The Coder's Handbook
Mouse and Keyboard
POLLING
Polling vs. Event Handlers
There are two ways to get input from the user.
The first method is called polling and it means you're checking the keyboard or mouse directly.
This tends to be faster and smoother.
It is usually a little easier to work into your code, since it's based on built-in variables.
The second option is by using an event handler.
These are special methods that only activate when the user presses a key or a mouse
These can work well, but can have a slow response time.
Mouse Polling
mousePressed Stores a boolean value: true if the mouse is pressed, and false otherwise
mouseButton Stores which button was last pressed. Can be LEFT, RIGHT, or CENTER.
mouseX Stores an integer value containing the cursor's x position
mouseY Stores an integer value containing the cursor's y position
Code:
if(mousePressed && mouseButton == LEFT) // Detects if left mouse is pressed
{
ellipse(mouseX, mouseY, 50, 50); // Draws an ellipse at the cursor
}
Note: In the example above, note that we need to check mousePressed. This is because mouseButton simply stores the last button that was pressed - even if it's been a long time. It doesn't tell us anything about whether the button is still down or not.
Keyboard Polling
keyPressed Stores a boolean value: true if any key is pressed, and false otherwise
key Stores which key was last pressed. Works for letters, numbers, symbols, and space.
keyCode Stores which key was last pressed. Used for UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, ALT, SHIFT, and CONTROL
Code:
if(keyPressed && key == 'r' ) // Detects if the 'r' key is pressed
{
reload();
}
else if(keyPressed && key == '1') // Detects if the number '1' is pressed
{
setSpeedOne();
}
else if(keyPressed && keyCode == LEFT) // Detects if the left key is pressed
{
moveLeft();
}
else if(keyPressed && keyCode == CTRL && key == 'q') // Detects if control and q are both pressed
{
quit();
}
EVENT HANDLERS
Warning
These might seem like the easy way to get mouse and keyboard input, but they won't work well for all projects. Similarly, they can cause problems with the AP Create Task Rubric. Using an event handler will not be required on any tests, but polling is fair game.
Mouse Events
void mousePressed()
This method is automatically called once when the mouse is pressed.
Useful for single clicks, but won't help if you're trying to check if the mouse is down, such as in the Nightfall project (use polling instead).
Code:
int clickCounter = 0;
void mousePressed()
{
clickCounter++; // Increase by one each click
println(clickCounter); // Print the count each click
}
Keyboard Events
void keyPressed()
This method is automatically called once when the key is pressed.
Works for single events, but isn't great for things like detecting if a key is down to move a player on the screen (use polling instead).
Code:
int keyCounter = 0;
void mousePressed()
{
keyCounter++; // Increase by one each click
println(keyCounter); // Print out the count each click
}
Looking for more input options? Check out the official reference.
RESOURCES
Chapter 3.3, 3.4 - Mouse and Key Events