JFC Swing Tutorial, The: A Guide to Constructing GUIs, Second Edition

Chapter 3. Using Swing Components

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/components/index.html

This chapter gives you the background information you need to use Swing components. It assumes that you've successfully compiled and run programs that use Swing components and that you're familiar with basic Swing concepts. These prerequisites were covered in the previous two chapters.

This chapter doesn't tell you how to use a particular Swing components. Once you're ready to start using Swing components in your own programs, you should read the relevant how-to sections in Chapter 7, Individual Components Reference (page 147). For example, if your program needs a frame, a label, a button, and a color chooser, you should read How to Make Frames ...