Can I make a JPanel perform an action?

By adding an ActionListener to a button, we can make the button affect things it doesn't have privelage to talk to itself.

Is it possible to use a similar system with a JPanel and the container the JPanel is in? Have the container add an ActionListener to a JPanel, and then make the JPanel fire an action event?

Thanks,
Nick

How to Use Key Bindings

Thanks.
Once I've added something to the action map, how can I fire it whenever I like? I don't want it to be a response to keyboard input.

There might be a lot of possibilities depending on what you are trying to do. Can you say some more about what you want to do?

Is it possible to use a similar system with a JPanel and the container the JPanel is in? Have the container add an ActionListener to a JPanel, and then make the JPanel fire an action event?

Ofcourse, you can make a JPanel listen to events. If you have a button and textarea in the JPanel, then whenever an event occurs in the text area or button, the same action takes place.

My deal is, say I have 2 classes which extend JPanel in one big JPanel. I want to make it so that when JPanel A is modified it automatically updates JPanel B, but I'd rather not give JPanel A a pointer to JPanel B. My dream is that from the big JPanel I could add an action to A which updates B.

Two possibilities come to mind for this
1 — THE OBSERVER PATTERN
2 — a PropertyChangeListener which is discussed here: How to Write a Property Change Listener.

Thanks, I think that'll work.