User Code: A TableModel that Allows Column Sorting
I've written a class that extends the DefaultTableModel but allows column sorting (ascending and descending). It is based on Sun's Swing tutorial example, but it is improved: it is simpler and easier to use, and it uses the Collection class's sort method, instead of implementing it.
In the GTableModel class, each time a column is clicked, it is sorted. When it is clicked again, it is sorted in reverse order. The use of this class is quite simple:
GTableModel model = new Model(); JTable table = new JTable(model); model.addMouseListenerToHeaderInTable(table);
The GTableModel uses the Collection class's
sort(Collection co, Comparator c)
method for sorting and implements the Comparator interface for that
reason. The GTableModel's compare method compares two rows
of the table each time, by comparing the nth element between the two rows,
where n is the index of the column being sorted.
I hope you enjoy it.
/********************************************************************************
*
* GTableModel Class
* Author : Amir Kost
* Purpose : A TableModel that enables column sorting by clicking the column
*
* This class extends the DefaultTableModel class and enables sorting of columns
* It sorts the TableModel's dataVector whenever a column is clicked.
* Clicking the same column again causes it to be sorted in reverse order.
* The sort is based on Java's Collection class sort method.
*
* Usage :
*
* GTableModel model = new Model();
* JTable table = new JTable(model);
* model.addMouseListenerToHeaderInTable(table);
*
*******************************************************************************/
import java.util.Vector;
import javax.swing.table.TableModel;
import javax.swing.event.TableModelEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.InputEvent;
import javax.swing.JTable;
public class GTableModel extends DefaultTableModel implements Comparator{
protected int currCol;
protected Vector ascendCol; // this vector stores the state (ascending or descending) of each column
protected Integer one = new Integer(1);
protected Integer minusOne = new Integer(-1);
public GTableModel() {
super();
ascendCol = new Vector();
}
/*******************************************************************
* addColumn methods are inherited from the DefaultTableModel class.
*******************************************************************/
public void addColumn(Object columnName) {
super.addColumn(columnName);
ascendCol.add(one);
}
public void addColumn(Object columnName, Object[] columnData) {
super.addColumn(columnName, columnData);
ascendCol.add(one);
}
public void addColumn(Object columnName, Vector columnData) {
super.addColumn(columnName, columnData);
ascendCol.add(one);
}
/*****************************************************************
* This method is the implementation of the Comparator interface.
* It is used for sorting the rows
*****************************************************************/
public int compare(Object v1, Object v2) {
// the comparison is between 2 vectors, each representing a row
// the comparison is done between 2 objects from the different rows that are in the column that is being sorted
int ascending = ((Integer) ascendCol.get(currCol)).intValue();
if (v1 == null && v2 == null) {
return 0;
} else if (v1 == null) { // Define null less than everything.
return -1 * ascending;
} else if (v2 == null) {
return 1 * ascending;
}
Object o1 = ((Vector) v1).get(currCol);
Object o2 = ((Vector) v2).get(currCol);
Class type;
if(o1 != null)
type = o1.getClass();
else if(o2 != null)
type = o2.getClass();
else
type = java.lang.Object.class;
// If both values are null, return 0.
if (o1 == null && o2 == null) {
return 0;
} else if (o1 == null) { // Define null less than everything.
return -1 * ascending;
} else if (o2 == null) {
return 1 * ascending;
}
if (type.getSuperclass() == java.lang.Number.class) {
Number n1 = (Number) o1;
double d1 = n1.doubleValue();
Number n2 = (Number) o2;
double d2 = n2.doubleValue();
if (d1 < d2) {
return -1 * ascending;
} else if (d1 > d2) {
return 1 * ascending;
} else {
return 0;
}
} else if (type == java.util.Date.class) {
Date d1 = (Date) o1;
long n1 = d1.getTime();
Date d2 = (Date) o2;
long n2 = d2.getTime();
if (n1 < n2) {
return -1 * ascending;
} else if (n1 > n2) {
return 1 * ascending;
} else {
return 0;
}
} else if (type == String.class) {
String s1 = (String) o1;
String s2 = (String) o2;
int result = s1.compareTo(s2);
if (result < 0) {
return -1 * ascending;
} else if (result > 0) {
return 1 * ascending;
} else {
return 0;
}
} else if (type == Boolean.class) {
Boolean bool1 = (Boolean) o1;
boolean b1 = bool1.booleanValue();
Boolean bool2 = (Boolean) o2;
boolean b2 = bool2.booleanValue();
if (b1 == b2) {
return 0;
} else if (b1) { // Define false < true
return 1 * ascending;
} else {
return -1 * ascending;
}
} else {
String s1 = o1.toString();
String s2 = o2.toString();
int result = s2.compareTo(s1);
if (result < 0) {
return -1 * ascending;
} else if (result > 0) {
return 1 * ascending;
} else {
return 0;
}
}
}
/***************************************************************************
* This method sorts the rows using Java's Collections class.
* After sorting, it changes the state of the column -
* if the column was ascending, its new state is descending, and vice versa.
***************************************************************************/
public void sort() {
Collections.sort(dataVector, this);
Integer val = (Integer) ascendCol.get(currCol);
ascendCol.remove(currCol);
if(val.equals(one)) // change the state of the column
ascendCol.add(currCol, minusOne);
else
ascendCol.add(currCol, one);
}
public void sortByColumn(int column) {
this.currCol = column;
sort();
fireTableChanged(new TableModelEvent(this));
}
// Add a mouse listener to the Table to trigger a table sort
// when a column heading is clicked in the JTable.
public void addMouseListenerToHeaderInTable(JTable table) {
final GTableModel sorter = this;
final JTable tableView = table;
tableView.setColumnSelectionAllowed(false);
MouseAdapter listMouseListener = new MouseAdapter() {
public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent e) {
TableColumnModel columnModel = tableView.getColumnModel();
int viewColumn = columnModel.getColumnIndexAtX(e.getX());
int column = tableView.convertColumnIndexToModel(viewColumn);
if (e.getClickCount() == 1 && column != -1) {
int shiftPressed = e.getModifiers()&InputEvent.SHIFT_MASK;
boolean ascending = (shiftPressed == 0);
sorter.sortByColumn(column);
}
}
};
JTableHeader th = tableView.getTableHeader();
th.addMouseListener(listMouseListener);
}
}
About the Author
Amir Kost has a B.A. degree in computer science and philosophy from the University of Tel Aviv. He is currently working for Textology Ltd., which has a unique technology for classifying text documents for large organizations, where he creates and maintains Swing applications.This article was originally published on November 21, 2001