Java™ Platform
Standard Ed. 6

java.awt
Class Canvas

java.lang.Object
  extended by java.awt.Component
      extended by java.awt.Canvas
All Implemented Interfaces:
ImageObserver, MenuContainer, Serializable, Accessible

public class Canvas
extends Component
implements Accessible

A Canvas component represents a blank rectangular area of the screen onto which the application can draw or from which the application can trap input events from the user.

An application must subclass the Canvas class in order to get useful functionality such as creating a custom component. The paint method must be overridden in order to perform custom graphics on the canvas.

Since:
JDK1.0
See Also:
Serialized Form

Nested Class Summary
protected  class Canvas.AccessibleAWTCanvas
          This class implements accessibility support for the Canvas class.
 
Nested classes/interfaces inherited from class java.awt.Component
Component.AccessibleAWTComponent, Component.BaselineResizeBehavior, Component.BltBufferStrategy, Component.FlipBufferStrategy
 
Field Summary
 
Fields inherited from class java.awt.Component
BOTTOM_ALIGNMENT, CENTER_ALIGNMENT, LEFT_ALIGNMENT, RIGHT_ALIGNMENT, TOP_ALIGNMENT
 
Fields inherited from interface java.awt.image.ImageObserver
ABORT, ALLBITS, ERROR, FRAMEBITS, HEIGHT, PROPERTIES, SOMEBITS, WIDTH
 
Constructor Summary
Canvas()
          Constructs a new Canvas.
Canvas(GraphicsConfiguration config)
          Constructs a new Canvas given a GraphicsConfiguration object.
 
Method Summary
 void addNotify()
          Creates the peer of the canvas.
 void createBufferStrategy(int numBuffers)
          Creates a new strategy for multi-buffering on this component.
 void createBufferStrategy(int numBuffers, BufferCapabilities caps)
          Creates a new strategy for multi-buffering on this component with the required buffer capabilities.
 AccessibleContext getAccessibleContext()
          Gets the AccessibleContext associated with this Canvas.
 BufferStrategy getBufferStrategy()
          Returns the BufferStrategy used by this component.
 void paint(Graphics g)
          Paints this canvas.
 void update(Graphics g)
          Updates this canvas.
 
Methods inherited from class java.awt.Component
action, add, addComponentListener, addFocusListener, addHierarchyBoundsListener, addHierarchyListener, addInputMethodListener, addKeyListener, addMouseListener, addMouseMotionListener, addMouseWheelListener, addPropertyChangeListener, addPropertyChangeListener, applyComponentOrientation, areFocusTraversalKeysSet, bounds, checkImage, checkImage, coalesceEvents, contains, contains, createImage, createImage, createVolatileImage, createVolatileImage, deliverEvent, disable, disableEvents, dispatchEvent, doLayout, enable, enable, enableEvents, enableInputMethods, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, firePropertyChange, getAlignmentX, getAlignmentY, getBackground, getBaseline, getBaselineResizeBehavior, getBounds, getBounds, getColorModel, getComponentAt, getComponentAt, getComponentListeners, getComponentOrientation, getCursor, getDropTarget, getFocusCycleRootAncestor, getFocusListeners, getFocusTraversalKeys, getFocusTraversalKeysEnabled, getFont, getFontMetrics, getForeground, getGraphics, getGraphicsConfiguration, getHeight, getHierarchyBoundsListeners, getHierarchyListeners, getIgnoreRepaint, getInputContext, getInputMethodListeners, getInputMethodRequests, getKeyListeners, getListeners, getLocale, getLocation, getLocation, getLocationOnScreen, getMaximumSize, getMinimumSize, getMouseListeners, getMouseMotionListeners, getMousePosition, getMouseWheelListeners, getName, getParent, getPeer, getPreferredSize, getPropertyChangeListeners, getPropertyChangeListeners, getSize, getSize, getToolkit, getTreeLock, getWidth, getX, getY, gotFocus, handleEvent, hasFocus, hide, imageUpdate, inside, invalidate, isBackgroundSet, isCursorSet, isDisplayable, isDoubleBuffered, isEnabled, isFocusable, isFocusCycleRoot, isFocusOwner, isFocusTraversable, isFontSet, isForegroundSet, isLightweight, isMaximumSizeSet, isMinimumSizeSet, isOpaque, isPreferredSizeSet, isShowing, isValid, isVisible, keyDown, keyUp, layout, list, list, list, list, list, locate, location, lostFocus, minimumSize, mouseDown, mouseDrag, mouseEnter, mouseExit, mouseMove, mouseUp, move, nextFocus, paintAll, paramString, postEvent, preferredSize, prepareImage, prepareImage, print, printAll, processComponentEvent, processEvent, processFocusEvent, processHierarchyBoundsEvent, processHierarchyEvent, processInputMethodEvent, processKeyEvent, processMouseEvent, processMouseMotionEvent, processMouseWheelEvent, remove, removeComponentListener, removeFocusListener, removeHierarchyBoundsListener, removeHierarchyListener, removeInputMethodListener, removeKeyListener, removeMouseListener, removeMouseMotionListener, removeMouseWheelListener, removeNotify, removePropertyChangeListener, removePropertyChangeListener, repaint, repaint, repaint, repaint, requestFocus, requestFocus, requestFocusInWindow, requestFocusInWindow, reshape, resize, resize, setBackground, setBounds, setBounds, setComponentOrientation, setCursor, setDropTarget, setEnabled, setFocusable, setFocusTraversalKeys, setFocusTraversalKeysEnabled, setFont, setForeground, setIgnoreRepaint, setLocale, setLocation, setLocation, setMaximumSize, setMinimumSize, setName, setPreferredSize, setSize, setSize, setVisible, show, show, size, toString, transferFocus, transferFocusBackward, transferFocusUpCycle, validate
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
 

Constructor Detail

Canvas

public Canvas()
Constructs a new Canvas.


Canvas

public Canvas(GraphicsConfiguration config)
Constructs a new Canvas given a GraphicsConfiguration object.

Parameters:
config - a reference to a GraphicsConfiguration object.
See Also:
GraphicsConfiguration
Method Detail

addNotify

public void addNotify()
Creates the peer of the canvas. This peer allows you to change the user interface of the canvas without changing its functionality.

Overrides:
addNotify in class Component
See Also:
Toolkit.createCanvas(java.awt.Canvas), Component.getToolkit()

paint

public void paint(Graphics g)
Paints this canvas.

Most applications that subclass Canvas should override this method in order to perform some useful operation (typically, custom painting of the canvas). The default operation is simply to clear the canvas. Applications that override this method need not call super.paint(g).

Overrides:
paint in class Component
Parameters:
g - the specified Graphics context
See Also:
update(Graphics), Component.paint(Graphics)

update

public void update(Graphics g)
Updates this canvas.

This method is called in response to a call to repaint. The canvas is first cleared by filling it with the background color, and then completely redrawn by calling this canvas's paint method. Note: applications that override this method should either call super.update(g) or incorporate the functionality described above into their own code.

Overrides:
update in class Component
Parameters:
g - the specified Graphics context
See Also:
paint(Graphics), Component.update(Graphics)

createBufferStrategy

public void createBufferStrategy(int numBuffers)
Creates a new strategy for multi-buffering on this component. Multi-buffering is useful for rendering performance. This method attempts to create the best strategy available with the number of buffers supplied. It will always create a BufferStrategy with that number of buffers. A page-flipping strategy is attempted first, then a blitting strategy using accelerated buffers. Finally, an unaccelerated blitting strategy is used.

Each time this method is called, the existing buffer strategy for this component is discarded.

Parameters:
numBuffers - number of buffers to create, including the front buffer
Throws:
IllegalArgumentException - if numBuffers is less than 1.
IllegalStateException - if the component is not displayable
Since:
1.4
See Also:
Component.isDisplayable(), getBufferStrategy()

createBufferStrategy

public void createBufferStrategy(int numBuffers,
                                 BufferCapabilities caps)
                          throws AWTException
Creates a new strategy for multi-buffering on this component with the required buffer capabilities. This is useful, for example, if only accelerated memory or page flipping is desired (as specified by the buffer capabilities).

Each time this method is called, the existing buffer strategy for this component is discarded.

Parameters:
numBuffers - number of buffers to create
caps - the required capabilities for creating the buffer strategy; cannot be null
Throws:
AWTException - if the capabilities supplied could not be supported or met; this may happen, for example, if there is not enough accelerated memory currently available, or if page flipping is specified but not possible.
IllegalArgumentException - if numBuffers is less than 1, or if caps is null
Since:
1.4
See Also:
getBufferStrategy()

getBufferStrategy

public BufferStrategy getBufferStrategy()
Returns the BufferStrategy used by this component. This method will return null if a BufferStrategy has not yet been created or has been disposed.

Returns:
the buffer strategy used by this component
Since:
1.4
See Also:
createBufferStrategy(int)

getAccessibleContext

public AccessibleContext getAccessibleContext()
Gets the AccessibleContext associated with this Canvas. For canvases, the AccessibleContext takes the form of an AccessibleAWTCanvas. A new AccessibleAWTCanvas instance is created if necessary.

Specified by:
getAccessibleContext in interface Accessible
Overrides:
getAccessibleContext in class Component
Returns:
an AccessibleAWTCanvas that serves as the AccessibleContext of this Canvas
Since:
1.3

Java™ Platform
Standard Ed. 6

Submit a bug or feature
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

Copyright © 1993, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms. Also see the documentation redistribution policy.

Scripting on this page tracks web page traffic, but does not change the content in any way.