Formatting a string in a textarea javafx using escape sequences - javafx

Question

Super simple question, but I can't figure it out for the life of me. I'm connecting to a database and selecting a table and outputting the tables contents into a text area. It works, but the output gets all bunched up if one of the table's contents is longer/shorter.
How can I make my current output more formatted preferably using escape sequences?
Here's my current code:
ta.appendText(rsMetaData.getColumnName(i)+ " \t"); //outputs the table column names
while (rSet.next()) { // this outputs the tables contents
for (int i = 1; i <= rsMetaData.getColumnCount(); i++) {
ta.appendText(rSet.getObject(i) + " \t");
}
ta.appendText("\n");
}
The current output looks like this
deptName chairID collegeID deptID
Biology 111221118 SC BIOL
Chemistry 111221119 SC CHEM
Computer Science 111221115 SC CS
Mathematics 111221116 SC MATH
It might not look bad on here, but in table form it looks kinda crap. I imagine it's because of the tabs. I tried to use a few escape sequences, but it doesn't work with text areas or something.

Answer 1

I suggest you use a TableView. If you don't want to use a TableView, then it is a matter of simple math and making sure you use a Monospace font. In this example app I find the longest word for each column. Then I determine how many spaces needed to be added to words that are shorter than the longest word. Then I add four more spaces to create a complete column.
Used to set the TextArea font to a monospaced font
textArea.setStyle("-fx-font-family: monospace");
Used to find the longest String in each column.
List<Integer> longestDataLengths = new ArrayList();//This variable is global
void findLongestDataLengthsForColumns(List<List<String>> fakeData)
{
for (int i = 0; i < fakeData.size(); i++) {
for (int ii = 0; ii < fakeData.get(i).size(); ii++) {
if (i == 0) {
longestDataLengths.add(fakeData.get(i).get(ii).length());
//System.out.println("added: " + fakeData.get(i).get(ii));
}
else {
//System.out.println("adding: " + i);;//+ fakeData.get(i).get(ii));
if (fakeData.get(i).get(ii).length() > longestDataLengths.get(ii)) {
longestDataLengths.set(ii, fakeData.get(i).get(ii).length());
}
}
}
}
}
Used to find the number of spaces needed to complete a column's length
int numberOfSpacesNeeded(int longestLength, String entry)
{
int numberOfSpaceAfterLongestLength = 4;
System.out.println("space needed: " + (longestLength - entry.length() + numberOfSpaceAfterLongestLength));
return longestLength - entry.length() + numberOfSpaceAfterLongestLength;
}
Used to create the extra spaces/spaces needed
String createSpace(int numberOfSpaces)
{
StringBuilder spaces = new StringBuilder();
for (int i = 0; i < numberOfSpaces; i++) {
spaces.append(" ");
}
return spaces.toString();
}
Complete Example
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
/**
*
* #author blj0011
*/
public class JavaFXApplication261 extends Application
{
List<Integer> longestDataLengths = new ArrayList();
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage)
{
// for (List<String> line : getFakeDBData()) {
// System.out.println(line);
// }
List<List<String>> fakeData = getFakeDBData();
findLongestDataLengthsForColumns(fakeData);
// for (Integer entry : longestDataLengths) {
// System.out.println(entry);
// }
TextArea textArea = new TextArea();
textArea.setStyle("-fx-font-family: monospace");
for (List<String> line : fakeData) {
for (int i = 0; i < line.size(); i++) {
textArea.appendText(line.get(i) + createSpace(numberOfSpacesNeeded(longestDataLengths.get(i), line.get(i))));
}
textArea.appendText("\n");
}
StackPane root = new StackPane(textArea);
Scene scene = new Scene(root, 300, 250);
primaryStage.setTitle("Hello World!");
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
/**
* #param args the command line arguments
*/
public static void main(String[] args)
{
launch(args);
}
List<List<String>> getFakeDBData()
{
List<List<String>> fakeData = new ArrayList();
String data = "deptName chairID collegeID deptID\n"
+ "Biology 111221118 SC BIOL\n"
+ "Chemistry 111221119 SC CHEM\n"
+ "Computer_Science 111221115 SC CS\n"
+ "Mathematics 111221116 SC MATH";
for (String line : Arrays.asList(data.split("\n"))) {
fakeData.add(Arrays.asList(line.split(" ")));
}
return fakeData;
}
//
void findLongestDataLengthsForColumns(List<List<String>> fakeData)
{
for (int i = 0; i < fakeData.size(); i++) {
for (int ii = 0; ii < fakeData.get(i).size(); ii++) {
if (i == 0) {
longestDataLengths.add(fakeData.get(i).get(ii).length());
//System.out.println("added: " + fakeData.get(i).get(ii));
}
else {
//System.out.println("adding: " + i);;//+ fakeData.get(i).get(ii));
if (fakeData.get(i).get(ii).length() > longestDataLengths.get(ii)) {
longestDataLengths.set(ii, fakeData.get(i).get(ii).length());
}
}
}
}
}
String createSpace(int numberOfSpaces)
{
StringBuilder spaces = new StringBuilder();
for (int i = 0; i < numberOfSpaces; i++) {
spaces.append(" ");
}
return spaces.toString();
}
int numberOfSpacesNeeded(int longestLength, String entry)
{
int numberOfSpaceAfterLongestLength = 4;
System.out.println("space needed: " + (longestLength - entry.length() + numberOfSpaceAfterLongestLength));
return longestLength - entry.length() + numberOfSpaceAfterLongestLength;
}
}
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