Why doesn't anything in my if-else work?

Question

Below is my code and I believe my problem lies in my getGeoLoc() method. The purpose of this method is to get geo location info from an api by entering an IP, and then use that info, specifically the latitude and longitude values to get a map image to display in the GUI along with the city and region values.

My problem is that I found that nothing happens in my if and else if statement where I test if the api was a success of failure and act accordingly. I do so by testing the strings. The first line the api returns is "success" or "fail" which I store in an array (lines[0]) and then into a variable (geoTester).

When I print this value out before the if/if else, I get a value, when I print it inside the if/ if else I get nothing. Why is this?

I suspect it may have something to do with the way I have my variables or perhaps some sort of logical error in my if/ if else.

Apology: I did not realize my problem rested within my comparison statements, I overlooked it. Sorry for the duplicate question

ThreatPanel.java:

public class ThreatPanel {

JPanel DarkPanel = new JPanel(); //panel to house all display components using GridBagLayout

public GridBagLayout gridBag = new GridBagLayout();
public GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();

//Parameters for determining the threat level
final int TEST = 0;
final int TEST2 = 10;
final int TEST3 = 20;

//Variables used for finding the geo location and displaying the google map image
private String geoTester;
private String city;
private String region;
private String latitude;
private String longitude;
private Image img;
private ImageIcon icon;
URL geoLocRetriever;

Color severeColor = new Color(225,69,00); // a more distinguishable 'orange'
Color borderColor = new Color(235,235,235); // color used for each components border


//Target declarations.  
JLabel Target = new JLabel("TARGET");
JLabel TargetServerData;

//Client declaration
JLabel ClientIdData = new JLabel("filler"); //filler

//ServerID declarations 
JLabel ServerIdData;

//Attacker declarations.
JLabel Attacker = new JLabel("ATTACKER");
JLabel AttackerData;

//Geo Location declarations 
JLabel GeoLocData;
JLabel GeoLocImg;
JLabel GeoLocLabel = new JLabel("LOCATION");

//Threat Level declarations.
JLabel ThreatLevel = new JLabel("THREAT");
JLabel ThreatLevelData;

//Number of Attacks declarations
JLabel NumberOfAttacks = new JLabel("ATTACKS");
JLabel NumberOfAttacksData;

//DUMMY
JLabel dummy1 = new JLabel();
JLabel dummy2 = new JLabel();


public ThreatPanel()
{
DarkPanel.setLayout(gridBag);
DarkPanel.setBackground(Color.BLACK);

//Create new JLabels for the data that is to be continuously updated
TargetServerData = new JLabel();
AttackerData = new JLabel();
ThreatLevelData = new JLabel();
NumberOfAttacksData = new JLabel();
ServerIdData = new JLabel();
GeoLocData = new JLabel();
GeoLocImg = new JLabel();

// Component settings. After each add(), GridBagConstraint (gbc) returns to default.
// gridx and gridy refer to the cells position, similar to Excel or HTML tables.
// weightx and weighty determines how to distribute space among columns and rows.
// gridheight and gridwidth define how many cells a component occupies.
// fill determines how the component will fill the display area.

//FIRST COLUMN//////////////

Target.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 85));
Target.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
Target.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.weightx = 1;
Target.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(3, 3, 2, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(Target, gbc);

ClientIdData.setForeground(Color.WHITE);
ClientIdData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 100));
ClientIdData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 1;
ClientIdData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 3, 0, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(ClientIdData, gbc);

TargetServerData.setForeground(Color.WHITE);
TargetServerData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 110));
TargetServerData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 2;
TargetServerData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 3, 0, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(TargetServerData, gbc);

ServerIdData.setForeground(Color.WHITE);
ServerIdData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 100));
ServerIdData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 3;
ServerIdData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 3, 0, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(ServerIdData, gbc);

Attacker.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 85));
Attacker.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
Attacker.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 4;
Attacker.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(2, 3, 2, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(Attacker, gbc);

AttackerData.setForeground(Color.RED);
AttackerData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 110));
AttackerData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 5;
AttackerData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 3, 0, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(AttackerData, gbc);

GeoLocData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 70));
GeoLocData.setForeground(Color.RED);
GeoLocData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 6;
GeoLocData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 3, 3, 2, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(GeoLocData, gbc);

//SECOND COLUMN/////////////////

ThreatLevel.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 85));
ThreatLevel.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
ThreatLevel.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.weightx = 0.0;
ThreatLevel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(3, 0, 2, 3, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(ThreatLevel, gbc);

ThreatLevelData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 100));
ThreatLevelData.setForeground(Color.BLACK);
ThreatLevelData.setOpaque(true);
ThreatLevelData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 1;
ThreatLevelData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 0, 2, 3, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(ThreatLevelData, gbc);

NumberOfAttacks.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 85));
NumberOfAttacks.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
NumberOfAttacks.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 2;
NumberOfAttacks.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 0, 2, 3, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(NumberOfAttacks, gbc);

NumberOfAttacksData.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 100));
NumberOfAttacksData.setForeground(Color.RED);
NumberOfAttacksData.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 3;
NumberOfAttacksData.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 0, 0, 3, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(NumberOfAttacksData, gbc);

GeoLocLabel.setFont(new Font("Arial", Font.BOLD, 85));
GeoLocLabel.setForeground(Color.GREEN);
GeoLocLabel.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 4;
GeoLocLabel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(2, 0, 2, 3, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(GeoLocLabel, gbc);

GeoLocImg.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridheight = 2;
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 5;
GeoLocImg.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 0, 3, 3, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(GeoLocImg, gbc);

//DUMMY ROW AND COLUMN used in order to preset fixed size for map component
dummy1.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridheight = 2;
gbc.gridx = 2;
gbc.gridy = 5;
gbc.insets = new Insets(302,0,0,0); //extra 2 pixels to account for border
dummy1.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 0, 0, 0, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(dummy1, gbc);

dummy2.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 7;
gbc.insets = new Insets(0,503,0,0); //extra 3 pixels to account for border
dummy2.setBorder(BorderFactory.createMatteBorder(0, 0, 0, 0, borderColor));
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
DarkPanel.add(dummy2, gbc);

MainDisplay.frame.add(DarkPanel);

}

public void getGeoLoc()
{
String locHolder;
try {
    //System.out.print(MainDisplay.getAttackerIpHolder());
    geoLocRetriever = new URL("http://ip-api.com/line/"+ MainDisplay.getAttackerIpHolder());
} catch (MalformedURLException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

InputStream stream = null;
try {
    stream = geoLocRetriever.openStream(); //read from url
} catch (IOException e1) {
    e1.printStackTrace();
}
ByteArrayOutputStream buffer = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
if (stream != null) try {
    final BufferedInputStream input = new BufferedInputStream(stream);
    final byte[] reader = new byte[16384];
    int r = 0;
    while ((r = input.read(reader, 0, 16384)) != -1)
        buffer.write(reader, 0, r);
    buffer.flush();
} catch(IOException e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
} finally {
    if(stream != null) try {
        stream.close();
    } catch(IOException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}


locHolder = new String(buffer.toByteArray());
String[] lines = locHolder.split("\n"); //arranges data from stream into an array
System.out.print(lines[0]);
geoTester = lines[0];
if (geoTester == "success"){ //test the first returned line for success or failure to avoid null outputs in the panel


    System.out.print(geoTester);
    city = lines[5] + ",";
    region = lines[4];
    latitude = lines[7];
    longitude = lines[8];
    //System.out.print(city);
    System.out.print(lines[5]);
    String temp;
    temp="https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=" +latitude +"," +longitude +"&zoom=7&size=500x300&markers=color:red|label:A|" +latitude +"," +longitude +"&sensor=false";
    URL mapurl = null;
    try {
        mapurl = new URL(temp);
    } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    try {
        img = ImageIO.read(mapurl);
    } catch (IOException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    icon = new ImageIcon(img);  //ImageIcon with the google map image
}
else if (geoTester == "fail"){ // if fail, the jlabel for the map will become error image
    try {
        img = ImageIO.read(new URL ("file:src/jollyroger.jpg"));
    } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    } catch (IOException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    icon = new ImageIcon(img);
    city = "To "; //to be used for error feedback
    region = "Search"; //to be used for error feedback
}

}

public void ShowThreats(){

getGeoLoc();
String geoLocEnd = city + region;
GeoLocData.setText(geoLocEnd);
GeoLocImg.setIcon(icon);

String targetEnd = MainDisplay.getTargetIpHolder(); 
    if (targetEnd == null){
        TargetServerData.setText("NULL VALUE");
    }
    else TargetServerData.setText(targetEnd);

String attackerEnd = MainDisplay.getAttackerIpHolder();
    if(attackerEnd == null){
        AttackerData.setText("No IP Stored");
    }
    else AttackerData.setText(attackerEnd);

String serverIdEnd = MainDisplay.getServerIdHolder();
    ServerIdData.setText(serverIdEnd);

String numAttacksEnd = MainDisplay.getNumAttacksHolder();
    if(numAttacksEnd == null){
        NumberOfAttacksData.setText("N/A");
    }
    else NumberOfAttacksData.setText(numAttacksEnd);        

    int threatLevelEnd = MainDisplay.getThreatLevelHolder();
    if ((threatLevelEnd > TEST ) && (threatLevelEnd < TEST2)){
        ThreatLevelData.setText("WARNING");
        ThreatLevelData.setForeground(Color.YELLOW);
    }
    else if ((threatLevelEnd > TEST2 ) && (threatLevelEnd < TEST3)){
        ThreatLevelData.setText("SEVERE");
        ThreatLevelData.setBackground(severeColor);
    }
    else if (threatLevelEnd > TEST3){
        ThreatLevelData.setText("CRITICAL");
        ThreatLevelData.setBackground(Color.RED);
    }
    else{
        ThreatLevelData.setText("N/A");
        ThreatLevelData.setBackground(Color.PINK);
    }



}

}

1) For better help sooner, post an [SSCCE](http://sscce.org/). 2) A single blank line of white space in source code is *always* enough. Blank lines after `{` or before `}` are also typically redundant. — Andrew Thompson, Jul 27 '13 at 04:44
Don't compare Strings with `==`. That is, `if (geoTester == "success")` should be `if (geoTest.equals("success")`. — Greg Kopff, Jul 27 '13 at 04:45
@AndrewThompson sorry Andrew I didn't know. thanks for the tip. — exit_1, Jul 27 '13 at 04:50
@Greg Kopff thanks for your input, it worked! and so paulsm4 answer. which is better and whats the difference? — exit_1, Jul 27 '13 at 04:50

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 27 '13 at 04:46

2

You can't use "==" to compare strings in Java.

// Wrong
geoTester = lines[0];
if (geoTester == "success"){ //test the first returned line for success or failure to avoid null outputs in the panel


// Correct
if (geoTester.compareTo("success") == 0)

You can also use "String.equals()" or "String.equalsIgnoreCase()":

http://docs.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/api/java/lang/String.html

answered Jul 27 '13 at 04:46

paulsm4

114,292
17
138
190

`geoTester.compareTo("success") == 0` Why not just `geoTester.equals("success")`? – Andrew Thompson Jul 27 '13 at 04:47
That would be my question too, I tried both and both solved my problem! but what's the difference between these two methods? – exit_1 Jul 27 '13 at 04:49
The one I wrote is less key strokes for the same result. ;) Read the JavaDocs for the fine details on each method. – Andrew Thompson Jul 27 '13 at 05:20

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

1

== compares the exact values. So it compares if the primitive values are the same,

.equals() calls the comparison method of objects, which will compare the actual objects pointed by the references. In the case of Strings, it compares each character to see if they're equal.

So compare like

if (geoTester.equals("success")){


}

Prefer to read :Java Strings: compareTo() vs. equals()

edited May 23 '17 at 10:25

Community

1
1

answered Jul 27 '13 at 04:49

Suresh Atta

120,458
37
198
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Why doesn't anything in my if-else work?

2 Answers2