This has been something that I've been thinking a lot about lately as
well... As big as a fan as I am of Sun and Java, I regret to say
that I have my doubts. Just look at what you have to go through to
run the demo at http://download.java.net/general/openjfx/demos/
javafxpad.jnlp ... Now, keeping in mind that the functionality in
that program at that URL is equivalent to the OpenLaszlo editor that
is sprinkled around the LZX reference docs...
- It's an initial 900 kb download
- Even after it's been downloaded and cached, it still takes 7-8
seconds to load on my machine (which is not a slow machine)
- It has to download the program through a JWS connection... Imagine
what it'll take to get that integrated into a browser. Granted, this
will also be a problem for Silverlight. But, MS can simply release a
Windows update and everyone has it. There are definite advantages to
having a monopoly.
For another example: Look at their recreation of Tesla Motors'
website (major kudos on the selection of website to recreate, by the
way). They took a ~500kb website, converted it to JavaFX and it's
now 1.5 MB and still not as clean... All things considered, though,
I think the third bullet point is going to be what makes or breaks
any new technology. Which is why I think MS has such an unfair
advantage.
So, unfortunately, my money is not on Sun winning this one. I hope
I'm wrong, though.
- Jes
On May 17, 2007, at 8:00 AM, Francisco Jose wrote:
Java is fighting back:
JavaFX is a new family of Sun products based on Java technology and
targeted at the high impact, rich content market.
JavaFX Script is a highly productive scripting language that
enables content developers to create rich media and content for
deployment on Java environments. JavaFX Script is a declarative,
statically typed programming language. It has first-class
functions, declarative syntax, list-comprehensions, and incremental
dependency-based evaluation. It can make direct calls to Java APIs
that are on the platform. Since JavaFX Script is statically typed,
it has the same code structuring, reuse, and encapsulation features
(such as packages, classes, inheritance, and separate compilation
and deployment units) that make it possible to create and maintain
very large programs using Java technology. See the FAQ for more
information.
I am very impressed with the demos in the site, and the way less
verbose way to describe interfaces (when compared with traditional
Java Swing code, and I am thinking it could even be a threath for
XAML & XML, some people on the net believe that XML is the poor
man's parser, and that it is being overutilized to create stuff
that should be implemented as an specific language... well, JavaFX
is not XML... is this the start of a new trend?), I was also very
exited to see how easy is to add animation to Java 2D application
with this new API (everything that can be done with Flash will be
possible... and maybe even more...). Now... the question are:
Will Sun release a "UI Designers Pack" for Netbeans that will be
pretty much something like Microsoft Expressions for Java?
Could OpenJFX be adopted by projects like OpenLaszlo?
Is using JavaScript like languages the new trend?
Will JSON-like stuff become the new poor man's parser?
