What Early Users Think of JavaFX
The Java SE 6 Update 10 and JavaFX do in fact solve deployment issues for Java, says Jim Weaver, president of Java trainer jMentor, such as letting a Java or JavaFX application begin executing before the entire Java Runtime Environment has been downloaded.
Weaver describes JavaFX and the update as a "one-two punch." The update enables rich client Java to become a reality, Weaver says, whereas JavaFX Script provides the necessary simple scripting language.
JavaFX compiles down to byte code and runs anywhere the JVM runs. "You can use any Java classes within JavaFX," Weaver says. "You can leverage your Java skills with JavaFX."
"The platform promises a lot of new APIs and new abstractions to make the harder things simpler and the simpler things very easy," says Oracle's Almiray. For example, APIs and libraries take care of establishing the correct order of a drawing on the screen, he notes. JavaFX Script does offer some features not in Java, such as data-binding into the language, Almiray says. But he notes that some Java features -- such as annotations, generics, and inner classes -- are lacking in JavaFX. Almiray expects that JavaFX will succeed in the mobile arena, but says it will be tough to compete with Flex in rich Internet applications.
A Muddled Open Source Message
JavaFX initially was proclaimed to be a fully open source effort. But Sun has backed away from that stance. An FAQ page on a Sun Web site this spring reported that tools such as the compiler, runtime engine, player, and tools currently under development would not be open source.
The compiler, however, has been made open source, as have parts of the graphics libraries and some tools.
Sun plans to clarify its open source strategy for JavaFX with the Desktop 1.0 release, Lehrbaum says.
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