JavaFX : Java Glossary

JavaFX Mobile is a platform for cell phones based on Java and Linux. JavaFX Script is a statically typed scripting languages for use in devices such as TV set top boxes. It handles GUI (Graphic User Interface)s by static declarations. I have been told it is supposed to replace Swing. The Java FX toolkit is now bundled with Java 1.7, but it installs separately, always on the C: drive.

It uses FXML, a type of XML (extensible Markup Language) to describe user interfaces without writing Java code, yet all the code is written in standard Java. It is not a new language.

I could not run any of the sample apps until I installed both the 64-bit and 32-bit runtimes. Opera would not work at all. Firefox froze, even after restart. Eventually it gave me a chance to start a new session. Chrome put up an almost insisible extra prompt asking me if a really, really wanted to run Java. Gak!

Sun is somewhat vague on just what JavaFX does. I suspect it allows you to write hybrid apps that will run unmodified standalone on a desktop, as Applets in browsers or in cell phones. JavaFX supports a way of doing 3D drawings without writing Java code, just parameters to describe geometrical objects, something like Pov-Ray (Persistence Of Vision Ray). NetBeans has special facilities for JavaFX. I have heard it described as stripped down Swing, an Ajax replacement, and a Java-based Flash.

I am reminded of an old Saturday Night live skit with Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase and Dan Akroyd.
Wife: New Shimmer is a floor wax!
Husband: No, new Shimmer is a dessert topping!
Spokesman: Hey, hey, hey, calm down, you two. New Shimmer is both a floor wax and a dessert topping!

JavaFX supports JMC (Java Media Components).