Apress publishing dedicates itself to providing the public with the most up-to-date books on the latest application and programming technologies. This text is no exception and is considered perhaps the most up-to-date presentation on JavaFX. The numeral eight in the title indicates that this version of JavaFX was released for Java SE (Standard Edition) 8, the latest release by the Oracle Corporation for the Java Development Kit and its corresponding runtime environment. This book should be considered a must-have reference for serious Java programmers interested in incorporating advanced graphical user interfaces (GUIs) into their applications. JavaFX has an added advantage: it can be added to applications that were implemented with the earlier Java Swing set and even with the more basic Standard Widget Toolkit (SWT). However, Oracle clearly states that JavaFX is indeed replacing the Swing set, but that it will be a gradual process. In other words, both are here to stay for at least awhile. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the historical development of JavaFX.

JavaFX is implemented on top of the Java language, allowing for the reuse of prior code libraries in applications. This approach is significant because the integrated development environment (IDE) of the programmer’s choice, such as Eclipse or NetBeans, can still be utilized to develop applications. In addition to the seamless integration of JavaFX with regular Java code, JavaFX allows for an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based script, called FXML, for developing user interfaces. (Chapter 13 investigates more advanced markup languages and scripts.) Furthermore, performance and speed are not issues since JavaFX has been successfully implemented on high-performance graphics-rendering architectures. Chapter 10 explores this with 3D graphics. Finally, JavaFX can be deployed as a desktop application, an applet for a browser using a secure plugin, or an app for a mobile phone (chapter 12).

An impressive set of visual features is provided to enhance user applications. Both audio and video codec support is provided by JavaFX for multimedia playback (chapter 9). Codec stands for “coder/decoder” and represents an entity that is able to process and interpret a digital signal. Modern operating systems tend to incorporate touch and gesture controls. JavaFX provides these capabilities. A gesture is a user movement that can be recognized by the machine. Touch control enables Java applications to access any underlying tactile sensors and record the positions. In addition, JavaFX is enabled for swipe technology. A swipe bundles a gesture event with scrolling activities. Other technologies included in JavaFX are web service accessibility (chapter 11) and advanced synchronized structures (chapter 7).

Scene Builder is an essential GUI tool provided by JavaFX (chapter 3). It is based on a visual programming approach to GUI development by allowing the programmer to “drag and drop” components onto the visual layout. The user can modify its properties and apply cascading style sheets (CSS) (chapter 4). From this, Scene Builder automatically generates the FXML code representing the layout of all of the components, as opposed to the explicit programming methods required if dealing with the Stage class directly (chapter 2). The integration of the FXML code with the underlying project is then accomplished by associating the GUI components with the Java functionality provided by the Java application code. Advanced layouts and user interface controls are discussed in chapters 5 and 6, respectively.

This book provides beginning Java and advanced GUI programmers with the tools and technologies necessary to create sophisticated Java applications using JavaFX.

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