James Weaver

Collections and Concurrency

We then cover concurrency in JavaFX. We explain the JavaFX threading model, pointing out the most important threads present in a JavaFX application. We look at the rules that you must follow to ensure your JavaFX application is responsive to user inputs and not locked up by event handlers that take too long to execute.

Accessing Web Services

The modern application paradigm is clear: nothing lives in an isolated environment. Client applications interact with data obtained from a wide array of resources, both physical and logical. Whether data are retrieved from a hard disk, a remote database, or an exposed network resource, we expect our applications to be flexible, provide a wide array of data retrieval options, and, in general, work well with others.

Building Dynamic UI Layouts in JavaFX

JavaFX has facilities for creating dynamic layouts that allow you to easily create beautiful-looking user interfaces (UIs) that scale to any resolution and are backed by clean code. At your disposal you have the simple, yet elegant, binding facility; powerful custom layouts built on top of the Pane and Region classes; and the built-in layouts that include HBox, VBox, AnchorPane, BorderPane, FlowPane, TilePane, StackPane, and GridPane.

Using the Media Classes

In the previous chapters you have learned how to create applications using the JavaFX library. Now we make good use of that knowledge while creating applications that explore the audio and video capabilities of the JavaFX platform.

Properties and Bindings

In Chapters 1 and 2, we introduced you to the JavaFX 2.0 platform. You downloaded the JavaFX 2.0 SDK and the JavaFX plugin for Netbeans. You wrote and ran your first JavaFX 2.0 GUI programs. You learned the fundamental building blocks of JavaFX 2.0: the Stage and Scene classes, and the Nodes that go into the Scene. And you have no doubt noticed the use of user-defined model classes to represent the application state and have that state communicated to the UI through properties and bindings.

Using the JavaFX UI Controls

In Chapter 2 you learned how to create user interfaces (UIs) in JavaFX by creating a stage, putting a scene on the stage, and putting nodes in the scene. You also learned how to handle mouse and keyboard events, as well as how to animate nodes in the scene.

Creating a User Interface in JavaFX

Chapter 1 gave you a jump start using JavaFX by covering the basics in developing and executing JavaFX programs. Now we cover many of the details about creating a user interface in JavaFX that were glossed over in Chapter 1. First on the agenda is to get you acquainted with the theater metaphor used by JavaFX to express user interfaces and to cover the significance of what we call a node-centric UI.

Using SceneBuilder to Create a User Interface

At the center of this approach of UI design is the FXML file. It is an XML file format designed specifically to hold information about UI elements.

Getting a Jump-Start in JavaFX

At the annual JavaOne conference in May 2007, Sun Microsystems announced a new product family named JavaFX. Its stated purpose includes enabling the development and deployment of content-rich applications on consumer devices such as cell phones, televisions, in-dash car systems, and browsers. Josh Marinacci, a software engineer at Sun, made the following statement very appropriately in a recent Java Posse interview: “JavaFX is sort of a code word for reinventing client Java and fixing the sins of the past.” Josh was referring to the fact that Java Swing and Java 2D have lots of capability, but are also very complex. JavaFX allows us to simply and elegantly express user interfaces (UIs) with a declarative programming style. It also leverages the full power of Java, because you can instantiate and use the millions of Java classes that exist today. Add features such as binding the UI to properties in a model and change listeners that reduce the need for setter methods, and you have a combination that will help restore Java to the client side of the RIA equation.

Creating Charts in JavaFX

Reporting is an important aspect in many business applications. The JavaFX Platform contains an API for creating charts. Because a chart is basically a node, integrating charts with other parts of a JavaFX application is straightforward. As a consequence, reporting is an integral part of the typical JavaFX Business Application.