Building a GUI for a Sudoku Solver (Complete with ASCII Example)

Programmer Question

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OVERVIEW, SAMPLE

Hello everyone,

I have created a basic Sudoku solver that can solve most problems fairly quickly. I still have a lot of work ahead of me to make it solve even the hardest problems, but I'd like to try to implement a basic JFrame GUI first.

I have worked with internet applets in the past, but never before with JFrames.

I want to create something similar to the image below (for starters):

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! Sudoku Solver 1.0                                                                      - [] X !
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!  _____________ _____________ _____________         _____________ _____________ _____________  !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !5! !_! !_! | !_! !_! !_! | !6! !_! !1! |       | !5! !7! !2! | !4! !9! !3! | !6! !8! !1! | !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !6! !_! !_! | !_! !_! !2! | !4! !_! !_! |       | !6! !1! !3! | !8! !5! !2! | !4! !7! !9! | !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !_! !_! | !7! !_! !1! | !_! !_! !2! |       | !8! !4! !9! | !7! !6! !1! | !3! !5! !2! | !
! -_____________-_____________-_____________-       -_____________-_____________-_____________- !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !_! !4! | !_! !2! !_! | !_! !3! !_! |       | !1! !6! !4! | !9! !2! !7! | !5! !3! !8! | !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | .---. |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !3! !_! | !_! !_! !_! | !_! !9! !_! | | > | | !2! !3! !8! | !5! !1! !6! | !7! !9! !4! | !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | '---' |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !_! !_! | !_! !4! !_! | !_! !_! !_! |       | !7! !9! !5! | !3! !4! !8! | !1! !2! !6! | !
! -_____________-_____________-_____________-       -_____________-_____________-_____________- !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !2! !_! | !1! !_! !5! | !9! !_! !_! |       | !4! !2! !7! | !1! !8! !5! | !9! !6! !3! | !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !_! !_! | !6! !_! !_! | !_! !_! !5! |       | !3! !8! !1! | !6! !7! !9! | !2! !4! !5! | !
! |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |       |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  |  _   _   _  | !
! | !_! !_! !6! | !_! !3! !_! | !_! !_! !7! |       | !9! !5! !6! | !2! !3! !4! | !8! !1! !7! | !
! -_____________-_____________-_____________-       -_____________-_____________-_____________- !
!                                                                                               !
! .-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. !
! |                                                                                           | !
! |               Solved Puzzle in 9.096ms      |      Completely Solved: True                | !
! |                                                                                           | !
! '-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------' !
!                                                                                               !
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SPECIFICS

: Left Puzzle

• 9x9 Sections should be clearly defined (lines in between; seperate boxes)


• Text boxes should only accept numbers/only allow for one number to be entered (if possible)

: Right Puzzle

• 9x9 Sections should be clearly defined (lines in between; seperate boxes)


• Doesn't matter if boxes can/cannot be edited so long as they can display the result

: Button In Center

• Should run [SudokuPuzzle].solve();

: Bottom Text Box

• Should not be editable

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WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

I know from past experiences that this can all be done in a JFrame, but because I have never built one myself, I'm not quite sure which components (content items, panels, settings, etc) I need to use to meet my specifications. I have yet to find a way to limit my text boxes to numbers and prevent the user from inserting more than one value at a time. Are text boxes really the best option, or am I missing something that can more specifically suit my needs?

I not only need to know which classes I need, but also how to organize these so that the button stays comfortably between the two puzzles and the text box sits underneath. From what I've read, MigLayout seems like an option to simplify this process.

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END NOTES

Many, many thanks to anyone who helps. If any part of this question appears a little rude or abrupt, I apologize. I tend to post most of my questions at night, so the community has a few hours to mull it over before I try all the responses (that and the fact that I'm out doing stuff most days).

I will be awake for 1-2 more hours to answer any questions.

Again thanks,

Justian

Find the answer here