ComboBoxDemo.java

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;

/*
 * ComboBoxDemo.java uses these additional files:
 *   images/Bird.gif
 *   images/Cat.gif
 *   images/Dog.gif
 *   images/Rabbit.gif
 *   images/Pig.gif
 */
public class ComboBoxDemo extends JPanel
                          implements ActionListener {
    JLabel picture;

    public ComboBoxDemo() {
        super(new BorderLayout());

        String[] petStrings = { "Bird", "Cat", "Dog", "Rabbit", "Pig" };

        //Create the combo box, select the item at index 4.
        //Indices start at 0, so 4 specifies the pig.
        JComboBox<String> petList = new JComboBox<String>(petStrings);
        petList.setSelectedIndex(4);
        petList.addActionListener(this);
	   //petList.setOpaque(true);
	  // petList.setBackground(Color.WHITE);

        //Set up the picture.
        picture = new JLabel();
        picture.setFont(picture.getFont().deriveFont(Font.ITALIC));
        picture.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
        updateLabel(petStrings[petList.getSelectedIndex()]);
        picture.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(10,0,0,0));

        //The preferred size is hard-coded to be the width of the
        //widest image and the height of the tallest image + the border.
        //A real program would compute this.
        picture.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(240, 130));

        //Lay out the demo.
        add(petList, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
        add(picture, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
        setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(20,20,20,20));
    }

    /** Listens to the combo box. */
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        JComboBox cb = (JComboBox)e.getSource();
        String petName = (String)cb.getSelectedItem();
        updateLabel(petName);
    }

    protected void updateLabel(String name) {
	String path = "images/" + name + ".gif";
	ImageIcon icon = createImageIcon(path);
       picture.setIcon(icon);
        picture.setToolTipText("A drawing of a " + name.toLowerCase());
        if (icon != null) {
            picture.setText(null);
        } else {
            picture.setText("Image not found");
        }
    }

    /** Returns an ImageIcon, or null if the path was invalid. */
    protected static ImageIcon createImageIcon(String path) {
        java.net.URL imgURL = ComboBoxDemo.class.getResource(path);
        if (imgURL != null) {
            return new ImageIcon(imgURL);
        }
	else return new ImageIcon(path);
    }

    /**
     * Create the GUI and show it.  For thread safety,
     * this method should be invoked from the
     * event-dispatching thread.
     */
    private static void createAndShowGUI() {
        //Create and set up the window.
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("ComboBoxDemo");
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

        //Create and set up the content pane.
        JComponent newContentPane = new ComboBoxDemo();
        newContentPane.setOpaque(true); //content panes must be opaque
        frame.setContentPane(newContentPane);

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

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        //Schedule a job for the event-dispatching thread:
        //creating and showing this application's GUI.
        javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
            public void run() {
                createAndShowGUI();
            }
        });
    }
}