Setting-up a class of swing objects - how to?

Question

I'm interested in creating a class that contains several swing objects. What is a good location to initialize the swing objects? I'd appreciate some options other than the constructor (events?), or why this is a good location? Also, as a secondary question, should I wrap the swing code in a swing thread or assume the caller will do this?
class manyJObjects extends javax.swing.JLayeredPane {
    javax.swing.JTextArea txtArea;
    manyJObjects(){
    //Ensure we are in a swing thread then call drawDisplay()
        if(javax.swing.SwingUtilities.isEventDispatchThread()){
            drawDisplay();
        } else {
            try {
                java.awt.EventQueue.invokeAndWait(new Runnable() {               
                public void run() {
                    drawDisplay();
            } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
            } catch (InvocationTargetException ite) {
    void drawDisplay(){
    //In the actual there were be more swing objects
        try{
            txtArea = new javax.swing.JTextArea();
            javax.swing.SpringLayout spring = new javax.swing.SpringLayout();
            this.setLayout(spring);
            this.add(txtArea);
            spring.putConstraint(SpringLayout.NORTH, txtArea, 0, SpringLayout.NORTH, this);
            spring.putConstraint(SpringLayout.EAST, txtArea, 0, SpringLayout.EAST, this);
            spring.putConstraint(SpringLayout.SOUTH, txtArea, 0, SpringLayout.SOUTH, this);
            spring.putConstraint(SpringLayout.WEST, txtArea, 0, SpringLayout.WEST, this);
        } catch(Exception e) {
}

Answer 1

It's perfectly fine to initialize Swing components in the constructor, even if the constructor is called in a non-EDT thread. As long as the components have not been realized (i.e. pack() or setVisible(true)) then it's safe to set them up in a dedicated non-EDT thread. However, after the components have been realized, that's when you should only access/modify them via the EDT.
public static int main(String[] args) {
     MyFrame frame = new MyFrame(); // Constructor can do anything it wants to the Swing components except call pack() or setVisible(true).
     frame.setVisible(true);
     // After this the frame and all child components have been "realized", so the Swing thread-safety rules apply now.
}