The last week has seen some discussion on the web related to the future of JavaFX. Many people got the impression that JavaFX will be put on ice by Oracle. This was primarily caused by a blog post written by Shai Almog (Codename One) called “Should Oracle Spring Clean JavaFX”. It was “inspired” by a blog that I had written a little bit earlier where I was emphasizing the benefits of JavaFX.
I believe that Shai simply tried to emphasize that Oracle could do more / could do better when it comes to JavaFX but the conclusion that some companies were drawing after reading it was that JavaFX is dead. This is simply not true.
Oracle’s Commitment
I have asked on the openjfx mailing list today for a statement from Oracle and Donald Smith was kind enough to reply. Donald is a Senior Director of Product Management at Oracle Corporation:
Oracle is still committed to JavaFX and it will still be around for a while.
As of 7u6 we bundled JavaFX with the Oracle JDK, we’ve open sourced 100% of the code, we continue developing for it, etc. I understand that while there is both Swing and JavaFX available that people will continue to question the existence of each — so be it. Each has it’s own niches and benefits and our strategy, as it has been for years now, is to continue with each.
– Don
Built Into JavaSE
JavaFX is part of JavaSE. This means that it is a core component of Java and that it will be installed wherever Java is installed. If I remember correctly then no API has ever been actually removed from Java, so why would anyone think that this will happen with JavaFX?
I received an email today from Shai where he is confirming this, too.
Once something is classified as a “product” (as JavaFX is) its there for the next 20 years.
Conclusion
JavaFX is here to stay and it is a great piece of technology if you want to implement a desktop client (fat / rich client). I have personally worked on several JavaFX projects for the last two years and I have seen my own JavaFX frameworks being used by others. So far each one of these projects has been a big success and JavaFX was able to equally convince the developers and the end users. It might not be ready for prime-time on mobile or embedded devices, yet, but with the current activities in these areas it might eventually become a major player there, too.
| Reference: | JavaFX is Here to Stay! from our JCG partner Dirk Lemmermann at the Pixel Perfect blog. |
Hello, I am very concerned about the future of Java/JavaFX so i would really like some advice. Being a Ms follower for many many years i came across Java as a challenge for my diploma thesis and just to add even more challenge i converted the entire application i was assigned to reengineer to JavaFX…a very challenging process… I have spend a good year of my life “living” in the Java ecosystem and when i got my degree i have seen a world just screaming for Javascript/Web….it was a huge disappointment….so the million dollar question is : should i invest… Read more »
Hi John, you definitely can’t go wrong with Java. Most “serious” web applications use Javascript / HTML on the frontend but Java on the backend. So knowing Java will give you job security right away. For the frontend the situation is currently as follows: there are way more jobs out there for JavaScript (e.g. AngularJS) developers than JavaFX developers. So if job security is your primary concern then focus on Javascript for the client. If you love writing object-oriented code in a type-safe language then go with JavaFX. Currently I also have a feeling (but can’t prove it), that JavaFX… Read more »
While Java is here to stay I think the facts about the lack of JavaFX jobs or traction speak for themselves. JavaFX is dead, it doesn’t bring me pleasure to say that but it’s a fact that some people seem to be incapable of admitting.
JavaFX is not dead, it’s just getting started as I see it from the enterprise space. JavaFX is well positioned as a “front end” to cloud based services such as AWS. It’s a perfect match there where Java is a first class citizen. I have 3 brand new projects all tagged for JavaFX use. I’m a mobile developer, as well. I don’t know that I’m ready to do cross platform development there as I do native today in both iOS and Android. OSX rise in popularity on the desktop is driving my choice to have a cross platform GUI tool… Read more »
I’m surprised you see FX projects in your pipeline, I can tell you that as a consultant the only FX work I hear about is guys trying to salvage a Swing project. I do agree the future is cloud/mobile. Hopefully mobile solutions in Java will pick up. I saw a couple of companies working on that but the mobile demos I saw for FX convinced me that it has no future on mobile devices. You know the definition of insanity (trying the same thing hoping for a different result). A lot of innovation happens because of such insanity but I… Read more »
Certainly there is huge growth in mobile which of course favors mobile. That said, there are still more than a handful of desktops out there in the workplace. Those desktops are increasingly multi-platform and large enterprises are moving to cloud services. So I there will be growth, I believe, for that niche market that includes net new projects. None of my current projects in the pipe are Swing salvage jobs, all have a mobile component and those are being developed natively. Now, given the native Android (Java) skill set already required, maintaining or adding JavaFX into the tool chest just… Read more »
No you are not alone in that camp although I would argue that a lot of the developers in that camp already picked JavaScript. I used atom recently and was pretty shocked by how well it worked. I’m not switching to JavaScript and I’m well aware of the drawbacks but mobile first is crucial and where all the growth is. FX still lags behind Swing not to mention any desktop platform from MS. With such a back wards starting point in a declining market I don’t see how they can flip that… On the C# front they have Xamarin which… Read more »