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Launching the client

The chat client can be launched in two ways:

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Using Gradle

./gradlew run

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Using Java directly

After building the project, run the main class: 
java -cp build/classes/java/main org.uwgb.compsci330.frontend.Main
The Main class serves as a wrapper that calls FXApplication.main() to avoid runtime dependency issues with JavaFX module loading.

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Login screen walkthrough

When the application launches, you’ll see the login screen with the following components:

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UI components

The login screen (FXApplication.createLoginScreen()) consists of:
  • Login label: Displays “Please Login” at the top of the screen

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Login form

  • Username field: TextField with prompt text “Username”
  • Password field: PasswordField with prompt text “Password”
  • Sign In button: Primary action to authenticate
  • Sign Up Instead button: Alternative action to create a new account

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Layout specifications

The login screen uses JavaFX layout containers:
  • Root container: VBox with center alignment and 20px padding on all sides
  • Form spacing: 20px between form elements
  • Button width: Minimum 100px width for both action buttons
  • Window size: 640x480 pixels
The UI is built programmatically using JavaFX controls, not FXML, despite the FXML module being available in the dependencies.

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Connecting to the server

1

Enter credentials

Type your username in the username field and password in the password field.
The password field uses PasswordField component which masks input for security.
2

Choose authentication method

Click one of the available buttons:
  • Sign In: Authenticate with existing credentials
  • Sign Up Instead: Create a new account
3

Establish connection

Once authenticated, the client will establish a connection to the chat server.

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Application architecture

The client follows the JavaFX Application lifecycle:

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Entry point flow

Main.main()
  └─> FXApplication.main()
       └─> Application.launch()
            └─> FXApplication.start(Stage)
                 └─> createLoginScreen()

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Start method

The FXApplication.start() method (line 48-54):
  1. Creates the login screen VBox
  2. Initializes a Scene with 640x480 dimensions
  3. Sets the scene on the primary stage
  4. Shows the stage to display the window

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UI customization

The login screen uses the following JavaFX styling properties:
  • Alignment: Pos.CENTER for centered content
  • Spacing: 20px between elements
  • Padding: Insets(20, 20, 20, 20) for uniform padding
  • Control sizing: Buttons use setMinWidth() for consistent appearance
All UI components are defined in FXApplication.java:15-46. The layout uses nested VBox containers for vertical stacking of elements.

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