Sun Releases JavaFX 185
Posted
by
timothy
from the does-it-roll-off-the-tongue-or-not dept.
from the does-it-roll-off-the-tongue-or-not dept.
ink writes "Sun released JavaFX 1.0 today, in a bid to take on Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight technologies. It is Sun's first Java release to include standardized, cross-platform audio and video playback code (in the form of On2 licensed codecs). The lack of a Linux or Solaris release is a notable absence. The development kit currently consists of the base run-time, a NetBeans/Eclipse plug-in and a set of artifact exporters for Adobe CS 3&4." An anonymous reader adds a link to several tutorials accompanying the new release.
SO confusing.. (Score:5, Interesting)
No shockwave for Linux, Flash 64 gets released JUST for Linux, Sun open-sources Java, but now no JavaFX for Linux...
Can't we all just get along? My head is spinning at all the end-user requests for their intarwebs to work correctly. I guess it's just too much to ask for a real, open standard that just works (like...umm...html?)
Just what the web needs (Score:4, Interesting)
Only no JavaFX for developers (Score:3, Interesting)
Even though it is still a shame,
you CAN view JavaFX used on webpages. It seams to work just like java-applets, only nicer to look at. (Sadly it also has the same slow loading as applets)
Example: http://javafx.com/samples/StopWatch/index.html [javafx.com]
It does work on linux (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Existing plugin (Score:2, Interesting)
The key bits are the scenegraph code ("scenario", available, but currently only as GPL) and the media playback (Java Media Components?) JMC replacing the hideous JMF. The JMC are based on GSTreamer on Linux (and solaris? not sure) so there is the possibility of playing anything ffmpeg does. God knows how the licensing is going to work out, especially since the H264 library is GPL.
Re:Flash and Silverlight the target? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm sorry, what the fuck do Flash, Silverlight and Java FX have to do with Android?
Mods, mods, mods.. please guys, wake up.
This is a blatant attempt to stop Android taking over the mobile phone space.
Unwrap some of that tinfoil so you can talk, and tell us WHY.
Sun are so...enterprise (Score:3, Interesting)
button to find out."
Combine that with the 2nd-tier graphic design and interactivity going on all over the place, and it feels sort of like something that a) isn't going to win over the designer crowd and b) WHY on earth would Linux fans look at this as anything other than a snub? Sigh. (Anyway, I've downloaded all three packages, and I'll give it a go...)
Re:Not really, no. (Score:2, Interesting)
eh. I leave the site when Silverlight comes up. When Flash came out originally people were all grumpy about it not being HTML compliant.. Now it's the standard? How times change.
And from a technology perspective, Flash isn't better simply because it's more pervasive -- it's just more pervasive. It's advantagous to use it, but not better.
I don't think the strategy here is that Sun expects all the flash developers to download NetBeans and start writing Java -- Sun's got a lot of people programming Java already, this just collateralizes on their existing skillsets and allows them to compete in a market that wasn't as viable for them without this feature.
I think Processing nailed the concept better though.
Re:Probably Also Contending with OpenLaszlo (Score:1, Interesting)
>> That's not entirely true. OpenLaszlo relies on Flash to display video, and Flash is not a no-lock-in platform.
> OpenLaszlo compiles to either flash or DHTML. Its not a Flash lock-in.
How is that DHTML video working out for you?
Re:Flash and Silverlight the target? (Score:3, Interesting)
Why is it so difficult to understand that Google's Dalvik - an implementation of Java being used for free by mobile phone manufacturers - is a direct threat to Sun's J2ME? This is not some secret conspiracy theory - professional business analysts, who actually make a living from watching these kinds of things, have noticed the same thing.
"However, Google's move threatens Sun's business strategy, Mazzocchi said. He believes that Sun sees a bright future in the mobile market and hopes to earn revenue off the use of the Java virtual machine by phone makers. Google's plan diminishes that opportunity for Sun." source [itworld.com]
"But with this you'll need to develop a separate application that's not standard. Unless Android becomes main stream and kills J2ME ..." source [itworld.com]
This blog post [java.net] from over a year ago proposes that JavaFX Mobile is just the next stage for J2ME to compete with Android.
Re:Your take? (Score:3, Interesting)
I have sort of a 'meh' reaction to it. It's not that the technology isn't cool, but it's a solution looking for a problem. Much like Silverlight, but without the antitrust practices to force it into use. In particular, its intended use as a platform on top of applets bothers me. Applets died out for a lot of good reasons. There's no good argument to be made for their revival. Especially with Flash and/or DHTML providing nearly all the advantages of Applets. Just let sleeping dogs lie and focus on using the technology elsewhere.
There is a possibility that JavaFX could be useful on cell phones. However, I don't see it happening. Sun is good at creating abstract technologies that provide options to the market. They're not so good at creating firm solutions that can hold their own in a competitive environment. The competition may be technologically inferior, but at least their end to end solution is practical.
Which is what I'm seeing with cell phones. Android may be only pseudo-Java based, but it provides the necessary phone technology top to bottom. The amount of customization necessary is pretty minimal. Meanwhile, Sun is pushing this JavaFX technology which is only a small piece of the puzzle. (Arguably the least important piece!) Handset manufacturers would have to adapt their phone software to meet the technology rather than having a pre-rolled solution available. Thus there's not much incentive to ship JavaFX.
In effect, JavaFX is DOA. You can throw it on the pile with PalmOS Cobalt, Shockwave, VRML, and other interesting technologies that failed to properly position themselves in the marketplace.
FWIW, I'm flattered you consider my opinion important enough to ask. :-)
Alpha quality (Score:3, Interesting)
1. It needs to be an order of magnitude faster to load. I don't have to wait 20 seconds for Flash movies to start playing.
2. It needs to not require a new runtime, with two nuisance security/license agreement dialogs.
3. It needs to not crash Firefox.