JavaFX 8: Introduction by Example, Second Edition

JavaFX 8: Introduction by Example shows you how to use your existing Java skills to create graphically exciting client applications with the JavaFX 8 platform. The book is a new and much improved edition of JavaFX 2.0: Introduction by Example, taking you through a series of engaging, fun-to-work examples that bring you up to speed on the major facets of the platform. It will help you to create applications that look good, are fun to use, and that take advantage of the medium to present data of all types in ways that engage the user and lead to increased productivity.

Entirely example-based, JavaFX 8: Introduction by Example begins with the fundamentals of installing the software and creating a simple interface. From there, you'll move in progressive steps through the process of developing applications using JavaFX’s standard drawing primitives. You'll then explore images, animations, media, and web. This new edition incorporates the changes resulting from the switch to Java 8 SDK. It covers advanced topics such as custom controls, JavaFX 3D, gesture devices, and embedded systems. Best of all, the book is full of working code that you can adapt and extend to all your future projects.

• Entirely example-based
• Filled with fun and practical code examples
• Covers all that's new in Java 8 relating to JavaFX such as Lambda expressions and Streams
• Covers gesture devices, 3D display, embedded systems, and other advanced topics

What you’ll learn

• Install JavaFX 8 and configure your environment
• Work with touch-based interfaces such as in Windows 8
• Interpret gesture-based events the Leap Motion Controller and similar hardware
• Integrate JavaFX with embedded systems such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi
• Develop modern GUI implementations of business forms
• Work with shapes, color, text, and animation
• Add audio and video to your projects
• Create custom controls using SVG and Canvas
• Learn to style a user-interface via CSS
• Communicate bidirectionally using Java and Javascript with HTML5

Who this book is for

JavaFX 8: Introduction by Example is for Java developers who are interested in developing rich, client-side applications to run on PCs, phones, tablets, Arduino controllers, the Raspberry Pi, and more. Whether enterprise developer or hobbyist, anyone wanting to develop a polished user-interface from Java will find much to like in this book.

About the Authors

Carl P. Dea is a software engineer working for BCT LLC on projects with high performance computing (HPC) architectures. He has been developing software for 15 years with many clients, from Fortune 500 companies to nonprofit organizations. He has written software ranging from mission-critical applications to Web applications. Carl has been using Java since the very beginning and is a JavaFX enthusiast dating back to when JavaFX used to be called F3. He has been involved with open-source projects such as JFXtras and JDIC.

Carl's passion for software development started when his middle school science teacher showed him the TRS-80 computer. His current software development interests are: rich client platforms (RCP), rich Internet applications (RIAs), Groovy, game programming, Arduino, mobile phones, and tablet computers. When he's not working, Carl and his wife love to watch their daughters perform at gymnastics meets. Carl lives on the East Coast in Pasadena (aka "The Dena"), Maryland.

Mark Heckler is a Java Software Architect/Engineer with development experience in numerous environments. He has worked for and with key players in the manufacturing, emerging markets, retail, medical, telecom, and financial industries to develop and deliver critical capabilities on time and on budget. Currently, he works primarily with large government and commercial customers using Java throughout the stack. He also participates in open-source development at every opportunity, being a JFXtras project committer and developer of DialogFX, MonologFX, and various other projects. When Mark isn't working with Java, he enjoys writing about his experiences at the Java Jungle website

Gerrit Grunwald is a software engineer with more than ten years of experience in software development. He has been involved in Java desktop application and controls development. His current interests include JavaFX, HTML5, and Swing, especially development of custom controls in these technologies. Grunwald is also interested in Java-driven embedded technologies like JavaSE embedded on Raspberry Pi, i.MX6, BeagleBoneBlack, CubieBoard2, etc. He is a true believer in open source software and has participated in popular projects like JFXtras.org as well as his own projects (Enzo, SteelSeries Swing, SteelSeries Canvas). Gerrit is an active member of the Java community, where he founded and leads the Java User Group Münster (Germany), he co-leads the JavaFX and IoT community at Oracle and is a JavaOne RockStar and Java Champion. He is a speaker at conferences and user groups internationally.

Dr. José Pereda, PhD in Structural Engineering, works as an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineers at the University of Valladolid in Spain. His passion is applying programming to solve real problems. Dr. Pereda has been working in Java since 1999. He now divides his time between JavaFX and the Embedded world, developing commercial applications and open source.

Sean M Phillips is a Java Software Architect currently working on ground systems for Space Science missions at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He has developed embedded systems, modeling and simulation and visualization software for projects from commercial & military RADAR, heavy manufacturing, Battlespace Awareness and Orbital Flight Dynamics. Sean is the lead developer of F(X)yz, a free third party library for JavaFX 3D components and data visualization tools. Sean enjoys sharing his experiments through blog entries on various sites