13. JavaFX

2 JavaFX Intro Sun's answer to –the popularity of scripting languages –problems with Java GUI AWT is very basic Swing is too complex, too cumbersome, too voluminous and gained therefore little popularity –problems with RIA and multimedia in Java JavaSound is too low-level JMF (Java Media Framework) is virtually unsupported Java 2D is good, but follows different design than other media packages Image IO is good, also follows different design Java 3D is completely separate, self-contained software monolith Java never really made it to the desktop But, the building blocks are there

3 Building Blocks Java language itself –very popular over 6Mio. developers major industry support (IBM, Google, Oracle; almost everyone, except Microsoft) many universities adopted Java as prime teaching language most programming books now use Java –widely used server-side web programming cell phones TV set-top boxes Rich set of libraries, e.g., –Remote Method Invocation (RMI) –XML Web Services (JAX-WS). Applets –supported by most browsers either directly with tag or at least as using the Java plug-in –some PC's have Java pre-installed –but not as widely available as Flash WebStart –applets and applications can be downloaded to desktop

4 Features Separate scripting language "JavaFX Script" Multiplatform –browsers –desktop –cell phones –TV settop boxes Multimedia –text –GUI widgets –graphics in 2D and 3D –animations –audio and video Integration for graphic designers –Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator plugins for JavaFX direct manipulation of assets, animation paths, etc. Drag to install

5 Concepts Based on Java and Java tools –JDK Swing GUI –applets –Java plugin –WebStart Scripting-like, but compiled –efficient –no eval() support Supported by NetBeans IDE –preview –building into jar files with ant and jnlp files Scripts can –directly use Java classes (e.g. all of JDK)

6 JavaFX Script S yntax more like JavaScript then Java –less cryptic – function instead of method – var (resp. var for constants) instead of declaration via type Object-oriented –classes e.g., var home = Address {street: "1 Main Street"; city: "Honolulu"; zip: "HI 96813";} –inheritance e.g., var student = student {name: "John Wu"; address: home;} override function –properties –encapsulation public, (private is default), protected, package, public-read, public-init –anonymous function s e.g., action: function () {nextTick ()}

7 JavaFX Script Highlights Variables –can, but don't need to be typed –entire expressions can be "interpolated into a string using {expression} e.g., "4+5={4+5}" –strings can be enclosed in " as well as in ' Types – String, Number, Integer, Boolean, Duration, Void, Null e.g., var delay: Duration = 50ms // s, m, h also valid suffixes Boolean operators: not, and, or –Arrays and called Sequences var nums = [1..5]; // same as: var nums = [1,2,3,4,5]; various operations, such as appending, inserting, deleting elements, as well as subsequences Statements – for (variable in sequence) e.g., for (i in [1..10]) {…}

8 Binding Keyword bind associates a variable with the value of a bound expression –bound expressions variable expression function call – bound function –when the variable 's value changes, the code of the bound expression is re-evaluated Binding is used for –animation –handling interactions with GUI widgets e.g., transforms: Rotate {angle: bind seconds * 6} see: java.sun.com/javafx/1/tutorials/core/dataBinding/index.html java.sun.com/javafx/1/tutorials/core/dataBinding/index.html

9 Potential Problems On many PCs, applets are not installed –compare with Flash which has 90%+ penetration Downloading Java takes a lot of time –Swing packages are huge Java upgrades are relatively frequent –upgrades (= downloads) are necessary Competition: –Adobe Flex not free