StringProperty and Switch Statement Javafx - button

Question

My brain is about to explode. I am pretty new to java, so far self-taught but I really want to get this code to work. I am also not the best at making sense of the java docs.
I am trying to create a gameloop where the user can freely traverse the switch statement by clicking the buttons.
However, previously, when my gameloop method was called, it ran the code with the current settings without letting me use the buttons to traverse the switch statement.
I think this was because my "choice" variable did not have an action listener attached to it (because a listener will make the program sit on the item, waiting for something to happen?). Unfortunately, my choice variable was a String variable and you cannot attach an actionlistener to a String variable.
Now I tried using the StringProperty class to create a string object to be able to attach an action listener to it.
But now I don't even know how to use StringProperty with switch statement and I just feel like I am on the wrong track.
Does it make sense what I am trying to accomplish?
Can anybody help me create a gameloop where the user can freely traverse the switch statement by clicking the buttons?
♥♥♥!
Here is my code:
Controller:
package sample;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleStringProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.StringProperty;
import javafx.fxml.FXML;
import javafx.fxml.Initializable;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.ResourceBundle;
import static java.lang.System.out;
public class Controller implements Initializable {
public String question;
public StringProperty choice = new SimpleStringProperty(this, "choice", "");
// this code starts when the XML file is loaded.
#Override
public void initialize(URL location, ResourceBundle resources) {
question = "0";
gameloop();
} public String getChoice() {
return choice.get();
}
public StringProperty choiceProperty() {
return choice;
}
public void setChoice(String choice) {
this.choice.set(choice);
}
// public String choice = "";
public Controller() {
}
// Here are the buttons trying to add an actionlistener to the choice object.
// Maybe wrong path to go
#FXML
public void button1() {
choiceProperty().addListener((v, oldValue, newValue) ->{setChoice("c1");});
}
#FXML
public void button2() {
choiceProperty().addListener((v, oldValue, newValue) ->{setChoice("c2");});
out.println(choice); //think this prints out where it is stored in the memory
}
#FXML
public void button3() {
choiceProperty().addListener((v, oldValue, newValue) ->{setChoice("c3");});
out.println(choice);
}
//this block of code does not work because of the switch (choice) statement.
//Where "c1","c2","c3" have incompatible a type error.
public void gameloop() {
switch (question) {
case "0":
switch (choice) {
case "c1":
out.println("you chose 1");
question = "1";
break;
case "c2":
out.println("you chose 2");
break;
case "c3":
out.println("you chose 3");
break;
}
case "1":
switch (choice) {
case "c1":
out.println("you chose a");
question = "0";
break;
case "c2":
out.println("you chose b");
break;
case "c3":
out.println("you chose c");
break;
}
}
}
}
FXML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?import javafx.scene.effect.*?>
<?import javafx.scene.image.*?>
<?import java.lang.*?>
<?import java.util.*?>
<?import javafx.scene.*?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.*?>
<?import javafx.scene.layout.*?>
<AnchorPane maxHeight="-Infinity" maxWidth="-Infinity" minHeight="-Infinity" minWidth="-Infinity" prefHeight="400.0" prefWidth="600.0" xmlns="http://javafx.com/javafx/8" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml/1" fx:controller="sample.Controller">
<children>
<BorderPane layoutX="163.0" layoutY="82.0" prefHeight="200.0" prefWidth="200.0" style="-fx-background-color: black;" AnchorPane.bottomAnchor="0.0" AnchorPane.leftAnchor="0.0" AnchorPane.rightAnchor="0.0" AnchorPane.topAnchor="0.0">
<bottom>
<GridPane BorderPane.alignment="CENTER">
<columnConstraints>
<ColumnConstraints hgrow="SOMETIMES" minWidth="10.0" prefWidth="100.0" />
</columnConstraints>
<rowConstraints>
<RowConstraints minHeight="10.0" prefHeight="30.0" vgrow="SOMETIMES" />
<RowConstraints minHeight="10.0" prefHeight="30.0" vgrow="SOMETIMES" />
<RowConstraints minHeight="10.0" prefHeight="30.0" vgrow="SOMETIMES" />
</rowConstraints>
<children>
<Button fx:id="button1" maxWidth="1.7976931348623157E308" mnemonicParsing="false" onAction="#button1" onMouseClicked="#button1" style="-fx-background-color: black; -fx-border-color: grey;" text="Button" textFill="WHITE" />
<Button fx:id="button2" maxWidth="1.7976931348623157E308" mnemonicParsing="false" onAction="#button2" style="-fx-background-color: black; -fx-border-color: grey;" text="Button" textFill="WHITE" GridPane.rowIndex="1" />
<Button fx:id="button3" maxWidth="1.7976931348623157E308" mnemonicParsing="false" onAction="#button3" style="-fx-background-color: black; -fx-border-color: grey;" text="Button" textFill="WHITE" GridPane.rowIndex="2" />
</children>
</GridPane>
</bottom>
<center>
<TextArea fx:id="textArea" editable="false" prefHeight="200.0" prefWidth="200.0" promptText="..." style="-fx-border-color: grey;" wrapText="true" BorderPane.alignment="CENTER" />
</center>
<top>
<Label fx:id="label" text="Chapter 1" textFill="WHITE" BorderPane.alignment="CENTER" />
</top>
<left>
<ImageView fx:id="image1" fitHeight="75.0" fitWidth="75.0" pickOnBounds="true" preserveRatio="true" BorderPane.alignment="CENTER" />
</left>
<right>
<ImageView fx:id="image2" fitHeight="75.0" fitWidth="75.0" pickOnBounds="true" preserveRatio="true" BorderPane.alignment="CENTER" />
</right></BorderPane>
</children>
</AnchorPane>
Main:
package sample;
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader;
import javafx.scene.Parent;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class Main extends Application {
#Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception{
Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("sample.fxml"));
primaryStage.setTitle("Hello World");
primaryStage.setScene(new Scene(root, 800, 500));
primaryStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
launch(args);
}
}

Answer 1

Registering listeners in the button event handlers is nonsense. Using listeners to modify the property they listen to is even worse. Passing a property as argument for a switch will not even compile.
In this case the smallest modification to make this work would be registering a single listener in the initialize method, calling the gameloop method from this listener and using the value stored in the property as argument for the switch.
#Override
public void initialize(URL location, ResourceBundle resources) {
question = "0";
gameloop();
choiceProperty().addListener((observable, oldValue, newValue) -> gameloop());
}
...
#FXML
private void button1() {
setChoice("c1");
}
...
public void gameloop() {
switch (question) {
case "0":
switch (choice.get()) {
...
}
...
}
}
Note however you'll get a LOT of repeated code this way. Better come up with a data structure to store the game data instead of hardcoding everything.
E.g.
public class GameData {
private final ReadOnlyObjectWrapper<Question> question;
public ReadOnlyObjectProperty<Question> questionProperty() {
return question.getReadOnlyProperty();
}
public Question getQuestion() {
return question.get();
}
private final Map<Integer, Question> questions;
public Map<Integer, Question> getQuestions() {
return questions;
}
public GameData(int initialQuestion, Map<Integer, Question> questions) {
this.questions = questions;
this.question = new ReadOnlyObjectWrapper(questions.get(initialQuestion));
}
public void activateChoice(Choice choice) {
question.set(questions.get(choice.getNextQuestion()));
}
}
public class Question {
private final String text;
public String getText() {
return text;
}
public Question(String text, Choice... choices) {
this.text = text;
this.choices = Collections.unmodifiableList(new ArrayList(Arrays.asList(choices)));
}
private final List<Choice> choices;
public List<Choice> getChoices() {
return choices;
}
}
public class Choice {
private final String text;
private final int nextQuestion;
public Choice(int nextQuestion, String text) {
this.text = text;
this.nextQuestion = nextQuestion;
}
public String getText() {
return text;
}
public int getNextQuestion() {
return nextQuestion;
}
}
public class Controller {
private GameData gameData;
#FXML
private Button button1, button2, button3;
private Button[] buttons;
#FXML
private void initialize() {
buttons = new Button[]{button1, button2, button3};
}
public void setGameData(GameData gameData) {
this.gameData = gameData;
gameData.questionProperty().addListener((observable, oldValue, newValue) -> setQuestion(newValue));
setQuestion(gameData.getQuestion());
}
private void setQuestion(Question question) {
System.out.println(question.getText());
for (Button b : buttons) {
b.setVisible(false);
}
for (int i = 0, max = Math.min(buttons.length, question.getChoices().size()); i < max; i++) {
Button b = buttons[i];
Choice c = question.getChoices().get(i);
b.setUserData(c);
b.setText(c.getText());
b.setVisible(true);
}
}
#FXML
private void button(ActionEvent evt) {
Node source = (Node) evt.getSource();
Choice choice = (Choice) source.getUserData();
out.println("You've chosen " + choice.getText());
gameData.activateChoice(choice);
}
}
...
<Button fx:id="button1" maxWidth="1.7976931348623157E308" mnemonicParsing="false" onAction="#button" style="-fx-background-color: black; -fx-border-color: grey;" text="Button" textFill="WHITE" />
<Button fx:id="button2" maxWidth="1.7976931348623157E308" mnemonicParsing="false" onAction="#button" style="-fx-background-color: black; -fx-border-color: grey;" text="Button" textFill="WHITE" GridPane.rowIndex="1" />
<Button fx:id="button3" maxWidth="1.7976931348623157E308" mnemonicParsing="false" onAction="#button" style="-fx-background-color: black; -fx-border-color: grey;" text="Button" textFill="WHITE" GridPane.rowIndex="2" />
...
FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource("sample.fxml"));
Parent root = loader.load();
Map<Integer, Question> questions = new HashMap<>();
questions.put(0, new Question("0",
new Choice(1, "1"),
new Choice(0, "2"),
new Choice(0, "3")
));
questions.put(1, new Question("1",
new Choice(0, "a"),
new Choice(1, "b"),
new Choice(1, "c")
));
GameData data = new GameData(0, questions);
loader.<Controller>getController().setGameData(data);