Java Reference
In-Depth Information
At JavaOne 2010, JavaFX 2.0 was announced. The JavaFX 2.0 roadmap was published by Oracle and included
items such as the following.
•
Deprecate the JavaFX Script language in favor of using Java and the JavaFX 2.0 API. This brings
JavaFX into the mainstream by making it available to any language (e.g., Java, Groovy, and
JRuby) that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). As a consequence, existing developers do
not need to learn a new language, but they can use existing skills and start developing JavaFX
applications.
•
Make the compelling features of JavaFX Script, including binding to expressions, available in
the JavaFX 2.0 API.
•
Offer an increasingly rich set of UI components, building on the components already available
in JavaFX 1.3.
•
Provide a Web component for embedding HTML and JavaScript content into JavaFX
applications.
•
Enable JavaFX interoperability with Swing.
•
Rewrite the media stack from the ground up.
JavaFX 2.0 was released at JavaOne 2011, and has enjoyed a greatly increased adoption rate due to the innovative
features articulated previously.
JavaFX 8 marks another important milestone. JavaFX is now an integral part of the Java Platform,
Standard Edition.
•
This is a clear indication that JavaFX is considered mature enough, and that it is the future of
Java on the client.
•
This greatly benefits developers, as they don't have to download two SDKs and tool suites.
•
The new technologies in Java 8, in particular the Lambda expressions, Stream API, and default
interface methods, are very usable in JavaFX.
•
Many new features have been added, including native 3D support, a printing API, and some
new controls including a datepicker.
Now that you've had the obligatory history lesson in JavaFX, let's get one step closer to writing code by showing
you where some examples, tools, and other resources are.
Prepare Your JavaFX Journey
Required Tools
Because JavaFX is now part of Java, you don't have to download a separate JavaFX SDK. The whole
JavaFX API and implementation is part of the Java 8 SE SDK that can be downloaded from
This SDK contains everything you need to develop, run, and package JavaFX applications. You can compile
JavaFX applications using command-line tools contained in the Java 8 SE SDK.
Most developers, however, prefer an integrated development environment (IDE) for increased productivity.
By definition, an IDE that supports Java 8 also supports JavaFX 8. Hence, you can use your favorite IDE and develop
JavaFX applications. In this topic, we mainly use the NetBeans IDE, as it allows for a tighter
integration with SceneBuilder (see the next paragraph). The NetBeans IDE can be downloaded from
Search WWH ::
Custom Search