All items in a menu must belong to the class MenuItem, or one of its subclasses.

The default MenuItem object embodies a simple labeled menu item.

This picture of a menu bar shows five menu items: The following text describes this graphic.
The first two items are simple menu items, labeled "Basic" and "Simple". Following these two items is a separator, which is itself a menu item, created with the label "-". Next is an instance of CheckboxMenuItem labeled "Check". The final menu item is a submenu labeled "More Examples", and this submenu is an instance of Menu.

When a menu item is selected, AWT sends an action event to the menu item. Since the event is an instance of ActionEvent, the processEvent method examines the event and passes it along to processActionEvent. The latter method redirects the event to any ActionListener objects that have registered an interest in action events generated by this menu item.

Note that the subclass Menu overrides this behavior and does not send any event to the frame until one of its subitems is selected.

@version
1.88, 05/18/04
@author
Sami Shaio
Constructs a new MenuItem with an empty label and no keyboard shortcut.
Throws
HeadlessExceptionif GraphicsEnvironment.isHeadless() returns true.
@since
JDK1.1
Constructs a new MenuItem with the specified label and no keyboard shortcut. Note that use of "-" in a label is reserved to indicate a separator between menu items. By default, all menu items except for separators are enabled.
Parameters
labelthe label for this menu item.
Throws
HeadlessExceptionif GraphicsEnvironment.isHeadless() returns true.
@since
JDK1.0
Create a menu item with an associated keyboard shortcut. Note that use of "-" in a label is reserved to indicate a separator between menu items. By default, all menu items except for separators are enabled.
Parameters
labelthe label for this menu item.
sthe instance of MenuShortcut associated with this menu item.
Throws
HeadlessExceptionif GraphicsEnvironment.isHeadless() returns true.
@since
JDK1.1
Adds the specified action listener to receive action events from this menu item. If l is null, no exception is thrown and no action is performed.
Parameters
lthe action listener.
@since
JDK1.1
Creates the menu item's peer. The peer allows us to modify the appearance of the menu item without changing its functionality.
Delete any MenuShortcut object associated with this menu item.
@since
JDK1.1
@deprecated
As of JDK version 1.1, replaced by setEnabled(boolean).
@deprecated
As of JDK version 1.1, replaced by setEnabled(boolean).
@deprecated
As of JDK version 1.1, replaced by setEnabled(boolean).
Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.

The equals method implements an equivalence relation on non-null object references:

  • It is reflexive: for any non-null reference value x, x.equals(x) should return true.
  • It is symmetric: for any non-null reference values x and y, x.equals(y) should return true if and only if y.equals(x) returns true.
  • It is transitive: for any non-null reference values x, y, and z, if x.equals(y) returns true and y.equals(z) returns true, then x.equals(z) should return true.
  • It is consistent: for any non-null reference values x and y, multiple invocations of x.equals(y) consistently return true or consistently return false, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the objects is modified.
  • For any non-null reference value x, x.equals(null) should return false.

The equals method for class Object implements the most discriminating possible equivalence relation on objects; that is, for any non-null reference values x and y, this method returns true if and only if x and y refer to the same object (x == y has the value true).

Note that it is generally necessary to override the hashCode method whenever this method is overridden, so as to maintain the general contract for the hashCode method, which states that equal objects must have equal hash codes.

Parameters
objthe reference object with which to compare.
Return
true if this object is the same as the obj argument; false otherwise.
Gets the AccessibleContext associated with this MenuItem. For menu items, the AccessibleContext takes the form of an AccessibleAWTMenuItem. A new AccessibleAWTMenuItem instance is created if necessary.
Return
an AccessibleAWTMenuItem that serves as the AccessibleContext of this MenuItem
Gets the command name of the action event that is fired by this menu item.
@since
JDK1.1
Returns an array of all the action listeners registered on this menu item.
Return
all of this menu item's ActionListeners or an empty array if no action listeners are currently registered
@since
1.4
Returns the runtime class of an object. That Class object is the object that is locked by static synchronized methods of the represented class.
Return
The java.lang.Class object that represents the runtime class of the object. The result is of type {@code Class} where X is the erasure of the static type of the expression on which getClass is called.
Gets the font used for this menu component.
Return
the font used in this menu component, if there is one; null otherwise
Gets the label for this menu item.
Return
the label of this menu item, or null if this menu item has no label.
@since
JDK1.0
Returns an array of all the objects currently registered as FooListeners upon this MenuItem. FooListeners are registered using the addFooListener method.

You can specify the listenerType argument with a class literal, such as FooListener.class. For example, you can query a MenuItem m for its action listeners with the following code:

ActionListener[] als = (ActionListener[])(m.getListeners(ActionListener.class));
If no such listeners exist, this method returns an empty array.
Parameters
listenerTypethe type of listeners requested; this parameter should specify an interface that descends from java.util.EventListener
Return
an array of all objects registered as FooListeners on this menu item, or an empty array if no such listeners have been added
Throws
ClassCastExceptionif listenerType doesn't specify a class or interface that implements java.util.EventListener
@since
1.3
Gets the name of the menu component.
Return
the name of the menu component
@since
JDK1.1
Returns the parent container for this menu component.
Return
the menu component containing this menu component, or null if this menu component is the outermost component, the menu bar itself
@deprecated
As of JDK version 1.1, programs should not directly manipulate peers.
Get the MenuShortcut object associated with this menu item,
Return
the menu shortcut associated with this menu item, or null if none has been specified.
@since
JDK1.1
Returns a hash code value for the object. This method is supported for the benefit of hashtables such as those provided by java.util.Hashtable.

The general contract of hashCode is:

  • Whenever it is invoked on the same object more than once during an execution of a Java application, the hashCode method must consistently return the same integer, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the object is modified. This integer need not remain consistent from one execution of an application to another execution of the same application.
  • If two objects are equal according to the equals(Object) method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce the same integer result.
  • It is not required that if two objects are unequal according to the method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce distinct integer results. However, the programmer should be aware that producing distinct integer results for unequal objects may improve the performance of hashtables.

As much as is reasonably practical, the hashCode method defined by class Object does return distinct integers for distinct objects. (This is typically implemented by converting the internal address of the object into an integer, but this implementation technique is not required by the JavaTM programming language.)

Return
a hash code value for this object.
Checks whether this menu item is enabled.
@since
JDK1.0
Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor. If any threads are waiting on this object, one of them is chosen to be awakened. The choice is arbitrary and occurs at the discretion of the implementation. A thread waits on an object's monitor by calling one of the wait methods.

The awakened thread will not be able to proceed until the current thread relinquishes the lock on this object. The awakened thread will compete in the usual manner with any other threads that might be actively competing to synchronize on this object; for example, the awakened thread enjoys no reliable privilege or disadvantage in being the next thread to lock this object.

This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. A thread becomes the owner of the object's monitor in one of three ways:

  • By executing a synchronized instance method of that object.
  • By executing the body of a synchronized statement that synchronizes on the object.
  • For objects of type Class, by executing a synchronized static method of that class.

Only one thread at a time can own an object's monitor.

Throws
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of this object's monitor.
Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor. A thread waits on an object's monitor by calling one of the wait methods.

The awakened threads will not be able to proceed until the current thread relinquishes the lock on this object. The awakened threads will compete in the usual manner with any other threads that might be actively competing to synchronize on this object; for example, the awakened threads enjoy no reliable privilege or disadvantage in being the next thread to lock this object.

This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.

Throws
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of this object's monitor.
Returns a string representing the state of this MenuItem. This method is intended to be used only for debugging purposes, and the content and format of the returned string may vary between implementations. The returned string may be empty but may not be null.
Return
the parameter string of this menu item
Posts the specified event to the menu. This method is part of the Java 1.0 event system and it is maintained only for backwards compatibility. Its use is discouraged, and it may not be supported in the future.
Parameters
evtthe event which is to take place
@deprecated
As of JDK version 1.1, replaced by {@link #dispatchEvent(AWTEvent) dispatchEvent}.
Removes the specified action listener so it no longer receives action events from this menu item. If l is null, no exception is thrown and no action is performed.
Parameters
lthe action listener.
@since
JDK1.1
Removes the menu component's peer. The peer allows us to modify the appearance of the menu component without changing the functionality of the menu component.
Sets the command name of the action event that is fired by this menu item.

By default, the action command is set to the label of the menu item.

Parameters
commandthe action command to be set for this menu item.
@since
JDK1.1
Sets whether or not this menu item can be chosen.
Parameters
bif true, enables this menu item; if false, disables it.
@since
JDK1.1
Sets the font to be used for this menu component to the specified font. This font is also used by all subcomponents of this menu component, unless those subcomponents specify a different font.

Some platforms may not support setting of all font attributes of a menu component; in such cases, calling setFont will have no effect on the unsupported font attributes of this menu component. Unless subcomponents of this menu component specify a different font, this font will be used by those subcomponents if supported by the underlying platform.

Parameters
fthe font to be set
Sets the label for this menu item to the specified label.
Parameters
labelthe new label, or null for no label.
@since
JDK1.0
Sets the name of the component to the specified string.
Parameters
namethe name of the menu component
@since
JDK1.1
Set the MenuShortcut object associated with this menu item. If a menu shortcut is already associated with this menu item, it is replaced.
Parameters
sthe menu shortcut to associate with this menu item.
@since
JDK1.1
Returns a representation of this menu component as a string.
Return
a string representation of this menu component
Causes current thread to wait until another thread invokes the method or the method for this object. In other words, this method behaves exactly as if it simply performs the call wait(0).

The current thread must own this object's monitor. The thread releases ownership of this monitor and waits until another thread notifies threads waiting on this object's monitor to wake up either through a call to the notify method or the notifyAll method. The thread then waits until it can re-obtain ownership of the monitor and resumes execution.

As in the one argument version, interrupts and spurious wakeups are possible, and this method should always be used in a loop:

     synchronized (obj) {
         while (<condition does not hold>)
             obj.wait();
         ... // Perform action appropriate to condition
     }
 
This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.
Throws
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of the object's monitor.
InterruptedExceptionif another thread interrupted the current thread before or while the current thread was waiting for a notification. The interrupted status of the current thread is cleared when this exception is thrown.
Causes current thread to wait until either another thread invokes the method or the method for this object, or a specified amount of time has elapsed.

The current thread must own this object's monitor.

This method causes the current thread (call it T) to place itself in the wait set for this object and then to relinquish any and all synchronization claims on this object. Thread T becomes disabled for thread scheduling purposes and lies dormant until one of four things happens:

  • Some other thread invokes the notify method for this object and thread T happens to be arbitrarily chosen as the thread to be awakened.
  • Some other thread invokes the notifyAll method for this object.
  • Some other thread interrupts thread T.
  • The specified amount of real time has elapsed, more or less. If timeout is zero, however, then real time is not taken into consideration and the thread simply waits until notified.
The thread T is then removed from the wait set for this object and re-enabled for thread scheduling. It then competes in the usual manner with other threads for the right to synchronize on the object; once it has gained control of the object, all its synchronization claims on the object are restored to the status quo ante - that is, to the situation as of the time that the wait method was invoked. Thread T then returns from the invocation of the wait method. Thus, on return from the wait method, the synchronization state of the object and of thread T is exactly as it was when the wait method was invoked.

A thread can also wake up without being notified, interrupted, or timing out, a so-called spurious wakeup. While this will rarely occur in practice, applications must guard against it by testing for the condition that should have caused the thread to be awakened, and continuing to wait if the condition is not satisfied. In other words, waits should always occur in loops, like this one:

     synchronized (obj) {
         while (<condition does not hold>)
             obj.wait(timeout);
         ... // Perform action appropriate to condition
     }
 
(For more information on this topic, see Section 3.2.3 in Doug Lea's "Concurrent Programming in Java (Second Edition)" (Addison-Wesley, 2000), or Item 50 in Joshua Bloch's "Effective Java Programming Language Guide" (Addison-Wesley, 2001).

If the current thread is interrupted by another thread while it is waiting, then an InterruptedException is thrown. This exception is not thrown until the lock status of this object has been restored as described above.

Note that the wait method, as it places the current thread into the wait set for this object, unlocks only this object; any other objects on which the current thread may be synchronized remain locked while the thread waits.

This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.

Parameters
timeoutthe maximum time to wait in milliseconds.
Throws
IllegalArgumentExceptionif the value of timeout is negative.
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of the object's monitor.
InterruptedExceptionif another thread interrupted the current thread before or while the current thread was waiting for a notification. The interrupted status of the current thread is cleared when this exception is thrown.
Causes current thread to wait until another thread invokes the method or the method for this object, or some other thread interrupts the current thread, or a certain amount of real time has elapsed.

This method is similar to the wait method of one argument, but it allows finer control over the amount of time to wait for a notification before giving up. The amount of real time, measured in nanoseconds, is given by:

 1000000*timeout+nanos

In all other respects, this method does the same thing as the method of one argument. In particular, wait(0, 0) means the same thing as wait(0).

The current thread must own this object's monitor. The thread releases ownership of this monitor and waits until either of the following two conditions has occurred:

  • Another thread notifies threads waiting on this object's monitor to wake up either through a call to the notify method or the notifyAll method.
  • The timeout period, specified by timeout milliseconds plus nanos nanoseconds arguments, has elapsed.

The thread then waits until it can re-obtain ownership of the monitor and resumes execution.

As in the one argument version, interrupts and spurious wakeups are possible, and this method should always be used in a loop:

     synchronized (obj) {
         while (<condition does not hold>)
             obj.wait(timeout, nanos);
         ... // Perform action appropriate to condition
     }
 
This method should only be called by a thread that is the owner of this object's monitor. See the notify method for a description of the ways in which a thread can become the owner of a monitor.
Parameters
timeoutthe maximum time to wait in milliseconds.
nanosadditional time, in nanoseconds range 0-999999.
Throws
IllegalArgumentExceptionif the value of timeout is negative or the value of nanos is not in the range 0-999999.
IllegalMonitorStateExceptionif the current thread is not the owner of this object's monitor.
InterruptedExceptionif another thread interrupted the current thread before or while the current thread was waiting for a notification. The interrupted status of the current thread is cleared when this exception is thrown.