Javalobby - Comments for "Why Does JavaFX Get to Cheat?"

You mean like Groovy does?

aalmiray — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:08:29 -0400

You mean like Groovy does? ;-)

Can't this whole scripting

okidoky — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:50:45 -0400

Can't this whole scripting vs compiling thing become transparent? Is it possible to just have it compile behind the scenes. Just throw a script at it, and compile it before running it. No need to impose any build script at the developer. The compiled code could be cached as well. Keep it feeling like a dynamicly changeable script, yet get compilation runtime speeds.

Brian, due to the nature of

aalmiray — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:25:01 -0400

Brian, due to the nature of available material and tool support, it is my belief that JavaFx has not make it out of the incubator (I'm really hoping to be suprprised in a month when JavaOne rolls out) but I wouldn't jump to JavaFX just yet for my next project, as the API is still in flux (the language is moving from interpreted to compiled mode).

This is an honest question-

by87572 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:55:59 -0400

This is an honest question- who is using JavaFX and who do with think will be using it in the future? A monster.com search on "JavaFX" reveals 4 hits, one of which is at Sun. We all know the place of J2EE, Java applets, Java applications, and WebStart. I see many stories on JavaFX but I'm not really sure why/where/when I would pick it over another more established Java technology.

Are you using JavaFX? If so, is it for a consumer based app, enterprise app, or other?

Actually JavaFx Script is

aalmiray — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:47:00 -0400

Actually JavaFx Script is more than an abstraction layer over Java2D, but many of the examples shown so far strenghten your perception that is only usable for drawing. You may find a more compelling example of what JavaFX can do when mixing Swing and Java2D at http://www.canoo.com/blog/2007/06/15/javafx-script-canoo-music-pinboard/

i thought Java FX was

afsina — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:51:28 -0400

i thought Java FX was primarily a solution for Java 2D, not for Swing.

Collin,FYI: I think

Kennard Consulting — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:06:53 -0400

Collin,

FYI: I think Metawidget does what you want. You drop JComponents into a JPanel and it lays them out for you at runtime using the standard Java LayoutManager of your choice.

Going one better, Metawidget can even choose the JComponents for you, based on inspecting an underlying business object.

If you get chance to give it a try, I'd appreciate any feedback.

Regards,

Richard.

Hello Collin,Yes, it

mgrev — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:08:23 -0400

Hello Collin,

Yes, it probably would. Especially since that seems to be the way to do it in JavaFX (if I read you correctly). I have made it a point to have all the constraints of MigLayout in as a component constraint (during add) or as a constraint to the MigLayout constructor, so it should be quite easy to do.

Some things would be nice to have directly on the panel, such as enabling the debug mode. migPanel.setDebug(boolean).

Cheers,
Mikael

So Mikael what do you think

cfagan — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:41:47 -0400

So Mikael what do you think about a MigPanel? Would a specialized API for interacting with MigLayout simplify anything?

FormLayout would be better

mgrev — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:35:47 -0400

FormLayout would be better for sure, but MiG Layout would be even better, IMO. It has everything FormLayout has and a lot more.

The last think one should do is trying to shoe horn GridBagLayout into anything.

Why not vote at the RFE(s) for MigLayout:

JDK/Swing RFE: http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=6530906 (it is on the top 25 REF list)

SWT/Nebula RFE: https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=214698 (the most voted for R

There will also be a Technical Session on MiG Layout at JavaOne.

Cheers,
Mikael Grev (Author of MiG Layout)

@Mike PI'm actually

cfagan — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:29:55 -0400

@Mike P

I'm actually surprised that someone has not already created a runtime based layout manager. I'm sure it's very possible. Thanks for the positive feedback.

Collin

I truly don't understand.

lipe775 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:09:14 -0400

I truly don't understand. Using JGoodies Forms, with grid or absolute layout, doing any of the examples if a matter of minutes - without drag'n'drop or cappy generated code, but writing the code yourself.

Maybe at one point the

okidoky — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:25:30 -0400

Maybe at one point the rationale was that you at the point where you plunk down all the buttons, you don't concern yourself with the layout. Because that wasn't possible, it let you add a single constraint variable. With the layout managers we've seen, the constraint ties it to the layout. eg. BorderLayout.WEST. Only has meaning when using the BorderLayout.

But what if you use names for the constraints, and have a layout construction mode inside your application that you can enable at runtime, which will let you position all the components. It could choose different layouts for different languages. The layout can be configured and changed without changing any code. That layout then persists to disk, which you can then include in the distribution, so that it becomes the default. This 'construction mode' might only be enabled using a feature that only developers would enable. This would enable graphic designers to help design application layouts. The construction mode should also allow for imagery. If things were done this way from the beginning, Java applications would have looked way more sexy I think.
So this would be an example of separating design from program. Current design strategies, both thick and thin client, have left graphic designers on the side lines. Programmers think they can design things graphically. They almost never can. The result is crappy designs all over the internet, and in applications, since day one. Flex like GUI applications tops them all, absolute chaos.

Anyway, since we haven't had any separation, really, your panels are improvements I think.

JGoodies FormLayout should

carcour — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:17:30 -0400

JGoodies FormLayout should be included in JavaFX and JavaFX should also support building GUIs using XML.

JavaFX is lagging behind other technologies such as Flex and Silverlight. I can't really see any benefits apart from the Java compatibility. I find the syntax to be ugly. I find writing Java code to be much more pleasurable.

Carl