Provides a way to produce an information box surrounded by a char such as *.

InformationBox.java

import java.util.LinkedList;
import java.util.List;

/**
 * Provides a way to produce an information box surrounded by a char such as *. To use, add lines by calling {@link #add(String)} and then call {@link #getStringsInBox(char)} to get a String that can
 * be put into a System.out.println call or used elsewhere that is formatted.
 * 
 * @author Arthur Embleton
 * 
 */
public class InformationBox {

	private static final String EOL = System.getProperty("line.separator");

	private final List<String> lines = new LinkedList<String>();

	/**
	 * Adds a line to the list of lines that will be printed out in a box when {@link #getStringsInBox(char)} is called.
	 * 
	 * @param line
	 *            The line to be added
	 */
	public void add(String line) {
		lines.add(line);
	}

	/**
	 * Add a blank line
	 */
	public void add() {
		lines.add("");
	}

	/**
	 * Returns all of the strings inside a box made out of the border character.
	 * 
	 * @param border
	 *            The character to use as a border
	 * @return A {@link String} that when displayed will show all of the strings added using {@link #add(String)} inside a box
	 */
	public String getStringsInBox(char border) {
		StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();
		int width = maxLengthOfLines();// add four to give a border
		String topAndBottom = buildStringWithChar(border, width);

		sb.append(EOL);
		sb.append(' ').append(topAndBottom).append(' ').append(EOL);
		sb.append(formatLine("", border, width)).append(EOL);

		for (String line : lines) {
			sb.append(formatLine(line, border, width)).append(EOL);
		}

		sb.append(formatLine("", border, width)).append(EOL);
		sb.append(' ').append(topAndBottom).append(' ').append(EOL);

		return sb.toString();
	}

	private String formatLine(String line, char border, int width) {
		String paddedStr = padEndToLength(line, width);
		return applyBorder(border, paddedStr);
	}

	private String applyBorder(char border, String str) {
		StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();

		sb.append(' ').append(border).append(' ').append(str).append(' ').append(border);

		return sb.toString();
	}

	private String padEndToLength(String str, int width) {
		StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer(str);

		while (sb.length() < width) {
			sb.append(' ');
		}

		return sb.toString();
	}

	private String buildStringWithChar(char c, int width) {
		StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();

		// add 4 to give a border
		for (int i = 0; i < width + 4; i++) {
			sb.append(c);
		}

		return sb.toString();
	}

	private int maxLengthOfLines() {
		int maxLength = 0;

		for (String line : lines) {
			if (line != null && line.length() > maxLength) {
				maxLength = line.length();
			}
		}

		return maxLength;
	}
}