Sun's JavaFX to take on AJAX, Silverlight Options

[usr.c]

Paul Krill writes about Sun's plan to unveil its brand new Java-based product family called JavaFX at the 2007 JavaOne conference that starts today in San Francisco. JavaFX includes JavaFX Script, which according to its developers is "a means of creating visually impactful, high-performance, dramatic Web and network-facing artifacts or experiences that run all the way from the desktop running Java SE (Standard Edition) all the way down to mobile devices powered by JavaFX Mobile." Pretty exciting stuff.

Here's an excerpt from the article: "While most scripting languages are oriented to building out Web pages, JavaFX Script focuses on user experiences on the interface and particularly on things that are highly animated, Green said.

"It's not a procedural language in the usual sense," said Green. "It's much easier to use."

JavaFX Script leverages 2D graphics APIs in the Swing GUI toolkit.

JavaFX will be open sourced. "We plan to open-source all of JavaFX as we work through the program," said Green. Plans call for eventually offering a line of developer tools to work with JavaFX with a basic, introductory tool to be offered on Tuesday, Green said.

Expanding Java deployments is a natural goal of the JavaFX platform.

"There are parts of the world where a person's desktop computer is their cell phone, and that's the kind of end point that we're going to get to," said James Gosling, a Sun vice president and Sun Fellow who is considered the father of Java.

Gosling noted the irony in that while the popular JavaScript scripting language looks like Java but is not, the opposite is true for JavaFX. He cited as a potential JavaFX use case an application in which a doctor uses a mobile phone to view an X ray; that is something that can barely be accomplished with technologies prior to JavaFX. The new technology makes content creation available to millions of programmers, Green said"

Read the whole thing at InfoWorld and watch video previews as well as get the full scoop on the 2007 JavaOne Conference here.