,eB);	

      deleteButton = new JButton("Delete");
      GridBagConstraints dB = new GridBagConstraints();
      dB.gridx = 0;
      dB.gridy = 9;
      dB.gridwidth = 1;
      dB.gridheight = 1;
      dB.weightx = 1;
      dB.weighty = 1;
      dB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      dB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(deleteButton,dB);

      this.insertTab(tabTitle,null,atPanel,atTitle,index);
   }

   void completeButtonAddActionListener(ActionListener alc) {
      completeButton.addActionListener(alc);
   }

   void editButtonAddActionListener(ActionListener ale) {
      editButton.addActionListener(ale);
   }

   void deleteButtonAddActionListener(ActionListener ald) {
      deleteButton.addActionListener(ald);
   }

} //end of class TabView
  

  /* 
 * FieldView.java 
 */  
   
import java.awt.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.util.*;  
import java.text.*;  
import java.io.*;  

class FieldView extends JPanel {

   JPanel createPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout()); //goes in the 'Create New Activity' tab under the optionsPane

   JPanel topPanel;
   JPanel middlePanel;
   JPanel bottomPanel;

   JLabel titleLabel;  
   JLabel descriptionLabel;  
   JLabel importantLabel;  
   JLabel urgentLabel;  
   JLabel dueDateLabel;  
   JLabel timeLabel;  

   JTextField titleText;  
   JTextField descriptionText;  
   JRadioButton radioYesImportant;  
   JRadioButton radioNoImportant;  
   JRadioButton radioImportant;  
   JRadioButton radioYesUrgent;  
   JRadioButton radioNoUrgent;  
   JRadioButton radioUrgent;  
   JSpinner dateSpinner;  
   JSpinner timeSpinner;  
   ButtonGroup buttonGroupA;  
   ButtonGroup buttonGroupB;

   Date dateValue;  
   Date timeValue; 

   private JButton buttonOne;
   private JButton buttonTwo;

   void setupPanel() { 
   createPanel.setBackground(Color.blue);  

   //stuff that goes in the top panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
   topPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
   GridBagConstraints a = new GridBagConstraints();  
   topPanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   a.gridx = 0;  
   a.gridy = 0;  
   a.gridwidth = 3;  
   a.gridheight = 3;  
   a.weightx = 1;  
   a.weighty = 1;  
   a.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
   createPanel.add(topPanel,a);  
	
   titleLabel = new JLabel("Title:");  
   GridBagConstraints a00 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a00.gridx = 0;  
   a00.gridy = 0;  
   a00.weightx = 1;  
   a00.weighty = 1;  
   a00.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a00.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
   topPanel.add(titleLabel, a00);  

   descriptionLabel = new JLabel("Description:");  
   GridBagConstraints a01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a01.gridx = 0;  
   a01.gridy = 1;  
   a01.weightx = 1;  
   a01.weighty = 1;  
   a01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
   topPanel.add(descriptionLabel, a01);  

   importantLabel = new JLabel("Important:");  
   GridBagConstraints a02 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a02.gridx = 0;  
   a02.gridy = 2;  
   a02.weightx = 1;  
   a02.weighty = 1;  
   a02.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a02.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;  
   topPanel.add(importantLabel, a02);  

   titleText = new JTextField();  
   titleText.setColumns(10);  
   GridBagConstraints a10 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a10.gridx = 1;  
   a10.gridy = 0;  
   a10.gridwidth = 2;  
   a10.weightx = 1;  
   a10.weighty = 1;  
   a10.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a10.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_START;  
   topPanel.add(titleText, a10);  
   descriptionText = new JTextField();  
   descriptionText.setColumns(10);  
   GridBagConstraints a11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a11.gridx = 1;  
   a11.gridy = 1;  
   a11.gridwidth = 2;  
   a11.weightx = 1;  
   a11.weighty = 1;  
   a11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;  
   topPanel.add(descriptionText, a11);  
   
   buttonGroupA = new ButtonGroup();  
   radioImportant = new JRadioButton();  
   buttonGroupA.add(radioImportant);  
   
   radioYesImportant = new JRadioButton("Yes");  
   radioYesImportant.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   GridBagConstraints a12 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a12.gridx = 1;  
   a12.gridy = 2;  
   a12.gridwidth = 1;  
   a12.weightx = 1;  
   a12.weighty = 1;  
   a12.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a12.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_END;  
   buttonGroupA.add(radioYesImportant);  
   topPanel.add(radioYesImportant, a12);  
   radioNoImportant = new JRadioButton("No");  
   radioNoImportant.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   GridBagConstraints a22 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   a22.gridx = 2;  
   a22.gridy = 2;  
   a22.gridwidth = 1;  
   a22.weightx = 1;  
   a22.weighty = 1;  
   a22.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   a22.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_END;  
   buttonGroupA.add(radioNoImportant);  
   topPanel.add(radioNoImportant, a22);   

   titleLabel.setLabelFor(titleText);  
   descriptionLabel.setLabelFor(descriptionText);  
   importantLabel.setLabelFor(radioYesImportant);  
   	
   //stuff that goes in the middle panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
   middlePanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
   GridBagConstraints b = new GridBagConstraints();  
   middlePanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   b.gridx = 0;  
   b.gridy = 3;  
   b.gridwidth = 3;  
   b.gridheight = 3;  
   b.weightx = 1;  
   b.weighty = 1;  
   b.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
   createPanel.add(middlePanel,b);  
   
   urgentLabel = new JLabel("Urgent:");  
   GridBagConstraints b00 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b00.gridx = 0;  
   b00.gridy = 0;  
   b00.weightx = 1;  
   b00.weighty = 1;  
   b00.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b00.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
   middlePanel.add(urgentLabel, b00);  
   
   dueDateLabel = new JLabel("Due Date:");  
   GridBagConstraints b01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b01.gridx = 0;  
   b01.gridy = 1;  
   b01.weightx = 1;  
   b01.weighty = 1;  
   b01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
   middlePanel.add(dueDateLabel, b01);  
   
   timeLabel = new JLabel("Complete By:");  
   GridBagConstraints b02 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b02.gridx = 0;  
   b02.gridy = 2;  
   b02.weightx = 1;  
   b02.weighty = 1;  
   b02.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b02.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;  
   middlePanel.add(timeLabel, b02);  
   
   buttonGroupB = new ButtonGroup();  
   radioUrgent = new JRadioButton();  
   buttonGroupB.add(radioUrgent);  
   
   radioYesUrgent = new JRadioButton("Yes");  
   radioYesUrgent.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   GridBagConstraints b10 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b10.gridx = 1;  
   b10.gridy = 0;  
   b10.gridwidth = 1;  
   b10.weightx = 1;  
   b10.weighty = 1;  
   b10.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b10.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_START;  
   buttonGroupB.add(radioYesUrgent);  
   middlePanel.add(radioYesUrgent, b10);  
   
   radioNoUrgent = new JRadioButton("No");  
   radioNoUrgent.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   GridBagConstraints b20 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b20.gridx = 2;  
   b20.gridy = 0;  
   b20.gridwidth = 1;  
   b20.weightx = 1;  
   b20.weighty = 1;  
   b20.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b20.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_END;  
   buttonGroupB.add(radioNoUrgent);  
   middlePanel.add(radioNoUrgent, b20);   
   
   //Date and Time Spinners  
   Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();  
   Date initialDate = calendar.getTime();  
   calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
   Date earliestDate = calendar.getTime();  
   calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, 200);  
   Date latestDate = calendar.getTime();  
   SpinnerDateModel dateModel = new SpinnerDateModel(initialDate, //initial date  
         earliestDate, //minimum date  
         latestDate,  //maximum date  
         Calendar.YEAR);  
   dateSpinner = new JSpinner(dateModel);  
   dateSpinner.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(dateSpinner, "MM/dd/yyyy"));  
   dateValue = (Date) dateSpinner.getValue();  
   GridBagConstraints b11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b11.gridx = 1;  
   b11.gridy = 1;  
   b11.gridwidth = 2;  
   b11.weightx = 1;  
   b11.weighty = 1;  
   b11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;  
   middlePanel.add(dateSpinner, b11);  
	
   calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
   Date initialTime = calendar.getTime();  
   calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, -100);  
   Date earliestTime = calendar.getTime();  
   calendar.add(Calendar.YEAR, 200);  
   Date latestTime = calendar.getTime();  
   SpinnerDateModel timeModel = new SpinnerDateModel(initialTime, //initial date  
         earliestTime, //minimum date  
         latestTime,  //maximum date  
         Calendar.YEAR);  
   timeSpinner = new JSpinner(timeModel);  
   timeSpinner.setEditor(new JSpinner.DateEditor(timeSpinner, "hh:mm aa"));  
   timeValue = (Date) timeSpinner.getValue();
   GridBagConstraints b12 = new GridBagConstraints();  
   b12.gridx = 1;  
   b12.gridy = 2;  
   b12.gridwidth = 2;  
   b12.weightx = 1;  
   b12.weighty = 1;  
   b12.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   b12.anchor = GridBagConstraints.PAGE_END;  
   middlePanel.add(timeSpinner, b12);  

   urgentLabel.setLabelFor(radioYesUrgent);  
   dueDateLabel.setLabelFor(dateSpinner);  
   timeLabel.setLabelFor(timeSpinner);  

   //stuff that goes in the bottom panel of 'Create New Activity' tab  
   bottomPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());  
   GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();  
   bottomPanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);  
   c.gridx = 0;  
   c.gridy = 6;  
   c.gridwidth = 3;  
   c.gridheight = 3;  
   c.weightx = 1;  
   c.weighty = 1;  
   c.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
   c.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;  
   createPanel.add(bottomPanel,c);  
   }

   void addButton(JButton buttonOne) {
      GridBagConstraints c01 = new GridBagConstraints();  
      c01.gridx = 0;  
      c01.gridy = 1;  
      c01.gridwidth = 1;  
      c01.gridheight = 2;  
      c01.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
      c01.insets = new Insets(5,10,5,10);  
      c01.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
      c01.weightx = 1;  
      c01.weighty = 1;  
      bottomPanel.add(buttonOne, c01);  
   }

   void addSecondButton(JButton buttonTwo) {
      GridBagConstraints c11 = new GridBagConstraints();  
      c11.gridx = 1;  
      c11.gridy = 1;  
      c11.gridwidth = 1;  
      c11.gridheight = 2;  
      c11.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;  
      c11.insets = new Insets(5,10,5,10);  
      c11.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;  
      c11.weightx = 1;  
      c11.weighty = 1;  
      bottomPanel.add(buttonTwo, c11);  
   }

   void info() {
      bottomPanel.removeAll();
      buttonOne = new JButton("Save");
      buttonTwo = new JButton("Cancel");
      addButton(buttonOne);
      addSecondButton(buttonTwo);
   }

   JPanel getPanel() {
      return createPanel;
   }

   void buttonOneAddActionListener(ActionListener al1) {
      buttonOne.addActionListener(al1);
   }

   void buttonTwoAddActionListener(ActionListener al2) {
      buttonTwo.addActionListener(al2);      	     
   }

   Activity getActivityInfo() {
      Date dS = (Date) dateSpinner.getValue();  
      Date tS= (Date) timeSpinner.getValue();
      Calendar dueDate = Calendar.getInstance();  
      String dateLine = String.format("%1$tm/%1$td/%1$tY %2$tl:%2$tM %2$Tp",dS,tS);  
      SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm aa");  
      try {  
         Date date = sdf.parse(dateLine);  
         dueDate.setTime(date);  
      } catch (ParseException dateE) {  
      JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"oops!");  
      }      

      //collect important info and make an activity object  
      Activity currentActivity = new Activity();
      currentActivity.setActivityName(titleText.getText());  
      currentActivity.setActivityDescription(descriptionText.getText());  
      currentActivity.setActivityImportance(radioYesImportant.isSelected());  
      currentActivity.setActivityUrgency(radioYesUrgent.isSelected());  
      currentActivity.setPriorityCode(radioYesImportant.isSelected(),radioYesUrgent.isSelected());  
      currentActivity.setActivityDueDate(dueDate);
      currentActivity.setActivityDateValue((Date) dateSpinner.getValue());
      currentActivity.setActivityTimeValue((Date) timeSpinner.getValue());
      currentActivity.setActivityID(System.currentTimeMillis());
      return currentActivity;
   }

   void setActivityInfo(Activity e) {
      titleText.setText(e.getActivityName());  
      descriptionText.setText(e.getActivityDescription());  
      if (e.getActivityImportance()) {
         radioYesImportant.setSelected(true);
      } else {
         radioNoImportant.setSelected(true);
      }
      if (e.getActivityUrgency()) {
      radioYesUrgent.setSelected(true);
      } else {
      radioNoUrgent.setSelected(true);
      }
      dateSpinner.setValue(e.getActivityDateValue());  
      timeSpinner.setValue(e.getActivityTimeValue()); 
      }

   boolean fieldsCheck() {
      boolean isReady = false;
      if ((titleText.getText() != null) && (radioYesImportant.isSelected() || radioNoImportant.isSelected()) && (radioYesUrgent.isSelected() || radioNoUrgent.isSelected())) {
         isReady = true;
      }
      return isReady;
   }

   void clearFields() {
      titleText.setText("");  
      descriptionText.setText("");  
      radioImportant.setSelected(true);  
      radioUrgent.setSelected(true);  
      dateSpinner.setValue(dateValue);  
      timeSpinner.setValue(timeValue); 
   }
}  

  /**
 * The Activities class does ...
 */

import java.awt.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.util.*;  
import java.text.*;  
import java.io.*;  

class Activities implements Comparator<Activity> { //start of class
      
   java.util.List<Activity> priority = new ArrayList<Activity>();

   public int compare(Activity one, Activity two) {
      int pc1 = one.getPriorityCode();
      int pc2 = two.getPriorityCode();
      if(pc1 < pc2) return -1;
      if(pc2 < pc1) return 1;
      return one.getActivityDueDate().getTime().compareTo(two.getActivityDueDate().getTime());
   }

   public void add(Activity hello) {
      priority.add(hello);
      Collections.sort(priority, new Activities());
      saveCurrent();
   }

   public void delete(Activity goodbye) {
      priority.remove(goodbye);
      saveCurrent();
   }

   public int index(Activity idx) {
      return priority.indexOf(idx);
   }

   public Activity sendToEdit(int index) {
      Activity editThis = priority.get(index);
      return editThis;
   }

   public void sendToDelete(int index) {
      delete(priority.get(index));
   }

   public void loadCurrent() {
      Activity activityRestore = new Activity();
      try {
         ObjectInputStream is = new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream("currentActivities.ser"));
         if (is == null) {
            //do nothing
         } else {
            try {
               while (is != null) {
               activityRestore = (Activity) is.readObject();
               priority.add(activityRestore);
               }
            } catch (EOFException ex) {
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"End of File error I don't really understand");
            }
         }
      } catch (Exception ex) {
         JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Error from lack of .ser file");
      }  
   }

   public void saveCurrent() {
      try {
         ObjectOutputStream os = new ObjectOutputStream(new FileOutputStream("currentActivities.ser"));
         if (priority.isEmpty()) {
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"There are no activities listed and therefore nothing will be saved.");
            os.writeObject(priority);
            os.close();
         } else {
            for (Activity saveActivities : priority) {
            os.writeObject(saveActivities);
            }
            os.close();
         }                 
      } catch (IOException ex) {
         JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Error");
      }
   }

   public void saveCompleted() {
      //
   }

   public void saveDeleted() {
      //
   }

} // end of class  

   /**
 * The Activity class does ...
 */

import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;

class Activity implements Serializable { //start of class
      
   private String activityName;
   private String activityDescription;
   private boolean activityImportance;
   private boolean activityUrgency;
   private int priorityCode;
   private Calendar activityDueDate;
   private Date activityDateValue;
   private Date activityTimeValue;
   private long activityID;
 
   String getActivityName() {
      return activityName;
   }

   void setActivityName(String anActivityName) {
      activityName = anActivityName;
   }

   String getActivityDescription() {
      return activityDescription;
   }

   void setActivityDescription(String anActivityDescription) {
      activityDescription = anActivityDescription;
   }

   boolean getActivityImportance() {
      return activityImportance;
   }

   void setActivityImportance(boolean anActivityImportance) {
      activityImportance = anActivityImportance;
   }

   boolean getActivityUrgency() {
      return activityUrgency;
   }

   void setActivityUrgency(boolean anActivityUrgency) {
      activityUrgency = anActivityUrgency;
   }

   int getPriorityCode() {
      return priorityCode;
   }

   void setPriorityCode(boolean anActivityImportance, boolean anActivityUrgency) {
      //code for determining priority code
      priorityCode = 0; // make sure it always starts off at zero
      // first check importance
      if (anActivityImportance) {
         priorityCode += 3;
      } else {
         priorityCode += 5;
      }
      // next check urgency before deciding on what to return
      if (anActivityUrgency) {
         //do nothing
      } else {
         priorityCode += 1;
      }    
      // this way there is a 3 returned for important and urgent 
      // there is a 4 returned for important but not urgent
      // there is a 5 returned for not important but urgent
      // there is a 6 returned for not important and not urgent
   }

   Calendar getActivityDueDate() {
      return activityDueDate;
   }
      
   void setActivityDueDate(Calendar anActivityDueDate) {
      activityDueDate = anActivityDueDate;
   }
      
   Date getActivityDateValue() {
      return activityDateValue;
   }

   void setActivityDateValue(Date anActivityDateValue) {
      activityDateValue = anActivityDateValue;
   }
      
   Date getActivityTimeValue() {
      return activityTimeValue;
   }

   void setActivityTimeValue(Date anActivityTimeValue) {
      activityTimeValue = anActivityTimeValue;
   }

   long getActivityID() {
      return activityID;
   }

   void setActivityID(long anActivityID) {
      activityID = anActivityID;
   }
} // end of class 

[Sebastion Hill]

Well I think it's working fine now, and hopefully it still follows MVC design philosophy ... I noticed there the problem was coming from me trying to read in the code in the TabView class, from the PlannerAppDemo class. The actionlistener events weren't working because of the way it was setup. I switched up the read in procedure to read in from the PlannerAppDemo class and then have tabs inserted using the instance of the TabView class ... anyways it works now :-)

I think I also addressed a good portion of the suggestions but in case I didn't please let me know. Thanks again for everyone's help!

  /* 
 * PlannerAppDemo.java 
 */  
   
import java.awt.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.util.*;  
import java.text.*;  
import java.io.*;  
   
public class PlannerAppDemo {  

   final JTabbedPane optionsPane = new JTabbedPane();
   final JTabbedPane invisible = new JTabbedPane();

   final Activities test = new Activities();
   final TabView tabView = new TabView();
   final FieldView newView = new FieldView();
   final FieldView editView = new FieldView();

   int editing = -1;

   public void addComponentToPane(Container pane) {  

      test.loadCurrent();
      int index = 0;
      Activity activityRestore = new Activity();
      try {
         ObjectInputStream is = new ObjectInputStream(new FileInputStream("currentActivities.ser"));
         if (is == null) {
            //do nothing
         } else {
            try {
               while (is != null) {
               activityRestore = (Activity) is.readObject();
               tabView.addActivityTab(activityRestore,index);
               activateTabViewListeners();
               index ++;
               }
            } catch (EOFException ex) {
               JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"End of File error I don't really understand");
            }
         }
      } catch (Exception ex) {
         JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Error from lack of .ser file");
      }  
      newView.setupPanel();
      newView.info();
      editView.setupPanel();
      editView.info();

      newView.buttonOneAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae1) {
            if (newView.fieldsCheck()) {
               Activity current = new Activity();
               current = newView.getActivityInfo();  
               test.add(current);
               tabView.addActivityTab(current, test.index(current));
               newView.clearFields();
               activateTabViewListeners();
            }
         }  
      });

      newView.buttonTwoAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae2) {
            newView.clearFields();
         }  
      });

      editView.buttonOneAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae1) {
            if (editView.fieldsCheck()) {
               Activity current = new Activity();
               current = editView.getActivityInfo();  
               tabView.remove(editing);
               test.sendToDelete(editing);
               editing = -1;
               test.add(current);
               tabView.addActivityTab(current, test.index(current));
               editView.clearFields();
               activateTabViewListeners();
               optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,true);
               optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,true);
               optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(0);
               optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,false);
            } 
         }  
      });

      editView.buttonTwoAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {  
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae2) {
            editView.clearFields();
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,true);
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,true);
            optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(0);
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,false);	
         }  
      });

      optionsPane.addTab("List of Current Activities", tabView);
      optionsPane.addTab("Enter Activity Info", newView.getPanel());
      optionsPane.addTab("Edit Activity", editView.getPanel());
      optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,false); 
      pane.add(optionsPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
   }  

   private static void createAndShowGUI() {  
      //Create and set up the window.  
      JFrame frame = new JFrame("PlannerAppDemo");  
      frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);  
	
      //Create and set up the content pane  
      PlannerAppDemo demo = new PlannerAppDemo();  
      demo.addComponentToPane(frame.getContentPane());  

      //Display the window.  
      frame.pack();  
      frame.setVisible(true);     
   }  

   public void activateTabViewListeners() {
      tabView.completeButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aec) {
            int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
            tabView.remove(idx);
            test.sendToDelete(idx);
         }
      });

      tabView.deleteButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aed) {
            int c = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null,
                        "Are you sure you want to delete this activity?",
                        "Confirm Delete",
                        JOptionPane.YES_NO_OPTION);
            if (c == JOptionPane.YES_OPTION) {
               int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
               tabView.remove(idx);
               test.sendToDelete(idx);
            } 
         }
      });

      tabView.editButtonAddActionListener(new ActionListener() {
         public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent aee) {
            int idx = tabView.getSelectedIndex();
            editing = idx;
            editView.setActivityInfo(test.sendToEdit(idx));
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(1,false);
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(2,true);
            optionsPane.setSelectedIndex(2);
            optionsPane.setEnabledAt(0,false);  	   
         }
      });
   }
   
   public static void main(String[] args) {  
      try {  
         //UIManager.setLookAndFeel("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.windows.WindowsLookAndFeel");  
         UIManager.setLookAndFeel("javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel");  
      } catch (UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      } catch (IllegalAccessException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      } catch (InstantiationException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      } catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {  
         ex.printStackTrace();  
      }  

      UIManager.put("swing.boldMetal", Boolean.FALSE);  

      javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {  
         public void run() {  
            createAndShowGUI();  
         }  
      });  
   }  
}    

  /* 
 * TabView.java 
 */  
   
import java.awt.*;  
import java.awt.event.*;  
import javax.swing.*;  
import java.util.*;  
import java.text.*;  
import java.io.*;  

class TabView extends JTabbedPane {

   private String atTitle;
   private String atDescription;
   private boolean atIsImportant;
   private boolean atIsUrgent;
   private int atPriorityCode;
   private Calendar atDueDate;
   private String pText;
   private boolean isEditable = false;
   private String tabTitle;
   private Date atDateValue;
   private Date atTimeValue;
   private long atID;

   private JPanel atPanel;
   private JTextPane atText;
   private JScrollPane scrollPane;
   private JButton completeButton;
   private JButton editButton;
   private JButton deleteButton;

   void addActivityTab(Activity a, int index) {
      this.setTabPlacement(JTabbedPane.LEFT);
      //setup activity info inside tab
      atTitle = a.getActivityName();
      atDescription = a.getActivityDescription();
      atIsImportant = a.getActivityImportance();
      atIsUrgent = a.getActivityUrgency();
      atPriorityCode = a.getPriorityCode();
      atDueDate = a.getActivityDueDate();
      atDateValue = a.getActivityDateValue();
      atTimeValue = a.getActivityTimeValue();
      atID = a.getActivityID();
		
      //setup actual tab
      atPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
      GridBagConstraints main = new GridBagConstraints();
      main.gridx = 3;
      main.gridy = 10;
      atText = new JTextPane();
      pText = String.format("%s%n%nComplete by:%n%2$tB %2$te, %2$tY at %2$tl:%2$tM %2$tp",atDescription,atDueDate);
      atText.setText(pText);
      atText.setEditable(isEditable);
      atText.revalidate();
      if (atTitle.length() > 9) {
         tabTitle = String.format("%s...", atTitle.substring(0,8));
      } else {
         tabTitle = atTitle;
      }
      scrollPane = new JScrollPane(atText, JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED, JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);
      scrollPane.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,100));
      atText.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100,100));
		
      GridBagConstraints p = new GridBagConstraints();
      p.gridx = 0;
      p.gridy = 0;
      p.gridwidth = 3;
      p.gridheight = 7;
      p.weightx = 100;
      p.weighty = 100;
      p.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      p.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(scrollPane,p);

      completeButton = new JButton("Completed");
      GridBagConstraints cB = new GridBagConstraints();
      cB.gridx = 0;
      cB.gridy = 7;
      cB.gridwidth = 1;
      cB.gridheight = 1;
      cB.weightx = 1;
      cB.weighty = 1;
      cB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      cB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(completeButton,cB);

      editButton = new JButton("Edit");
      GridBagConstraints eB = new GridBagConstraints();
      eB.gridx = 0;
      eB.gridy = 8;
      eB.gridwidth = 1;
      eB.gridheight = 1;
      eB.weightx = 1;
      eB.weighty = 1;
      eB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      eB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(editButton,eB);	

      deleteButton = new JButton("Delete");
      GridBagConstraints dB = new GridBagConstraints();
      dB.gridx = 0;
      dB.gridy = 9;
      dB.gridwidth = 1;
      dB.gridheight = 1;
      dB.weightx = 1;
      dB.weighty = 1;
      dB.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
      dB.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_START;
      atPanel.add(deleteButton,dB);

      this.insertTab(tabTitle,null,atPanel,atTitle,index);
   }

   void completeButtonAddActionListener(ActionListener alc) {
      completeButton.addActionListener(alc);
   }

   void editButtonAddActionListener(ActionListener ale) {
      editButton.addActionListener(ale);
   }

   void deleteButtonAddActionListener(ActionListener ald) {
      deleteButton.addActionListener(ald);
   }

} //end of class TabView