In this section you will learn the difference between JPanel and JFrame in Java. Both are top-level containers as due to these containers Swing GUI exists and provides different ways to perform various GUI related tasks.
Java has both the classes JPanel and JFrame which are the container for the UI elements. JPanel is a general container and JFrame hosts the border, title bar, controls, event handlers on the window.
Table of Contents
What is JPanel in Java?
JPanel in Java is a light weight container which provides space on which we put the UI elements like text box, button, drop down, pictures, texts, list etc. The parent of the JPanel class is JComponent class.
The JPanel add colors to their own background, doesn’t add color to any child UI element.
What is JFrame in Java?
JFrame is available in javax.swing package and it is not much compatible with Frame. JFrame is basically a window for stand-alone applications, for example an alert window, notification window, main window. It has two sub-sections, namely the menu bar and the content pane.
JFrame is the extended version of java.awt. Frame which is the top level window contains border and title bar. In other word we can say that a JFrame is a window which contains the border, title, and close or iconify button the window.
JPanel Vs JFrame
| # | JPanel | NodeJS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parent class of JPanel is javax.swing.JComponent. | Parent class of JFrame is java.awt.Frame. |
| 2 | JPanel is a specific area for putting in GUI components and operations. | JFrame is a window for developing independent GUI applications. |
| 3 | There is no title bar in JPanel. | JFrame contains title bar. |
| 4 | JPanel is a supporting container that cannot be displayed on its own but must be added to another container. | JFrame provides the basic attributes and behaviors of a window. |
| 5 | JPanel is added to JFrame. | JFrame cannot be added to JPanel. |
| 6 | One pane can hold multiple operations in case of JPanel. | JFrame has different inner frames for performing different purposes. |
| 7 | JPanel a lightweight container. | JFrame is a heavyweight container. |
