Replacing Variable Name per Loop Cycle

Question

As the title says, I need to replace part of the name of the variable with the number of for loop iterations.

In my code, the variables are a grid of buttons on Swing, going from a1 to c3. I have to re-color all of the buttons dependent on the p1grid[] array. I cannot (to my knowledge) put them in an array of their own since they are buttons. Here's my code:

for (int i = 1; i < 4; i++) {
    if (p1grid[i - 1].equals("empty"))
        ("a" + i).setBackground(Color.LIGHT_GRAY);
    else
        ("a" + i).setBackground(Color.RED);
}

Put the buttons into an array or a Map. Nothing about them being Buttons stops you doing this. — Andy Turner
– Andy Turner, Commented May 7, 2019 at 16:06
You can put them in an array. Just remember that you have to add them individually, not the whole array together (loop on the array and add each one). — RealSkeptic
– RealSkeptic, Commented May 7, 2019 at 16:26

akshaya pandey · Accepted Answer · 2019-05-07 16:29:09Z

1

Your current code will not compile, because ("a"+i) is a string which does not have a setBackground() method.

Assuming the class for for buttons is Button. Thus you can do something like:

   List<Button> buttons = new ArrayList<Button>;
   buttons.add(a1);buttons.add(a2);...

Then modify the background using:

for (int i = 1; i < 4; i++) {
    if (p1grid[i - 1].equals("empty"))
        buttons.get(i-1).setBackground(Color.LIGHT_GRAY);
    else
         buttons.get(i-1)..setBackground(Color.RED);
}

answered May 7, 2019 at 16:29

akshaya pandey

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