On Feb 8, 11:44 am, Mohamed Bana <[email protected]> wrote: > On 8 February 2010 12:06, Fabrizio Giudici > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > On 2/8/10 12:57 , Mohamed Bana wrote: > > >> I don't see myself using JavaFX to implement any line of business apps. A > >> DataGrid control with virtualization* is vital in places such as, say, > >> front-office where data needs to be presented in tabular format. > > > Right. But what's the point about JavaFX? You can do data virtualization > > even with JavaFX. > > That's great to hear, but it's still lacking the DataGrid control. I > presume Oracle are going to do something about it given they're being used > heavily in enterprise.
This is planned, but it won't make it in 1.3 because the controls backlog was big. 1.3 is finally closing in all the basics (tree, list, menus, scrollview, multiline textbox etc.) except the table/grid - that should come in the next release. Seems like a good plan for me exactly because the table/grid is the most complex and important control, it should be especially well designed, remarkably to allow great binding to diverse data sources (the JavaFX Composer beta shows that Sun plans to invest here - drag&drop building of business apps that navigate data from databases, XML and others sources). And if Swing teaches any lesson, we are better off waiting for a careful design than to hurry up and then live forever with the result. Oracle doesn't need to change the route, unless they can throw sufficient new resources in the project so they can deliver the Grid in 1.3's schedule (but then, our friend Fred Brooks says this doesn't usually works...). > >> I haven't read anything to suggest that a new language for write UIs is > >> needed. Just look at Silverlight which uses XAML (XML) to declare a UI, > >> it's doing fairly well. > > This is fairly subjective - there are also people that hate XML. For me > > this is not a relevant detail and I'd learn either way in function of the > > technology that I pick. Count me as "people that hate XML". ;-) > You can use Expression Blend so there's no need to touch the XML - I over > generalize of course. JavaFX will also have visual design tools that will hide the code from you. JavaFX Composer already does this, the Design Tool should be closer to higher-end tools for Silverlight and Flash. But it will be nice that these tools will output plain JavaFX Script code that will be easy to hand-tune if necessary. The fact that JavaFX Script seamlessly unifies programming, GUI/design resources (layouts/forms), and vector graphic resources (it's a pretty good SVG replacement), will only be fully appreciated when people start working with complex projects, several integrated (or not!) tools, third-party frameworks, etc. Oh, and at least one major competitor - Flash - proposes a new language for writing UIs, ActionScript. Of course Flash is already quite old, and ActionScript (even with Adobe's enhancements) is familiar to ECMAScript programmers, so nobody considers it a new language. But it is definitely a GUI DSL; it's just one that everybody is already used to. > >> Perhaps, Josh Marinacci also left because he saw a lost cause. > >> And what about others that are still there? I'd not make speculations > > about other people's intentions (also because it's easy to > > counter-speculate: Josh is a guy who like challenges and the PalmOS choice > > he's done is not less challenging than JavaFX). Yes... Perhaps Josh didn't want to be part of Oracle. Perhaps Palm was making great bids for top developers of that specialty. Perhaps a lot of things. We will never know, because whatever information Josh gives to us know, will be biased by his already-current position as a Palm/ WebOS developer and also as an evangelist (his blog "The iPhone, Open Systems, and Leaving Sun" makes very clear the point about evangelism, btw Josh is very good on this too). Not a criticism, I would probably do the same. A+ Osvaldo -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
