Using the Color Class

The simplest way to display a color in a Java program is to use one of the constant variables from the Color class. You can refer to the following constants: black, blue, cyan, darkGray, gray, green, lightGray, magenta, orange, pink, red, white, and yellow. In a panel or applet window, you can set the background color of the component using these constants. The following is an example:

setBackground(Color.orange);

When you want to display text of a certain color or draw other graphics in different colors, you have to use a method that sets up the current color. You can do this from within the paintComponent() method of a container by using a setColor() method, as in the following:

public void paintComponent(Graphics comp) {
 Graphics2D comp2D = (Graphics2D)comp;
 comp2D.setColor(Color.orange);
 comp2D.drawString("Go, Buccaneers!", 5, 50);
}

Unlike the setBackground() method, which can be called directly on a container such as a panel or applet, the setColor() method must be used on an object that can handle a color change. The preceding example shows the setColor() method of the comp2D object being used to change the current color of the container window.