Ответ 1
Нет никакой разницы. Они оба имеют эффект удаления старого текста. На странице java TextComponent:
SetText
public void setText(String t)
Sets the text of this TextComponent to the specified text. If the text is null
or empty, has the effect of simply deleting the old text. When text has been
inserted, the resulting caret location is determined by the implementation of
the caret class.
Note that text is not a bound property, so no PropertyChangeEvent is fired when
it changes. To listen for changes to the text, use DocumentListener.
Parameters:
t - the new text to be set
See Also:
getText(int, int), DefaultCaret