How can I read a string directly into a variable? Java, slick - slick

Question

I want to program some kind of game where the player has to name loacations shown on a map. I am using the slick library.
My problem is that I need some way to get the keyboard input from the player. I tried it with InputDialog from JOptionPane but I do not really like it. I would rather have the string appear on some part of the screen. But I do not have any idea how I can read from the keyboard directly into a variable that should be drawn on the screen. I thought that it would be possible to use streams but if I try to get some examples, they are always about reading from files and I do not know how to use that for reading from keyboard.
String answer;
public void render(GameContainer gameContainer, StateBasedGame sbGame, Graphics g){
g.drawString(answer, 50, 50);
}
public void update(GameContainer gameContainer, StateBasedGame sbGame, int delta){
//user types something which I now call "inputFromUser"
//it does not appear anywhere before the string is drawn on the screen.
answer = inputFromUser;
}
Something like a Scanner does not work for me because the user has to type that into the console, and I want him to type it "directly into the game" like it works with a textfield. (But I do not want to use a textfield.)

Answer 1

I have one way to accomplish that but it's fairly resource intensive. First create a global variable to keep track of the current letters. now create a new method that runs through all of the keys to check if they are down
private String totalString;
private void handelUserInput(Input input){
if(input.isKeyDown(Input.KEY_BACK)){
totalString = totalString.substring(0, totalString.length() - 1);
}
if(input.isKeyDown(Input.KEY_A)){
totalString += "a";
}
if(input.isKeyDown(Input.KEY_B)){
totalString += "b";
}
...etc
}
next create an input handler in the update loop to pass into the handle input method.
public void update(GameContainer gc, StateBasedGame sbg, int delta)throws SlickException {
Input input = gc.getInput();
handelUserInput(input);
}
and then print the string somewhere on your window in the render loop. by the way the Input class is built into slick.