java refreshing an array into jList

Question

OK so I have a JList and the content is provided with an array. I know how to add elements to an array but I want to know how to refresh a JList... or is it even possible? I

Answer 1

One good approach is to create a ListModel to manage the data for you and handle updates.

Something like:

DefaultListModel listModel=new DefaultListModel();
for (int i=0; i<data.length; i++) {
  listModel.addElement(data[i]);
}
list=new JList(listModel);

Then you can simply make changes via the list model e.g.

listModel.addElement("New item");
listModel.removeElementAt(1); // remove the element at position 1

Answer 2

You just need to supply your own ListModel:

 class MyModel extends AbstractListModel {
     private String[] items;

    public MyModel(String[] items) {
        this.items = items;
    }

    @Override
    public Object getElementAt(int index) {
        return items[index];
    }

    @Override
    public int getSize() {
        return items.length;
    }

    public void update() {
        this.fireContentsChanged(this, 0, items.length - 1);
    }
}

After sorting items, just call update.