[java] Java JTextField with input hint

Here is a fully working example based on Adam Gawne-Cain's earlier Posting. His solution is simple and actually works exceptionally well.

I've used the following text in a Grid of multiple Fields:

H__|__WWW__+__XXXX__+__WWW__|__H

this makes it possible to easily verify the x/y alignment of the hinted text.

A couple of observations:
- there are any number of solutions out there, but many only work superficially and/or are buggy
- sun.tools.jconsole.ThreadTab.PromptingTextField is a simple solution, but it only shows the prompting text when the Field doesn't have the focus & it's private, but nothing a little cut-and-paste won't fix.

The following works on JDK 8 and upwards:

import java.awt.*;
import java.util.stream.*;
import javax.swing.*;
/**
 * @author DaveTheDane, based on a suggestion from Adam Gawne-Cain
 */
public final class JTextFieldPromptExample extends JFrame {

    private static JTextField newPromptedJTextField (final String text, final String prompt) {

        final String promptPossiblyNullButNeverWhitespace = prompt == null || prompt.trim().isEmpty()  ?  null  :  prompt;

        return new JTextField(text) {
            @Override
            public void paintComponent(final Graphics    USE_g2d_INSTEAD) {
                final Graphics2D     g2d =  (Graphics2D) USE_g2d_INSTEAD;

                super.paintComponent(g2d);

//              System.out.println("Paint.: " + g2d);

                if (getText().isEmpty()
                &&  promptPossiblyNullButNeverWhitespace != null) {
                    g2d.setRenderingHint(RenderingHints.KEY_TEXT_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_TEXT_ANTIALIAS_ON);

                    final Insets      ins = getInsets();
                    final FontMetrics fm  = g2d.getFontMetrics();

                    final int cB = getBackground().getRGB();
                    final int cF = getForeground().getRGB();
                    final int m  = 0xfefefefe;
                    final int c2 = ((cB & m) >>> 1) + ((cF & m) >>> 1); // "for X in (A, R, G, B) {Xnew = (Xb + Xf) / 2}"
                    /*
                     * The hint text color should be halfway between the foreground and background colors so it is always gently visible.
                     * The variables c0,c1,m,c2 calculate the halfway color's ARGB fields simultaneously without overflowing 8 bits.
                     * Swing sets the Graphics' font to match the JTextField's font property before calling the "paint" method,
                     * so the hint font will match the JTextField's font.
                     * Don't think there are any side effects because Swing discards the Graphics after painting.
                     * Adam Gawne-Cain, Aug 6 2019 at 15:55
                     */
                    g2d.setColor(new Color(c2, true));
                    g2d.drawString(promptPossiblyNullButNeverWhitespace, ins.left, getHeight() - fm.getDescent() - ins.bottom);
                    /*
                     * y Coordinate based on Descent & Bottom-inset seems to align Text spot-on.
                     * DaveTheDane, Apr 10 2020
                     */
                }
            }
        };
    }

    private static final GridBagConstraints GBC_LEFT  = new GridBagConstraints();
    private static final GridBagConstraints GBC_RIGHT = new GridBagConstraints();
    /**/    static {
        GBC_LEFT .anchor    = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
        GBC_LEFT .fill      = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
        GBC_LEFT .insets    = new Insets(8, 8, 0, 0);

        GBC_RIGHT.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
        GBC_RIGHT.fill      = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
        GBC_RIGHT.insets    = new Insets(8, 8, 0, 8);
    }

    private <C extends Component> C addLeft (final C component) {
        this    .add           (component);
        this.gbl.setConstraints(component, GBC_LEFT);
        return                  component;
    }
    private <C extends Component> C addRight(final C component) {
        this    .add           (component);
        this.gbl.setConstraints(component, GBC_RIGHT);
        return                  component;
    }

    private static final String ALIGN = "H__|__WWW__+__XXXX__+__WWW__|__H";

    private final GridBagLayout gbl = new GridBagLayout();

    public JTextFieldPromptExample(final String title) {
        super(title);
        this.setLayout(gbl);

        final java.util.List<JTextField> texts = Stream.of(
                addLeft (newPromptedJTextField(ALIGN + ' ' + "Top-Left"    , ALIGN)),
                addRight(newPromptedJTextField(ALIGN + ' ' + "Top-Right"   , ALIGN)),

                addLeft (newPromptedJTextField(ALIGN + ' ' + "Middle-Left" , ALIGN)),
                addRight(newPromptedJTextField(                       null , ALIGN)),

                addLeft (new        JTextField("x"        )),
                addRight(newPromptedJTextField("x",   ""  )),

                addLeft (new        JTextField(null       )),
                addRight(newPromptedJTextField(null,  null)),

                addLeft (newPromptedJTextField(ALIGN + ' ' + "Bottom-Left" , ALIGN)),
                addRight(newPromptedJTextField(ALIGN + ' ' + "Bottom-Right", ALIGN)) ).collect(Collectors.toList());

        final JButton button = addRight(new JButton("Get texts"));
        /**/                   addRight(Box.createVerticalStrut(0)); // 1 last time forces bottom inset

        this.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        this.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(740, 260));
        this.pack();
        this.setResizable(false);
        this.setVisible(true);

        button.addActionListener(e -> {
            texts.forEach(text -> System.out.println("Text..: " + text.getText()));
        });
    }

    public static void main(final String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> new JTextFieldPromptExample("JTextField with Prompt"));
    }
}