blue-infinity White Paper on JavaFX by Jan Stenvall

White Paper JavaFX 2

blue infinity

Version: 1.0 RC2

Date: 10.01.2012

Submitted to:

Author: Jan Stenvall
Sébastien Vandenbergh (supervisor)

Contact:

White Paper JavaFX

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3

2. Business Analysis ....................................................................................................... 4

3. Architecture ............................................................................................................... 5
3.1 Background .............................................................................................................. 5
3.1.1 Architectural Overview ........................................................................................... 5
3.1.2 UI Design Architecture ........................................................................................... 5
3.1.3 Java APIs for JavaFX Features ................................................................................. 6
3.2 Hardware and Software Compatibility .......................................................................... 7
3.2.1 Operating Systems – Windows, OS X, GNU/Linux, iOS, Android .................................. 7
3.2.2 Dynamic Languages for JavaFX – Groovy, Scala, Clojure ............................................ 7
3.2.2.1 GroovyFX / ScalaFX ............................................................................................... 7
3.2.3 Support for other platforms .................................................................................... 8
3.3 Comparison Chart ..................................................................................................... 8
3.3.1 Third Party Frameworks and Libraries .................................................................... 10
3.3.1.1 JRebirth ............................................................................................................. 10
3.3.1.2 MigLayoutFX ....................................................................................................... 11
3.3.1.3 JFX Flow ............................................................................................................. 11
3.3.1.4 DataFX ............................................................................................................... 11
3.3.1.5 RedFX ................................................................................................................ 11

4. Development ............................................................................................................ 12
4.1 Development Environments ..................................................................................... 12
4.1.1 JavaFX IDE Support ............................................................................................. 12
4.1.1.1 NetBeans ........................................................................................................... 12
4.1.1.2 Eclipse ............................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Visual Design Development ...................................................................................... 12
4.2.2 UI Design Capabilities .......................................................................................... 13
4.2.2.1 Designer – Developer Workflow ............................................................................. 13
4.2.2.2 CSS Capabilities .................................................................................................. 14
4.3 Testing .................................................................................................................. 15
4.3.1 Unit Testing the UI Model ..................................................................................... 15
4.3.2 FXML Dependency Injection .................................................................................. 15
4.4 Best Practices ......................................................................................................... 15
4.4.3 Patterns and Architecture ..................................................................................... 15
4.5 Deployment ........................................................................................................... 16
4.6 Continuous Integration Support ................................................................................ 16
4.6.1 Build Tools.......................................................................................................... 16
4.6.1.1 Ant Support ........................................................................................................ 16
4.6.1.2 Maven Support.................................................................................................... 16
4.6.2 Sonar Rules ........................................................................................................ 17
4.6.3 Performance Tests ............................................................................................... 17

5. Road Map.................................................................................................................. 18

6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 19

7. References ............................................................................................................... 20

© blue-infinity, proprietary and confidential page 2 of 20

White Paper JavaFX

1. Introduction

Background
This white paper will, in the changing world of information technology, provide guidance in choosing
what RIA platform to commit to.

When you are about to choose a platform, you will face enterprise-grade considerations like; How long
will these platforms be around? Which platform is best suited to meet the business and end-user
requirements? How is the performance under heavy data crunching, multitasking or other CPU
intensive operations and will the platform scale to handle an expanding future?

Integration with legacy systems, data structures, client machines and business processes will all inform
the choice of a UI technology. The CIO will also point out the fact that previous investments must be
preserved and utilized to the maximum.

Current Solutions
The two products Adobe Flex™ and Microsoft Silverlight™ are ruling the market of rich UI frameworks.
These are mature and have a broad market penetration. And many of the mentioned considerations
and challenges are handled by these platforms. The companies backing Flex™ and Silverlight™ are
reviewing their investments and are turning, slowly but firmly, their attention towards HTML5. Interest
for Flex and Silverlight is declining; the trend is visible on Google Insight for Search (Google 2011).

Figure 1. Google Insights for Search show relative interest levels of Flex (red), Silverlight (yellow) and JavaFX (blue).

However, HTML 5 is still in its infancy, at the moment and in the near future. Today is this technology
certainly not a complete replacement for Adobe Flash™ or Microsoft Silverlight™. These frameworks,
including HTML 5, may be valid options under many circumstances, but will not answer the call for
more sophisticated, complex and richer web experiences. And, in times of cost-cutting and
consolidation of services, there are more at stake.

JavaFX 2
This paves the way for JavaFX 2 (hereafter JavaFX) which has been updated to face the enterprise
challenges. With the strong backing from Oracle, JavaFX is a serious contender in the UI Framework
arena. Since JavaFX is built using Java, in concert with and for the Java community, it means that huge
investments and the amassed Java knowledge can be reused. This minimizes investments and brings a
faster return on investment.
According to the TIOBE Programming Community Index (TIOBE 2012), Java is still the number one
rated programming language. Java has a long track record and has been proven in the enterprise
environment. This along with a strong Java developer community will empower the adoption of JavaFX.


White Paper JavaFX

2. Business Analysis

Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) are, according a report from Forrester (2010), frequently used for
delivering complex and valuable online experiences. Although the term RIA is likely to fade away, the
presence of several RIA technologies will still be the key to deliver online experiences that will satisfy
customer demands for complex and visually compelling User Interfaces.

As they look to create great online experiences of the future, customer experience professionals should
use RIAs for modernizing existing online functionality, building transformative new experiences, and
creating emotional connections with users.

Oracle is stepping up to the challenge and is increasing its investment in JavaFX, according to a recent
press release (Oracle 2010). And just like Adobe Flex™ is Oracle opening up JavaFX to the open source
community. This will enable the Java community to influence the direction of the future of JavaFX.
Oracle will, unlike the handover of Adobe Flex™ to the Apache Foundation, officially back the
community and will be at the helm of the OpenJFX organization. The JavaFX runtime will be a vital part
of the Java SE Development Kit 8.

Reuse Investments
JavaFX applications are completely developed in the Java programming language, one of the most
widely adopted technologies to develop and deploy software applications, which leverages standards-
based programming practices and design patterns. All your previous investments can be preserved by
reusing Java libraries in JavaFX applications.

Consultant Profile
Benefitting of the fact that the JavaFX stack is pure Java, companies and developers can leverage their
Java skills and it will be easier to find experienced consultants. They can use their favorite Java
development tools, such as the NetBeans and Eclipse IDEs. Hence, the learning curve is steep as Java
developers will easily be acclimatized to Java and the JavaFX 2.x API.

Comparing job offer trends, reveals that the UI frameworks Flash™, Flex™ and Silverlight™ trails the
java job trend. The demand for Java developers are more than 15-fold greater. The continued high
demand for Java developers is a safeguard for a wide adoption of Java and JavaFX.

Figure 2. Indeed Job Trends - Flex vs. Silverlight (Q1 2012) Figure 3. Indeed Job Trends – Java (Q1 2012)


White Paper JavaFX

3. Architecture

3.1 Background

JavaFX 2 is a revolution of the JavaFX 1.x version. The JavaFX Script API has been remodeled and
rebuilt using Java. The JavaFX Script API has been converted to pure Java. The main architectural
design goals were: Use the richness of Java like modern concurrency, properties and bindings, CSS
support separates style and logic, etc.

3.1.1 Architectural Overview

Figure 4. Architectural block diagram showing the complete module stack of JavaFX 2.0.

This diagram shows the JavaFX component stack.
 The top layer represents the JavaFX public APIs and the JavaFX Scene Graph.
 The next layer is the Quantum Toolkit which ties Prism and Glass Windowing Toolkit together
and makes them available to the JavaFX layer.
 The third layer:
- Prism, processes render jobs
- Glass Windowing Toolkit, provide native operating services (windows, timers, surfaces)
- Media Engine, supports both visual and audio media
- Web Engine, provides a web viewer and full browsing functionality (WebKit-based)
 The fourth layer consists of the Java 2D, OpenGL, and D3D, graphics rendering services

The Quantum Toolkit, Prism, Java 2D, OpenGL, and D3D, make up the JavaFX Graphics System.

The lowest layer is the Java Virtual Machine which sits underneath the JavaFX Graphics System, Glass
Windowing Toolkit, Media Engine, and the Web Engine.

3.1.2 UI Design Architecture

The JavaFX scene graph, shown as part of the top layer in figure 4, is the starting point for
constructing a JavaFX application. A single element in a scene graph is called a node. Each node has an
ID, style class, and bounding volume. Each node in a scene graph has a single parent and zero or more
children. It can also have the following:

 Effects, such as blurs and shadows


White Paper JavaFX

 Opacity
 Transforms
 Event handlers (such as mouse, key and input method)
 An application-specific state

The javafx.scene API allows the creation and specification of several types of content, such as:
 Nodes: Shapes (2-D and 3-D), images, media, embedded web browser, text, UI controls,
charts, groups, and containers
 State: Transforms (positioning and orientation of nodes), visual effects, and other visual state
of the content
 Animation: Varying properties of the scene graph objects over time
 Effects: Simple objects that change the appearance of scene graph nodes, such as blurs,
shadows, and color adjustment

Tour de JavaFX - Ensemble
Oracle has provided an equivalent of Adobe Flex showcase “Tour de Flex”. It is named Ensemble and is
found at the following address (To run it, you must have the JavaFX Runtime installed):
http://download.oracle.com/otndocs/products/javafx/2.0.2/samples/Ensemble/index.html

Figure 5. JavaFX showcase application Ensemble.

3.1.3 Java APIs for JavaFX Features

These new Java APIs for JavaFX features allow the use of powerful Java features, such as generics,
annotations, and multithreading.


White Paper JavaFX

One of the most powerful features of the API is the use of bindings, similar to that in JavaFX 1.x Script
language. This includes support for high performance lazy binding, binding expressions, bound
sequence expressions, and partial bind re-evaluation.
It also allows extending of the Java collections library to include observable lists and maps, which allow
applications to wire user interfaces to data models, observe changes in those data models, and update
the corresponding UI control accordingly.

3.2 Hardware and Software Compatibility

3.2.1 Operating Systems – Windows, OS X, GNU/Linux, iOS, Android

JavaFX has a multilayer architecture that has been designed with portability in mind. The Internal API
is a course-grained porting layer. The JavaFX APIs is isolated from implementation details. This allows
porting to completely different systems (Operation Systems/Architectures).
JavaFX does run on devices like iOS and Android using exactly the same application code and exactly
the same JavaFX layer are used for the iOS version. But it is using an iOS specific implementation of
the abstraction layer Glass.

The Windowing API, Glass, runs (or will run) on the following systems Windows (Win 32), Mac (Cocoa),
GNU/Linux (GTK) and Headless.

3.2.2 Dynamic Languages for JavaFX – Groovy, Scala, Clojure

The JavaFX API enables dynamic languages to use JavaFX. By extension these languages support full
interoperability with Java and can run anywhere the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and JavaFX are
supported. Hence, you can use scripting languages that produce bytecode compatible with the JVM,
such as Groovy, Scala or Clojure, if you prefer to use a declarative language.
Scala is a general purpose programming language designed to express common programming patterns
in a concise, elegant, and type-safe way.
Groovy is an optionally typed, dynamic language for the Java platform with many features that are
inspired by languages like Python, Ruby, and Smalltalk, making them available to Java developers
using a Java-like syntax.
Clojure (http://clojure.org) is a dynamic programming language that targets the Java Virtual Machine
(and the CLR, and JavaScript). It is designed to be a general-purpose language, combining the
approachability and interactive development of a scripting language with an efficient and robust
infrastructure for multithreaded programming.

3.2.2.1 GroovyFX / ScalaFX

GroovyFX (http://groovy.codehaus.org/GroovyFX) is an API that simplifies working with JavaFX using
Groovy. It enables a much simpler and more natural way to use JavaFX for those well-versed in
Groovy. GroovyFX is focused on leveraging the Builder pattern for JavaFX applications, and it leverages
some of the capabilities that Groovy provides and makes the Groovy based JavaFX code easier to
write.


White Paper JavaFX

ScalaFX (http://www.scalafx.org) is an abstraction layer on top of JavaFX written with Scala that sits
on top of JavaFX. This means that every ScalaFX application is also a valid Scala application.

3.2.3 Support for other platforms

Oracle is investing time and resources to get Java to run on other hardware platforms than Intel™.
They have released the Java SE JDK for Embedded on ARM™ and x86 platforms. This is driven by the
explosion of smartphone and other modern devices.
The release of JavaFX version 2.0.2 introduced interoperability with the Standard Widget Toolkit
(SWT). This extends the possibilities to use JavaFX in either Swing or SWT applications.

3.3 Comparison Chart

Since Microsoft will cease supporting plugins in Internet Explorer 10 (Sinofsky, Blog post Q3 2011),
this incurs that Silverlight™ is not a viable option in the future. Hence, presented below is a
comparison between the two open source frameworks Adobe Flex™ and JavaFX.
Category Adobe Flex™ JavaFX
Maturity Very mature, v1.0 released 2004 Immature, v2.0 Released Q4 2011
Language MXML for its declarative aspects, FXML for its declarative aspects,
ActionScript for the programmatic Java for the programmatic aspects
aspects
Controls & 50+ 50+
Components
+ many other components, both open- + increasing amount of open-
source and commercial source components
Deep Linking Yes No

Charts Yes Yes

Browser Back/Forward Yes No

Data Binding Yes Yes

2D, 3D Effects Yes, with Flash 10+ Yes

Animations, Yes Yes
Transformations
& Effects
CSS Styling Yes Yes, CSS 2.1
GPU Hardware Yes, with Flash 10+ Yes, since 2.0
Acceleration
HD Video Yes, with H.264. Also support for true Yes, but not H.264. FLV containing
HD video (1080p) VP6 video and MP3 audio
Localization Yes Yes

JavaScript Yes, both ways Yes, both ways
Interaction
Multi-threading No Yes, utilizing Java’s threading
capabilities


White Paper JavaFX

Tooling – Development FlexBuilder IDE is mature Focus on developers, i.e.
NetBeans, Eclipse, IntelliJ, etc.
Tooling – UI Designer Since 2006, but not very good None, scheduled in mid-2012

Runtime Availability Ubiquitous, but unavailable on iOS JavaFX bundled with JRE and
available on iOS

96% of all browsers 75% of all browsers
Developer Community Very active developer community Active developer community

Governance Spoon project started by Adobe will OpenJFX started by Oracle will in
govern the development of the Flex due time “own” the JavaFX code
Framework. base.
License Free Adobe Flex SDK: Adobe Flex SDK OpenJFX releases:
license GPL v2 with Classpath Exception
license (1991)
Open Source Flex SDK: open-source
(Mozilla JavaFX: Java Binary Code License
Public License 1.1) (Q4 2011)

Adobe Flash Player:
Proprietary freeware EULA

Adobe Flash Builder:
Proprietary EULA

Adobe Catalyst:
Proprietary EULA
Table 1. Comparison between technical and non-technical characteristics of Adobe Flex™ and JavaFX.


White Paper JavaFX

3.3.1 Third Party Frameworks and Libraries

The worldwide Java community has gathered and built a vast knowledge and structure capital during
the lifetime of Java. All current and future Java frameworks and libraries are available to the JavaFX
developer. There are also third party frameworks and libraries available to extend and supplement the
basic JavaFX API.
The JavaFX community is growing and every week there is new components available to use. The
following sub-sections cover some of the community-provided (third party) JavaFX frameworks and
libraries available at the time of writing. GroovyFX and ScalaFX have already been mentioned above.

3.3.1.1 JRebirth

JRebirth (http://www.jrebirth.org) is a JavaFX framework that simplifies writing powerful RIA's
applications. It is a WCS-MVC pattern with 6 main layers:

Application: The Application is the starting
class to extend to build a JavaFX application
that use JRebirth framework.

GlobalFacade: The GlobalFacade is used to
simplify access to the other layers.

CommandFacade and Commands: The
Command layer is used to manage complex
group of actions (MultiCommand)
(synchronously or asynchronously), or atomic
reusable action (Command).

All interactions between layers must be
managed by Commands.

ServiceFacade and Services: The Service
layer is used to retrieve Data from outside the
application or to communicate with others
applications. Figure 6. JRebirth Framework diagram.

UiFacade and Models: The Model layer is
used to manage the loading of the data
displayed into a view, for example by calling a
service.

Controllers: A Controller manages the View's
Interactions logic. It's used to intercept all
JavaFX components' events.

Views: The view layer is used to create user
interface by using JavaFX core components.


White Paper JavaFX

3.3.1.2 MigLayoutFX

MigLayoutFX2 (formerly called MigPane, http://www.miglayout.com) is a wrapper for MigLayout, one of
the most powerful layout managers for Swing. This wrapper allows you to use the power of MigLayout
to layout nodes in JavaFX.

Figure 7. Picture showing a MigLayout simple layout example code.

3.3.1.3 JFX Flow

JFX Flow (http://www.zenjava.com/jfx-flow) is a free, open source framework for developing rich,
interactive and user friendly web-style GUIs for desktops using JavaFX (2.0+). JFX Flow combines the
powerful feature set of Java FX (styling, animations, FXML, etc.) with a simple ‘web flow’ style
framework, that is easy to use and that fosters clean architectural patterns, especially when developing
JEE applications.
 Supports simple, user friendly “web-style” user interface design
 Provides built-in navigation support for browser-like applications (back, forward, refresh, etc)
 Facilitates a modularized application architecture of reusable components with clean separation
of concerns (i.e. separate view code from control code)
 Provides integration with JEE technologies, such as Spring, Guice, databases and web services.
 Provides a toolkit for common user interface tasks such as blocking while loading, error
handling, animated page transitions and more.

3.3.1.4 DataFX

In summary, the DataFX (http://www.javafxdata.org) project aims to make the process of using
JavaFX ListView, TableView, and TreeView controls easier, more functional, and more powerful. It
provides various data source adapters to ensure convenience around populating JavaFX controls.

3.3.1.5 RedFX

RedFX (http://www.redfx.org) provides functionality that allows JavaFX applications to share data with
each other and with server applications without the need of writing lots of specific boiler plate code.
The synchronization and messaging infrastructure is provided by RedFX. The code was originally
written for JavaFX 1.3.1 but has been ported to JavaFX 2.
1. use RemoteObjects in order to synchronize data between JavaFX clients or between clients
and a server application.
2. use the MessageService to publish and consume Objects and events. Both clients as well
as server software can create a Channel and publish/consume data.
3. use the WebServiceClient in order to make REST calls to existing back-end systems.


White Paper JavaFX

4. Development

4.1 Development Environments

To start developing JavaFX, you need to install the JavaFX SDK, either standalone or bundled with the
latest Java SE Development Kit version 7 update 2 (Windows). Future releases of JavaFX will be
synchronized with the releases of Java SE Development kit.

4.1.1 JavaFX IDE Support

JavaFX is based on the Java language. Developers can thereby use their favorite Java development
tools, such as the NetBeans and Eclipse, for development of JavaFX applications. All the standard IDE
features, including syntax highlighting, auto-completion, interactive step-through debugging, and
profiling are available for JavaFX developers. This is a major benefit and lowers the entry level for
developers new to JavaFX.

4.1.1.1 NetBeans

NetBeans 7.1 supports full compile, debug and profile development cycle for JavaFX applications.
However, NetBeans does not provide code completion for the FXML file format. But evidently, Code
Completion for the Java/JavaFX code of course available out-of-the-box.

4.1.1.2 Eclipse

Eclipse provides the same support for JavaFX and more by using a third party plugin called e(fx)clipse
(http://efxclipse.org). e(fx)clipse extends the Eclipse IDE and provides in fact its own variant of code
completion for FXML, hereby circumventing the lack of DTD/ XSD Schema for FXML. The plugin
integrates with JDT (e.g. JavaDoc for referenced elements, auto completion support, etc.).

4.2 Visual Design Development

The current Oracle JavaFX suite of tools does not offer an application for WYSIWYG development of the
user interface. The implementation of a user interface designer in NetBeans named Composer is
currently being redeveloped to be able to handle JavaFX in the future. Oracle are developing an
application named JavaFX Scene Builder, and has declared the General Availability release in mid-
2012. Currently Oracle previews a non-public beta version of the application. It is available by
invitation only.

The separation of application logic and presentation is based on the FXML. FXML is an XML-based
declarative markup language for defining the user interface in a JavaFX application.


White Paper JavaFX

The following section outlines some of the JavaFX Scene Builder Features and an early screenshot of
the application:
 Simple drag and drop positioning of GUI elements
 Graphical FXML editor
 Strong mapping to JavaFX APIs
 Set and preview JavaFX properties and effects
 CSS setting and previewing
 Fully written with JavaFX version 2.0 APIs!

Figure 8. Screenshot of the Beta version of the Scene Builder application built with JavaFX.

4.2.2 UI Design Capabilities

4.2.2.1 Designer – Developer Workflow

JavaFX allows designers and developers to work on rich Internet applications (RIAs) concurrently. Here
is an example of an iterative designer-developer workflow.
1. Designers and developers meet to draw a graphic prototype and agree on the graphic
objects and their names. This step is very important, because it ensures that the designer
can drop the graphic into the application when it is ready without causing rework.
2. The designers create the graphic content using their design tools, while the developers
create the business logic of the application, using the rough sketch as a placeholder and
the graphic object names for their object IDs.
3. The content design and business logic go through as many iterations as necessary.
4. When both the content and business logic of the JavaFX application is final, it is deployed.

With JavaFX it is possible to map Adobe Photoshop™ elements to JavaFX code. And by using Adobe
Illustrator™ you can create vector based graphics (SVG) and copy paths directly into the JavaFX code.


White Paper JavaFX

4.2.2.2 CSS Capabilities

JavaFX enables the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) which provides the ability to apply customized
styling to the user interface of a JavaFX application without changing any of that application's source
code. CSS can be applied to any node in the JavaFX scene graph and are applied to the nodes
asynchronously. CSS styles can also be easily assigned to the scene at runtime, allowing an
application's appearance to dynamically change.
JavaFX CSS is based on the W3C CSS version 2.1 specifications, with some additional functions from
current work on CSS version 3.

In combination with FXML, using CSS further separates the application logic from the visual style.

Figure 9. Screenshot of an example application showing the CSS capabilities of JavaFX


White Paper JavaFX

4.3 Testing

4.3.1 Unit Testing the UI Model

There are no official UI test tools available. Oracle is leaning on the Java/JavaFX community to supply
these tools.
It is possible, by using JavaScript, to reference Java code in the JavaFX object. In other words, it is
possible to use JavaScript to retrieve references to Java objects. You can access static fields or invoke
static methods for classes loaded by a given JavaFX application. This enables Selenium UI tests. All
tests of the JavaFX UI framework must be done by executing JavaScript calls to the JavaFX object.

There is a third party UI test tool called SmartBear loadUI (SmartBear acquired eviware software in
2011). But it is only possible to test JavaFX 1.3.x.

4.3.2 FXML Dependency Injection

At the moment there is no way to Dependency Inject components specified in the FXML file, which
impair the test fixture setup. The FXML specifies the concrete implementation of the controller classes
and not their interfaces or abstract classes. Hence with JavaFX version 2.0.2, it is not possible to use
the Dependency Injection pattern in the development and testing of the application.

The JavaFX team is currently working on a solution according to the following bug, http://javafx-
jira.kenai.com/browse/RT-14880.

4.4 Best Practices

4.4.3 Patterns and Architecture

The usual software design patterns also applies to JavaFX. But there are also other aspects affecting a
user interface application. Martin Fowler has touched upon this subject in the following post:
http://martinfowler.com/eaaDev/uiArchs.html
In the official Oracle JavaFX forum, JavaFX team members point to the JFX Flow project as a reference
for best practices when developing a JavaFX application.


White Paper JavaFX

4.5 Deployment

Since JavaFX adheres to the Java standard, applications can be deployed on a desktop or in a browser
in four different deployment modes:

 Standalone: The JavaFX application is installed on a local drive and is run by double-
clicking the JAR file (or multiple jar files for large applications). This mode is ideal when
users do not need or do not have online access.

 Browser: In this mode, the JavaFX application is embedded in a web page and is started
automatically when the web page is accessed. It can interact with the web page through
JavaScript.

 WebStart: This mode downloads the application from a central location on the web and
then runs it on the desktop. Once it is downloaded, users can start the application by
double-clicking the JNLP file.

 Launched from a desktop shortcut: Users can create a desktop shortcut for a remote
Web Start or embedded application to simplify its subsequent launch.

4.6 Continuous Integration Support

4.6.1 Build Tools

You may develop JavaFX with your favorite Java IDE and even on the command line. To build, package
and release your application, there is support for Ant (out-of-the-box) and Maven (third party).

4.6.1.1 Ant Support

The JavaFX SDK includes Ant tasks that enable the assembling and packaging the JavaFX binaries
according to the deployment strategy chosen. As previously, it is possible to sign the jar files for
increased security.

 Creating one or more JAR files
 Creating an HTML page and deployment descriptor for Web Start applications or applications
embedded in a web page
 Digitally signing an application, when necessary
 Converting CSS files to binary format

4.6.1.2 Maven Support

As of now, there is no official support for building JavaFX projects with Maven. There are workarounds
but the main obstacle is that the JavaFX runtime relies on a DLL file (for Win32), i.e. you must first


White Paper JavaFX

install runtime binaries. You must add the runtime jar files to your local maven repository or your
repository manager of choice, e.g. Archiva, Nexus etc.

At the moment JavaFX core contains proprietary components that prohibit the distribution of the
runtime using maven repositories.

As mentioned above, there are no Maven plugins for JavaFX. However, using the maven-ant-plugin it is
possible for Maven to execute the Ant tasks.

4.6.2 Sonar Rules

Continuous Integration provides the means to increase code quality in general. Using Sonar adds
measuring of code metrics and validation of best practices. There are best practices for developing
JavaFX applications. However, these have not yet been “officially” translated to Sonar rules. The
community provides information and even makes available Sonar rule sets. Since JavaFX is Java, the
usual Java rules apply to the JavaFX specific code.
The following rules sets are used to validate the JRebirth Framework:
http://blog.webeo.fr/public/Sonar/rules-active.csv
http://blog.webeo.fr/public/Sonar/rules-inactive.csv

4.6.3 Performance Tests

A repeat of the already stated fact, JavaFX is Java. This is just another java application which means
that you may reuse and/or create new unit performance tests that are executed in the build phase.
This leverages your previous investments even further.


White Paper JavaFX

5. Road Map

At JavaOne 2010, Oracle laid out a long-term roadmap for JavaFX to make it a premier rich client
platform. JavaFX version 2.0 is a significant milestone towards fulfilling this vision.

Figure 10. Diagram showing the roadmap of the JavaFX product line.

Open Source
Oracle released JavaFX version 2.0 at JavaOne 2011 and made an announcement of its open source
status. Oracle want JavaFX to be open sourced under a “GNU General Public License, version 2, with
the Classpath Exception” (1991), similar to other projects in the OpenJDK Community.

Tighter Integration with Java SE (OpenJDK)
JavaFX will be tightly integrated as part of JDK 8 platform that will see an integration of JavaFX in the
OpenJDK, thus ensuring widespread adoption, synchronized updates and security fixes. JavaFX SDK
and runtime is bundled with the release of Java SE 7 update 2 (for Windows).

JavaFX 3 in JDK 8
Furthermore, delivering on the cross platform promise, JavaFX will become available simultaneously
across Windows, Mac, and Linux implementations of Java SE 8, allowing cross platform deployment of
applications as soon as the product becomes generally available.

Oracle intends to file a JSR in the Java SE 9 time frame to make it a Java standard.

Advanced tooling
JavaFX Scene Builder is a WYSIWYG GUI design tool for the JavaFX platform. It enables designing user
interface screens by simply dragging and positioning GUI components from a palette onto a scene. The
tool generates files in FXML format2 that can be used within a project in any IDE such as NetBeans or
Eclipse. The JavaFX Scene Builder can be used to create GUIs for desktop applications and applets that
run in a browser.

Planned Features
According to the official roadmap will JavaFX provide support for modern device interaction (e.g.
chipsets ARM, MIPS and multi-touch screens).
Modularization is one of the key features of Java SE 8. JavaFX will adhere to this and will be
modularized to completely leverage the benefits provided by the modularized Java SE 8.


White Paper JavaFX

6. Conclusion

While Flex and Silverlight are compared in the RIA white paper published in June 2009 by the market
research company Gartner, JavaFX 1.x is not even mentioned (Knipp & Valdes, 2009). Fast-forward to
2011, and Oracle introduces JavaFX version 2.0. This reboot of JavaFX 1.x have yet to be fully digested
by the Java community and by companies.
Even though JavaFX is missing UI Design tool, this will not hinder the continued adoption of JavaFX
since most applications are more or less developed without using such a tool. JavaFX still lags in
certain areas compared to other plugin-based frameworks, but Oracle is outlining an aggressive
roadmap for the near future.

The unique selling point is the fact that JavaFX leans on the enterprise proven Java language.

JavaFX has more stable components and a greater selection than previously, it is a good alternative for
Java developers when developing front-ends to stand-alone applications. JavaFX will find a use case
within applications aimed to a limited group of users, in intranets or environments that are identical
and configured centrally, in order to work more seamlessly.

The relatively sparse usage of JavaFX, as compared to the other frameworks, is confirmed by looking
at the current market. There are barely any results on job search websites, and not much information
to be found about it neither online nor on forums.
But JavaFX eco-system is evolving very fast; more and more articles are published and are find their
way onto the internet.

JavaFX will soon be the only company backed plugin-based UI framework that is aiming for the
enterprise market.


White Paper JavaFX

7. References

Google Insights for Search, Beta (Q1 2012)
http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=javafx%20%2B%20java%20fx%20%2B%20%22java%20
fx%22%2Cflex%20%2B%20adobe%20flex%20%2B%20%22adobe%20flex%22%2Csilverlight%20%2
B%20microsoft%20silverlight%20%2B%20%22microsoft%20silverlight%22&cmpt=q

TIOBE Programming Community Index (Q1 2012)
http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

Forrester report on RIA (Q4 2010)
http://www.forrester.com/rb/Research/rich_internet_applications_will_power_online_experiences/q/id/47919/t/2

Oracle Press Release - Oracle Increases Investment in JavaFX and Outlines Product Roadmap (Q3 2010)
http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/173728

Indeed Adobe Flash™, Flex™ and Microsoft Silverlight™ Job Trend (Q1 2012)
http://www.indeed.com/trendgraph/jobgraph.png?q=%28%22adobe+flex%22+or+%22adobe+flash%22+or+actio
nscript%29%2C+silverlight

Indeed Java Job Trend (Q1 2012)
http://www.indeed.com/trendgraph/jobgraph.png?q=java

Steven Sinofsky, Blog post (Q3 2011)
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/09/14/metro-style-browsing-and-plug-in-free-html5.aspx

GNU General Public License, version 2, with the Classpath Exception (Q2 1991)
http://openjdk.java.net/legal/gplv2+ce.html

Oracle Binary Code License Agreement for the Java SE Platform Products and JavaFX (Q4 2011)
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/terms/license/index.html

Knipp, Eric. Valdes, Ray. (2009). Navigating the Ajax vs. 'Heavy RIA' Dilemma. Gartner, Inc.

Moritz, Florian. (2008). Rich Internet Applications (RIA): A Convergence of User Interface Paradigms of Web and
Desktop
Exemplified by JavaFX. Diploma Thesis, University of Applied Science Kaiserslautern, Germany. Available:
http://www.flomedia.de/diploma/documents/DiplomaThesisFlorianMoritz.pdf

Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) – A Comparison Between Adobe Flex, JavaFX and Microsoft Silverlight (2009)
http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/116839.pdf

GENERAL REFERENCES
Oracle JavaFX homepage: http://www.oracle.com/javafx
OpenJDK OpenJFX homepage: http://openjdk.java.net/projects/openjfx

Selection of Third Party Frameworks and Libraries
http://www.javafxdata.org http://www.jrebirth.org http://www.redfx.org
http://www.miglayout.com http://java.net/projects/miglayoutfx2 http://www.zenjava.com/jfx-flow


blue-infinity White Paper on JavaFX by Jan Stenvall

More Related Content

Similar to blue-infinity White Paper on JavaFX by Jan Stenvall

Recently uploaded

blue-infinity White Paper on JavaFX by Jan Stenvall