How to make key board commands in java

Question

I just started making an RPG with my friend. We want to be able to move the character around, using either arrow keys, or WASD. I don't know how to do so, and I've been looking over the internet for a bit. I know I have to use ActionListener, but beyond that, I have no idea what I'm doing with it. This is the part of the code that uses the keyboard input, but I don't know what to do to

public class Character implements ActionListener
 {
  public static char KBoard(char w, char a, char s, char d)
   {
     /_\-|(This is what I need help with, reading in the keyboard input)|-/_\
     return kBoard;
    }
   public static int MoveX (int velocity)
    {
     velocity = 5

     Switch (kBoard)

     case 'w':
     characterPosX -= velocity;
     break;

     case 's':
     characterPosX += velocity;
     break;

     return characterPosY;
    }
   public static int MoveY (int velocity)
    {
     velocity = 5

     Switch (kBoard)

     case 'a':  
     characterPosY -= velocity;
     break;

     case 'd':    
     characterPosY += velocity;
     break;
     return characterPosY;
    }
   public void Character ()
    {
      (code to make the character appear)
    }
   }

Answer 1

You don't need action listener. You need to use a scanner - one that reads in the input, constantly.

public static char KBoard(char w, char a, char s, char d)
{
    Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);
    System.out.print("");
    char kBoard = scan.nextChar();
    return kBoard;
}

But hey, now if anyone needs to know, they can look here. You can also add a filter here, an if-else statement, to make sure that the only chars getting passed in are the chars you want, and none of the others will work.