Creating a custom TableModel with multiple column headers and row headers

Question

I\'m attempting to create a JTable that looks like the mockup below:

The green corner

Answer 1

Input is limited to 20x20 so including the headers that's 22x22.

Also consider a JScrollPane containing a JPanel having GridLayout and containing 22x22 instances JLabel, or a suitable subclass. This scales easily to several thousand cells.

Addendum: If the need arises, CellRendererPane makes a good flyweight renderer, as suggested here.

If you go with JTable for rendering scalability,

1. This is no abuse; it is exactly how TableModel is intended to be used. TableModel models a rectangular matrix of whatever you decide. JTable is just an (efficiently rendered) view of that model.

2. I prefer AbstractTableModel, shown here, because Vector is rarely the desired data structure. Use whatever container makes your indexing most convenient. DefaultTableModel is handy and serves as a guide to extending AbstractTableModel. In particular, you'll need a setValueAt().

   @Override
   public void setValueAt(Object aValue, int row, int col) {
       ... // update your data structure
       this.fireTableCellUpdated(row, col); // notify the view
   }