TableColumn

1️⃣ What is TableColumn?

• TableColumn represents a single column in a TableView.
• Each column is responsible for displaying one property of the items in the table.
• Usually, you pair it with a data model class (like Person, Product, etc.).
• Columns can be editable or sortable.

2️⃣ Key Features

• setCellValueFactory() → defines which property of the data model to show in the column.
• Can set custom cell rendering using setCellFactory().
• Can have multiple columns in a single TableView.

3️⃣ Example with Java Code

Suppose we have a Person class:

public class Person {
    private final String firstName;
    private final String lastName;
    private final int age;

    public Person(String firstName, String lastName, int age) {
        this.firstName = firstName;
        this.lastName = lastName;
        this.age = age;
    }

    public String getFirstName() { return firstName; }
    public String getLastName() { return lastName; }
    public int getAge() { return age; }
}

Then a TableView with TableColumns:

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.TableColumn;
import javafx.scene.control.TableView;
import javafx.scene.control.cell.PropertyValueFactory;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
import javafx.collections.FXCollections;

public class TableColumnExample extends Application {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) {

        TableView<Person> tableView = new TableView<>();

        // Create columns
        TableColumn<Person, String> firstNameCol = new TableColumn<>("First Name");
        firstNameCol.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("firstName"));

        TableColumn<Person, String> lastNameCol = new TableColumn<>("Last Name");
        lastNameCol.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("lastName"));

        TableColumn<Person, Integer> ageCol = new TableColumn<>("Age");
        ageCol.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("age"));

        tableView.getColumns().addAll(firstNameCol, lastNameCol, ageCol);

        // Add sample data
        tableView.setItems(FXCollections.observableArrayList(
            new Person("Ahmed", "Khaldi", 26),
            new Person("Sara", "Benali", 22),
            new Person("Omar", "Fares", 30)
        ));

        VBox root = new VBox(tableView);
        Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 300);

        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.setTitle("TableColumn Example");
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        launch(args);
    }
}

✅ Explanation:

• Each TableColumn uses PropertyValueFactory to get the value from Person.
• The generic <Person, String> means this column is for Person, and its cell values are String.
• You can add as many columns as you want.

4️⃣ FXML Version

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.TableColumn?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.TableView?>
<?import javafx.scene.layout.VBox?>

<VBox xmlns="http://javafx.com/javafx/17.0.2" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml"
      fx:controller="com.example.TableColumnController"
      spacing="10" style="-fx-padding: 20;">
    
    <TableView fx:id="tableView">
        <columns>
            <TableColumn fx:id="firstNameCol" text="First Name"/>
            <TableColumn fx:id="lastNameCol" text="Last Name"/>
            <TableColumn fx:id="ageCol" text="Age"/>
        </columns>
    </TableView>
    
</VBox>

Controller

package com.example;

import javafx.collections.FXCollections;
import javafx.fxml.FXML;
import javafx.scene.control.TableColumn;
import javafx.scene.control.TableView;
import javafx.scene.control.cell.PropertyValueFactory;

public class TableColumnController {

    @FXML
    private TableView<Person> tableView;

    @FXML
    private TableColumn<Person, String> firstNameCol;
    @FXML
    private TableColumn<Person, String> lastNameCol;
    @FXML
    private TableColumn<Person, Integer> ageCol;

    @FXML
    public void initialize() {
        firstNameCol.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("firstName"));
        lastNameCol.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("lastName"));
        ageCol.setCellValueFactory(new PropertyValueFactory<>("age"));

        tableView.setItems(FXCollections.observableArrayList(
            new Person("Ahmed", "Khaldi", 26),
            new Person("Sara", "Benali", 22),
            new Person("Omar", "Fares", 30)
        ));
    }
}