Using a Java Timer in a Quiz

Question

I am currently creating a quiz. After each question is answered, I want the user to have a 15 second break until the next question is displayed. I also want the user to have the option to choose to proceed to the next question before the time runs out. If possible, maybe a countdown from 15 could be displayed in the window. Here is a copy of the code (which starts at the beginning of the program, and ends after the code for the first question. I won't bother adding the other 19 questions, as the code for them is almost identical). Can someone please show me how they would do this, as I have no knowledge of how to use Java timers. All of my research and trying to figure out what to do hasn't really helped.

package quiz;

import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.util.Scanner;

import javax.swing.AbstractButton;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.Icon;

import java.util.Timer;

import java.applet.*;
import java.net.*;

public class Main {

    BufferedImage img = null;
    BufferedImage img2 = null;

    Image dbImage;
    Graphics dbg;

    private ImageIcon image;
    private JLabel label;

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int score = 0;

        int seconds = 0;

        int loop1 = 0;
        int loop2 = 0;
        int loop3 = 0;
        int loop4 = 0;
        int loop5 = 0;
        int loop6 = 0;
        int loop7 = 0;
        int loop8 = 0;
        int loop9 = 0;
        int loop10 = 0;
        int loop11 = 0;
        int loop13 = 0;
        int loop14 = 0;
        int loop15 = 0;
        int loop16 = 0;
        int loop17 = 0;
        int loop18 = 0;
        int loop19 = 0;
        int loop20 = 0;
        int loop21 = 0;
        int loop22 = 0;

        long begin = 0;
        long end = 0;

        long SECbegin = 0;
        long SECend = 0;


        String name = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "What is your name? ");
        while (loop1 < 100) {
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Hello " + name + ". Welcome to the Game Show. In this quiz, you will be given $1 to start with.");
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "There will be 20 multiple choice questions. \n" +
                    "You will have 30 seconds to answer each question. Answer each question with the letter (A, B, C or D) corresponding with that answer.");
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "If you fail to answer in that time, or if you give an incorrect answer, you will be sent home with $1. \nIf you give a correct answer, your money will double.");
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "If you do not know the answer to a question, you may choose to leave the game show with half of your current prize money. You can do this by typing 'Leave' instead of an answer.");
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "After each question, you will have 15 seconds until the next question is automatically displayed. \nYou may choose to proceed to the next question before this time runs out.");
            int start = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null, "Would you like to begin? Yes or no?");
            if (start == JOptionPane.NO_OPTION) {
                JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Ok. Get ready, and when you feel you are ready to begin, click 'Ok'.");
                loop1++;
                break;
            }
            if (start == JOptionPane.YES_OPTION) {
                break;
            } else {
                System.exit(0);
                break;
            }
        }
        while (loop2 < 1) {
            // start timer
            begin = System.currentTimeMillis();
            String Q1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "Question 1: What was the original name of the Java programming language? \n A) Coffee   B) JCode   C) Oak   D) Green");
            // play Countdown.wav here!
            if (Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("C")) {
                // end timer
                end = System.currentTimeMillis();
                JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Correct!");
                if (end - begin < 30000) {
                    score = 2;
                } else {
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You took too long to answer the question! YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
                    System.exit(0);
                }
                String L1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "You now have $" + score + "! You will automatically proceed to the next question in 15 seconds. \n If you want to proceed to the next question early, type: 'Proceed'.");
                {
                    if (L1.equalsIgnoreCase("proceed")) {
                        // This is where the user chooses to proceed to the next question!
                        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
                    } else {
                        // This is where I want the program to wait 15 seconds before automatically displaying the next question!
                        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
                    }
                    break;
                }
            }
            if (Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("leave")) {
                score /= 2;
                JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You have decided to leave the game show with $" + score + "! Congratulations!");
            } else {
                JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "That is not correct! \n YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
                System.exit(0);
            }
            loop2++;
        }

... Here is something I tried, but the thread.sleep(1000); line has an error: 'unreachable code'. If I run the program without that line, nothing happens after 15 seconds:

...

        SECbegin = System.currentTimeMillis();
        String L1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "You now have $" + score + "! You will automatically proceed to the next question in 15 seconds. \n If you want to proceed to the next question early, type: 'Proceed'.");
        {
            while (System.currentTimeMillis() - SECbegin < 15000) {
                if (L1.equalsIgnoreCase("proceed")) {
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
                    break; // if there is an answer we stop waiting
                    Thread.sleep(1000);  // error: unreachable code
                } else {
                    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
                }
                break;
            }
        }
        if (Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("leave")) {
            score /= 2;
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You have decided to leave the game show with $" + score + "! Congratulations!");
        } else {
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "That is not correct! \n YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
            System.exit(0);
        }
        loop2++;
    }

I tried to fix the problem, but it doesn't work :( Nothing happens after 15 seconds:

package quiz;

import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.util.Scanner;

import javax.swing.AbstractButton;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.Icon;

import java.util.Timer;

import java.applet.*;
import java.net.*;

public class Main {

BufferedImage img = null; 
BufferedImage img2 = null;

Image dbImage;
Graphics dbg;

private ImageIcon image;
private JLabel label;

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int score = 0;

        int seconds = 0;

        int loop1 = 0;
        int loop2 = 0;
        int loop3 = 0;
        int loop4 = 0;
        int loop5 = 0;
        int loop6 = 0;
        int loop7 = 0;
        int loop8 = 0;
        int loop9 = 0;
        int loop10 = 0;
        int loop11 = 0;
        int loop13 = 0;
        int loop14 = 0;
        int loop15 = 0;
        int loop16 = 0;
        int loop17 = 0;
        int loop18 = 0;
        int loop19 = 0;
        int loop20 = 0;
        int loop21 = 0;
        int loop22 = 0;

        long begin = 0;
        long end = 0;

        long SECbegin = 0;
        long SECend = 0;


String name = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "What is your name? ");
while (loop1 < 100){
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Hello " + name + ". Welcome to the Game Show. In this quiz, you will be given $1 to start with.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "There will be 20 multiple choice questions. \n" +
"You will have 30 seconds to answer each question. Answer each question with the letter (A, B, C or D) corresponding with that answer.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "If you fail to answer in that time, or if you give an incorrect answer, you will be sent home with $1. \nIf you give a correct answer, your money will double.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "If you do not know the answer to a question, you may choose to leave the game show with half of your current prize money. You can do this by typing 'Leave' instead of an answer.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "After each question, you will have 15 seconds until the next question is automatically displayed. \nYou may choose to proceed to the next question before this time runs out.");
int start = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null, "Would you like to begin? Yes or no?");
if(start == JOptionPane.NO_OPTION) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Ok. Get ready, and when you feel you are ready to begin, click 'Ok'.");
loop1++;
break;
}
if(start == JOptionPane.YES_OPTION) {
break;
}
else{
System.exit(0);
break;
}
}
while (loop2 < 1){
    // start timer
    begin = System.currentTimeMillis();
String Q1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "Question 1: What was the original name of the Java programming language? \n A) Coffee   B) JCode   C) Oak   D) Green");
// play Countdown.wav here!
if(Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("C")) {
    // end timer
    end = System.currentTimeMillis();
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Correct!");
    if( end - begin < 30000 ){
    score = 2;
    }
    else {
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You took too long to answer the question! YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
    System.exit(0);
    }
SECbegin = System.currentTimeMillis();
String L1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "You now have $" + score + "! You will automatically proceed to the next question in 15 seconds. \n If you want to proceed to the next question early, type: 'Proceed'.");
if(L1.equalsIgnoreCase("proceed")) {
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
}
if(System.currentTimeMillis() - SECbegin < 15000){
}
break;
}
else{
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
}
if(Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("leave")) {
    score /= 2;
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You have decided to leave the game show with $" + score + "! Congratulations!");
}
else{
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "That is not correct! \n YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
System.exit(0);
}
loop2++;
    }

JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Congratulations " + name + "! You have won the game!");
System.exit(0);
}
}

PLEASE HELP ME!

Now the WHOLE PROGRAM is just buggy and crappy:

package quiz;

import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.util.Scanner;

import javax.swing.AbstractButton;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.Icon;

import java.util.Timer;

import java.applet.*;
import java.net.*;

public class Main {

BufferedImage img = null; 
BufferedImage img2 = null;

Image dbImage;
Graphics dbg;

private ImageIcon image;
private JLabel label;

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        int score = 0;

        int seconds = 0;

        int loop1 = 0;
        int loop2 = 0;
        int loop3 = 0;
        int loop4 = 0;
        int loop5 = 0;
        int loop6 = 0;
        int loop7 = 0;
        int loop8 = 0;
        int loop9 = 0;
        int loop10 = 0;
        int loop11 = 0;
        int loop13 = 0;
        int loop14 = 0;
        int loop15 = 0;
        int loop16 = 0;
        int loop17 = 0;
        int loop18 = 0;
        int loop19 = 0;
        int loop20 = 0;
        int loop21 = 0;
        int loop22 = 0;

        int loopw = 0;

        long begin = 0;
        long end = 0;

        long SECbegin = 0;
        long SECend = 0;


String name = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "What is your name? ");
while (loop1 < 100){
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Hello " + name + ". Welcome to the Game Show. In this quiz, you will be given $1 to start with.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "There will be 20 multiple choice questions. \n" +
"You will have 30 seconds to answer each question. Answer each question with the letter (A, B, C or D) corresponding with that answer.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "If you fail to answer in that time, or if you give an incorrect answer, you will be sent home with $1. \nIf you give a correct answer, your money will double.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "If you do not know the answer to a question, you may choose to leave the game show with half of your current prize money. You can do this by typing 'Leave' instead of an answer.");
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "After each question, you will have 15 seconds until the next question is automatically displayed. \nYou may choose to proceed to the next question before this time runs out.");
int start = JOptionPane.showConfirmDialog(null, "Would you like to begin? Yes or no?");
if(start == JOptionPane.NO_OPTION) {
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Ok. Get ready, and when you feel you are ready to begin, click 'Ok'.");
loop1++;
break;
}
if(start == JOptionPane.YES_OPTION) {
break;
}
else{
System.exit(0);
break;
}
}
while (loop2 < 1){
    // start timer
    begin = System.currentTimeMillis();
String Q1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "Question 1: What was the original name of the Java programming language? \n A) Coffee   B) JCode   C) Oak   D) Green");
// play Countdown.wav here!
if(Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("C")) {
    // end timer
    end = System.currentTimeMillis();
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Correct!");
    if( end - begin < 30000 ){
    score = 2;
    }
    else {
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You took too long to answer the question! YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
    System.exit(0);
    }

// start    
SECbegin = System.currentTimeMillis();
String L1 = JOptionPane.showInputDialog(null, "You now have $" + score + "! You will automatically proceed to the next question in 15 seconds. \n If you want to proceed to the next question early, type: 'Proceed'.");
while(loopw < 10000){
if(L1.equalsIgnoreCase("proceed")) {
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
    break;
}
if(System.currentTimeMillis() - SECbegin > 15000){
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You may now proceed to the next question. Good luck!");
}
else{
}
loopw++;
}

// end

if(Q1.equalsIgnoreCase("leave")) {
    score /= 2;
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "You have decided to leave the game show with $" + score + "! Congratulations!");
}


else{
JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "That is not correct! \n YOU ARE OUT OF THE GAME WITH $1!");
System.exit(0);
}
loop2++;
    }


JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Congratulations " + name + "! You have won the game!");
System.exit(0);
}
}}

Answer 1

EDIT
put it in a method so you can use it every question without copying and pasting.

I would have to go with Thread.sleep(ms);. I think that this will solve your problem, and I have prepared some untested code to demonstrate.

Before I show you that, I want to give you some background on what the sleep method actually does. OK, the sleep method pauses the current Thread for a set millisecond amount, in this case, 15 seconds, or 15000 milliseconds (1 second = 1000 milliseconds). Now, for the code, you might want to do this:

    public static boolean interrupted;
    public void wait()
    {
    interrupted = false;
    //this is just the boolean value allowing the countdown to be interrupted as you requested.
    Integer currentTime = 15;
    //set the integer value of the countdown time.
    while(currentTime > 0 || interrupted){
    //must throw InterruptedException here.
    Thread.sleep(1000);
    currentTime--;
    //'timerText' is just the graphics object displaying the current countdown state.
    timerText.setText(currentTime.toString);

    }
    currentTime = 15;
    interrupted = false;
    //resetting the values
    }

For the interrupted value, just set that when the input method for cancelling the countdown is activated.

Please remember that this code may not work, and is just a reference peice.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

import javax.swing.*;
import java.io.*;

public class quizbee
{

   static LineNumberReader cin = new LineNumberReader(new InputStreamReader(System.in));


   public static void main(String[] args)
   {
          int score = 0;
          final int NumberofQuestions = 10;

      System.out.println("Quiz Bee\n\n");


          String[][] QandA = {
                              {"Instance of a class.        A. Syntax  B. Compiler  C. Object                   Your answer:","c"},
                              {"A group or collection of objects with common properties.                    A. Class  B. Attributes  C. Variables   Your answer:","a"},
                              {"It occur when you use a correct word in the wrong context in program code.  A. Syntax Error  B. Semantic Error  C. Program Error    Your answer:","b"},
                              {"A characteristic that define an object as part of a class.              A. Attributes  B. Boolean  C. Compiler  Your answer:","a"},
                              {"A style in of programming in which sets of operations are executed one after in secuence    A. Programming  B. Procedure  C. Procedural Programming         Your answer:","c"},
                              {"Named computer memory locations that hold vakues that may vary.             A. Class  B. Variables  C. Compiler Your answer:","b"},
                              {"A statement or programs means to carry it out.              A. executing  B. Variables  C. Compiler Your answer:","a"},
                              {"An error that occurs when you introduce typing errors into your program.                A. Syntax Error  B. Semantic Error  C. Program Error    Your answer:","a"},
                              {"It refers to the hiding of data and method within an object.                A. Inheritance  B. Polymorphism  C. Encapsulation   Your answer:","c"},
                              {"It refers to the rule of language.                          A. Syntax  B. Software  C. Program  Your answer:","a"} };


         String[] Answers = new String[NumberofQuestions];


        for(int x = 0; x < NumberofQuestions; x++)
        {
             System.out.print((x+1) + ". " + QandA[x][0] + "   ");

             try { Answers[x] = cin.readLine(); }
             catch (IOException e) { System.err.println("Error."); }

             Answers[x].toLowerCase();

             if(QandA[x][1].equals(Answers[x]))
             {
                  score++;
             } 

             System.out.print("\n");

        }                         

        System.out.println("\n\t\tYou got " + score + " of "
                           + NumberofQuestions + " right!\n\n\n"); 

        System.exit(0);


   }
}