Adding multiple JPanel to a JFrame

Question

Alright so right now I have a JFrame which contains a JLayeredPane. So this runs a game GUI right now. I want to add buttons to side of this frame so that I can take in the inputs from the user through the buttons. Any ideas?

class mapGUI extends JFrame{
        layeredPane = new JLayeredPane();
    mapSize = new Dimension(mapColumn * 16 , mapRow * 16);

    layeredPane.setPreferredSize(mapSize);
    //Adding the layeredPane to the frame.
    getContentPane().add(layeredPane);

    //Adds the appropriate labels to the panels and adds them to the layeredPane.
    addPlayerPos();
    addDungeonItems();
    addDungeonFloor();

    setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    setResizable(false);
    pack();
    setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    setVisible(true);
}

This is the part of the code where I create the JFrame and add the JLayeredPane to it.

Answer 1

1) don't use JLayeredPane , because has limitation up to 6. layers, use JLayer (Java7) based on JXLayer (Java6)

2) using JLayeredPane is about setSize / setBounds , that not confortable for resiziable Container

3) use CardLayout instead of JLayeredPane ,

4) or use JTabbedPane

Answer 2

If you want to use the Buttons through out the game you can use a BorderLayout and put the buttons on East/West of the layout, and add a LayeredPane to the Centre. If the buttons needs to overlap with the game screen you can use layeredPaneObj.add(buttonPanel,new Integer(0)) this will keep the panel on the top.

Answer 3

You should learn basic stuff about layout managers first. As mentioned before, have a special look at the BorderLayout for your requirements