JavaFX

JavaFX tutorial offers fundamental and advanced JavaFX ideas. For beginners and experts, our JavaFX tutorial is intended.

JavaFX is a Java library that develops both Desktop and Rich Internet Applications (RIA) applications. JavaFX-built apps can operate on various platforms including Web, Mobile, and Desktop.

Our JavaFX tutorial covers all JavaFX library subjects like Fundamentals, 2D Shapes, 3D Shapes, Effects, Animation, Text, Layouts, UI Controls, Transformations, Charts, CSS JavaFX, Media JavaFX etc.

What is JavaFX?

JavaFX is a Java library for the development of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) and Desktop Applications. JavaFX-built applications can run on multiple platforms including Web, Mobile, and Desktop.

JavaFX is designed to substitute swing as a GUI framework in Java apps. It offers more features than swing, though. JavaFX also offers its own parts, like Swing, and is not dependent on the operating system. Its lightweight and accelerated hardware supports multiple Windows, Linux and Mac OS operating systems.

History of JavaFX

Chris Oliver created JavaFX. The project was initially called Form Follows Functions (F3). It aims to provide the richer functionality for the growth of GUI applications. Later, in June 2005, Sun Micro-systems purchased the F3 project as JavaFX.

It was formally announced by Sun Micro-systems at the W3 Conference in 2007. JavaFX 1.0 has been published in October 2008. ORACLE acquires Sun Micro-Systems in 2009 and published JavaFX 1.2. The recent JavaFX version is JavaFX 1.8 published on March 18, 2014.

Features of JavaFX

Creating Our First JavaFX Application

Here we are developing a straightforward JavaFX application that prints the hello world on the console by clicking the button shown on the stage.

1. Extend javafx.application.Application and override start()

Since we studied previously that start() technique/method is the starting point for building a JavaFX application, we need to override the javafx.application.Application class start technique first. Therefore, the object of the class javafx.stage.Stage is moved to the start method, importing this class and passing its item to the start procedure. To override the start technique, JavaFX.application. Application must be imported.

The code will look like below.

package application;    
import javafx.application.Application;   
import javafx.stage.Stage;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
    }   
}   

2. Create a Button

Instantiating the javafx.scene.control.Button class can create a button. We need to import this class into our code for this. Pass the text label button in the Class Builder button. The code looks as follows.

package application;    
import javafx.application.Application;   
importjavafx.scene.control.Button;   
import javafx.stage.Stage;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        Buttonbtn1=newButton("Say, Hello World");   
    }   
}   

3. Create a layout and add button to it

The amount of layouts is provided by JavaFX. To correctly visualize the widgets, we need to introduce one of them. It occurs at the top point of the chart of the scene and can be viewed as a root node. It is necessary to add all other nodes (buttons, texts, etc.) to this design.

We've introduced StackPane design in this implementation. Instantiating javafx.scene.layout.StackPane class can implement it. Now the code will look as follows.

package application;    
import javafx.application.Application;   
import javafx.scene.control.Button;   
import javafx.stage.Stage;   
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
        Button btn1=new Button("Say, Hello World");   
        StackPane root=new StackPane();   
        root.getChildren().add(btn1);   
    }   
}   

4. Create a Scene

It is necessary to add the design to a scene. Scene in the hierarchy of application structure continues at the greater level. Instantiating the javafx.scene.Scene class can create it. We must transfer the design item to the constructor of the team class. Our application code now looks as follows.

package application;    
import javafx.application.Application;   
import javafx.scene.Scene;   
import javafx.scene.control.Button;   
import javafx.stage.Stage;   
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
        Button btn1=new Button("Say, Hello World");   
        StackPane root=new StackPane();   
        root.getChildren().add(btn1);   
        Scene scene=new Scene(root);       
    }   
}   

In the Scene Class Builder, we can also transfer the width and height of the required level.

5. Prepare the Stage

javafx.stage.Stage class provides some important methods which are required to be called to set some attributes for the stage. We can set the title of the stage. We also need to call show() method without which, the stage won't be shown. Let’s look at the code which describes how we can prepare the stage for the application.

package application;    
import javafx.application.Application;   
import javafx.scene.Scene;   
import javafx.scene.control.Button;   
import javafx.stage.Stage;   
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
        Button btn1=new Button("Say, Hello World");   
        StackPane root=new StackPane();   
        root.getChildren().add(btn1);   
        Scene scene=new Scene(root);       
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);   
        primaryStage.setTitle("First JavaFX Application");   
        primaryStage.show();   
    }   
}  

6. Create an event for the button

Hello world for an case on the button as our application prints. For the button, we need to build an event. For this purpose, call setOnAction() on the button and define a anonymous class Event Handler as a parameter to the method.

Inside this anonymous class, define a method handle) (which contains the code for how the event is handled. In our case, it is printing hello world on the console.

package application;    
import javafx.application.Application;   
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;   
     import javafx.event.EventHandler;   
import javafx.scene.Scene;   
     import javafx.scene.control.Button;   
import javafx.stage.Stage;   
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
    publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
        Button btn1=new Button("Say, Hello World");   
        btn1.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {   
            @Override   
            publicvoid handle(ActionEvent arg0) {   
                // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
                System.out.println("hello world");   
            }   
        });   
        StackPane root=new StackPane();   
        root.getChildren().add(btn1);   
        Scene scene=new Scene(root,600,400);       
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);   
        primaryStage.setTitle("First JavaFX Application");   
        primaryStage.show();   
    } 
}

7. Create the main method

We've configured all the stuff needed to create a fundamental JavaFX application so far, but this application is still incomplete. We have not yet developed the primary technique. Lastly, therefore, we need to produce a primary technique in which we start the request, i.e. call the start) (method and transfer the arguments (args) of the command line to it. The code now looks as follows.

package application;    
     import javafx.application.Application;   
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;   
import javafx.event.EventHandler;   
import javafx.scene.Scene;   
import javafx.scene.control.Button;   
     import javafx.stage.Stage;   
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;   
publicclass Hello_World extends Application{   
    @Override   
publicvoid start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {   
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
        Button btn1=new Button("Say, Hello World");   
        btn1.setOnAction(new EventHandler<ActionEvent>() {   
            @Override   
publicvoid handle(ActionEvent arg0) {   
                // TODO Auto-generated method stub   
                System.out.println("hello world");   
            }   
        });   
        StackPane root=new StackPane();   
        root.getChildren().add(btn1);   
        Scene scene=new Scene(root,600,400);       
        primaryStage.setTitle("First JavaFX Application");   
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);   
        primaryStage.show();   
    }   
    publicstaticvoid main (String[] args)   
    {   
        launch(args);   
    } 
}  

The following output will be produced on the screen by the application