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JavaFX goodies – WebKit for Java and much much more!!!

Posted June 5th, 2008 by Nazmul

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There has been so much noise surrounding JavaFX and the lack of a "JavaFX SDK" deliverable, that it’s confusing to understand what JavaFX is. Then there’s JavaFX Script, which makes it a little more difficult to understand what’s going on with JavaFX.

At JavaOne 2008, I’ve seen lots of announcements, presentations, and demos around what JavaFX really is. However, it’s still confusing, since there’s no consolidated JavaFX SDK to download and play with. Until the SDK is released, it’s still vaporware. Having said that there are pieces and parts of the whole that you can download today and get an idea of what’s in store with JavaFX. Sun has done a very poor job of articulating and communicating what it’s trying to do with JavaFX, and it’s unfortunate to see lots of "emphasis on the wrong syllable" from Sun’s marketing department.

So, I will try to clear things up :) . All the components of JavaFX are really promising, whether you care about JavaFX Script or not. Personally, I don’t care about JavaFX Script. The world doesn’t need another declarative scripting language. All the JavaFX APIs can be used in Swing, using the Java language, so that makes me very happy :) . What APIs can you look forward to using? Here’s a short list:

  1. Scene Graph API – makes it easy to create animations and effects in your applications. The TimingFramework API and AnimatedTransitions API will probably be phased out and supplanted by Scene Graph API. The API looks very promising, and holds lot of potential in spicing up Java apps without much developer effort. And JavaFX Script aside, all of this can be used in Java!
  2. WebKit for Java API (JWebPane API) – you can now embed a functional HTML browser, based on WebKit in your Java Applications! I can’t wait for this! This browser will render forms using your current Swing LnF, and it will run Javascript; also it will pass events to your Java code, so you can orchestrate this component and register callbacks with it. This is a lightweight component, so you won’t have to use JDIC to install heavyweight browser components. And you can animate this component using Scene Graph :) . Awesome stuff!!!
  3. Java Scene Graph 3D API - this applies the Scene Graph API to 3D surfaces. Very cool! Here’s a demo:

  4. JavaFX Media - this is very promising as well. You will be able to playback high def audio and video content using Java FX! With a cross platform codec for media capture and playback, this could change the user experience on client platforms!

Here are some Youtube video that show demos from JavaOne 2008 around JavaFX. This one shows an applet that can be dragged onto the desktop:

If you want to create draggable applets, read this. This is the result of rewriting the Java browser PlugIn, and creating a new deployment toolkit that makes it easier and more reliable to deploy applets on various browser platforms (all part of the JDK 6 Update 10/N).

Here are some great PDFs to get a deeper understanding of JavaFX:

  1. More information on Scene Graph API and JWebPane (WebKit for Java).
  2. More information on Java 6 SE Update 10/N.
  3. More information on JavaFX Media.
  4. More information on Java Scene Graph 3D.

Sun has plans to port JavaFX to variety of platforms, not just Java SE/desktop, but Android, etc. Here is more info on that:

I can’t wait for the JavaFX SDK to be released! The future of Java is bright; brighter than even on the desktop, consumer oriented service enabled rich applications, and mobile!!!

Enjoy!

 

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2 Responses to “JavaFX goodies – WebKit for Java and much much more!!!”

  1. vdaburon Says:
    June 6th, 2008 at 4:20 am

    Hello,

    See also Javaone 2008 pdf document

    Incorporating Media into Java and JavaFXTechnology Based Platforms

    http://dsc.sun.com/learning/javaoneonline/2008/pdf/TS-6509.pdf

    And
    The Scene Graph Project
    https://scenegraph.dev.java.net/SceneGraph-Javapolis-2007.pdf

    VD

  2. Nazmul Idris Says:
    June 7th, 2008 at 12:04 am

    Thanks VD. I’ve added the JavaFX Media PDF to the list of downloads.

    Take care,
    Nazmul.

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