Problem with GUI/logic

Question

This is really tough to explain, but here goes:
I have a project that consists of three classes --
1) a container (JFrame) that holds a number of JButtons and JText fields;
2) a processing engine that handles the actions from the buttons;
3) an object class that is a big piece of what gets displayed based on the buttons that get pushed.
My "public static void main" is in the processing engine. All the "main" does is create an instance of the container. But the processing engine also contains the actionPerformed subclass for the buttons.
The container class instantiates the processing engine and registers the button listeners to it. Push a button and the logic goes to the processing engine. Okay so far.
The container also instantiates the object class, since that is what needs to be displayed. When the buttons are pushed, the display goes through a variety of changes as buttons are pushed in the correct sequence. Push one button, the object is updated. Push another one, it is updated in another way. The changes must all be reflected on the screen as they occur.
The problem is, when I respond to the ActionEvent, the processing engine does not have an instance of the object; it has to be passed one from the container class. If I try to instantiate a new object, it will wipe out the old one. If I don't get an instance, I get nullPointers all over the place.
So my question is: how can I pass the object from one display to the next? How can I display the object, respond to the ActionEvent by changing the object, then redisplay the modified version of the object, when I don't have an instance of the object in the ActionPerformed subclass?
I can post the code, but it's pretty garbled by repeated attempts to solve this issue.

Answer 1

Okay. Here are the three classes you requested. I built them in a hurry so there may still be syntax errors and such. But I think you can get the feel of what I'm trying to do. I can explain if not.
<code>
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class ContainerClass extends JFrame
     JPanel cardP = new JPanel();
     JButton card1 = new JButton();
     JButton card2 = new JButton();
     JButton dealButton = new JButton();
     JButton discardButton = new JButton();
     java.net.URL img1;
     java.net.URL img2;
     ImageIcon cardIcon1 = new ImageIcon();
     ImageIcon cardIcon2 = new ImageIcon();
     JPanel displayPanel = new JPanel();
     JPanel actionPanel = new JPanel();
     ActionClass ac = new ActionClass();
     public ContainerClass()
          super("Welcome to the game");
          GridLayout gl1 = new GridLayout(2, 2, 5, 5);
          setLayout(gl1);
          setSize(1000, 800);
     setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
     dealButton.addActionListener(ac);
     discardButton.addActionListener(ac);
     img1 = this.getClass().getResource("image01.gif");
     img2 = this.getClass().getResource("image02.gif");
     card1.setIcon(new ImageIcon(img1));
     card2.setIcon(new ImageIcon(img2));
     cardP.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,2,5,5));
     actionPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,2,5,5));
     cardP.add(card1);
     cardP.add(card2);
     actionPanel.add(dealButton);
     actionPanel.add(discardButton);
     add(cardP);
     add(actionPanel);
     pack();
     setVisible(true);
</code>
<code>
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
public class ActionClass implements ActionListener
     ContainerClass cc;
     ObjectClass oj;
     public static void main(String[] args)
          ContainerClass cc = new ContainerClass();
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
          String command = e.getActionCommand();
          if (command.equalsIgnoreCase("DEAL"))
               ObjectClass oj = new ObjectClass();
               ArrayList al = oj.getObject();
               display(al);
          if (command.equalsIgnoreCase("DISCARD"))
               // here I need to get the existing object and modify it. But if I
               // instantiate a new ObjectClass, it may be different than the one I've displayed.
     public void display(ArrayList al)
          // here I need to set the icons on the JButtons in the container class
          // to the images I retrieved from the getObject() method. But if I
          // instantiate a new ContainerClass, it will create a whole new screen.
</code>
<code>
import java.util.*;
public class ObjectClass
     public ObjectClass()
          // null constructor
     public ArrayList getObject()
          // in reality, this ArrayList would consist of random Strings. However, I've used these limited elements
          // to demonstrate the structure I'm dealing with. The true scope is far greater and far more random. In
          // theory, no two ArrayLists should contain the same elements.
          ArrayList al = new ArrayList();
          String[] element1 = {"Card 1", "Card 2"};
          String[] element2 = {"Color 1", "Color 2"};
          String[] element3 = {"image01.gif", "image02.gif"};
          al.add(element1);
          al.add(element2);
          al.add(element3);
          return al;
</code>
That is an extremely pared-down version of what I'm trying to do.