JavaFX

About

JavaFX is a rich client application platform for Java that enables modern, visually appealing, and high-performance desktop applications.

• Purpose: To build desktop applications and internet apps with rich graphical user interfaces.

• Replacement for: Swing (legacy UI toolkit)

• Ownership: Originally developed by Sun Microsystems, later by Oracle; now maintained by the OpenJFX community.

• Cross-platform: Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.

• Separation of UI and Logic: Supports FXML (an XML-based language) and CSS for UI design.

History & Timeline

Version	Release Year	Notes
1.x	2008-2010	Early scripting-based version
2.x	2011-2012	Java API-based (no more scripting)
Java 7u6	2012	JavaFX bundled with JDK
Java 11	2018	JavaFX decoupled from JDK; OpenJFX launched
JavaFX 20+	2023+	Maintained via OpenJFX, supports latest JDK

Some of the Features

• Modern UI Controls: Buttons, sliders, tables, trees, charts, web views, etc.

• CSS Styling: Use CSS to style UI components

• FXML: Declarative UI definition using XML

• Scene Graph: Hierarchical structure to manage all elements in a scene

• Media Support: Audio and video playback

• WebView: Embedded web browser based on WebKit

• Hardware-accelerated Graphics: Utilizes GPU rendering via Prism engine

• Property Bindings: Reactive programming with observable properties

• 3D Graphics Support: Basic 3D shapes, camera control, lighting

• Internationalization: Built-in support for i18n and localization

Architecture

• Prism: Rendering engine (hardware accelerated)

• Quantum Toolkit: Connects Prism with UI components

• Glass Windowing Toolkit: Handles window management, events

• Media Engine: For audio and video

• Web Engine: Based on WebKit for rendering HTML content

UI Development

Declarative (FXML)

<Button fx:id="myButton" text="Click Me" onAction="#handleClick" />

Controller (Java)

@FXML
private void handleClick(ActionEvent event) {
    System.out.println("Button clicked!");
}

Development Tools

• Scene Builder: Visual tool to design FXML UIs

• IntelliJ IDEA: Excellent support with JavaFX plugin

• Eclipse: Supports JavaFX with e(fx)clipse plugin

• NetBeans: Built-in JavaFX integration (especially earlier versions)

Deployment Options

• JAR file

• Self-contained application: Bundles JVM + app for native launch

• JLink: Creates minimal runtime image (Java 9+)

• JPackage: Creates native installers (.exe, .dmg, .deb, etc.)

Differences: JavaFX vs Swing

Feature	JavaFX	Swing
Styling	CSS-based	Java-based (LookAndFeel)
UI Design	FXML + SceneBuilder	Manual Java code
Performance	Hardware-accelerated	Software rendering
Web content	WebView (WebKit-based)	Basic HTML rendering
Animation	Built-in support	Manual coding required
Future support	OpenJFX (actively maintained)	Legacy