Proposal: Deprecate Builders

[Richard Bair]

> > > 3. If we start splitting out jars we open up the door for something I would
> > > have preffered in the first place. Move any non-core library out (e.g.
> > > jfx-charts, jfx-fxml, etc). These are not JVM (i.e. operatin system) level
> > > libraries in my opinion and would work much better as separate libraries.
> > > Reduce the bloat (especially for mobile) and have less rigid constraints
> > > than the JRE e.g. separate release cycles, ability to change/deprecate
> > > stuff more like other libraries (spring, hibernate, etc), ability to use
> > > other libraries (e.g. an xml parser or a math library).
> >
> > Most customer I've met see controls as core and fundamental. Mobile needs controls as much as anybody else, so they aren't bloat for mobile. Mobile needs tooling just like anybody else, and FXML provides that tooling. None of the things in the core platform are not essential IMO.
> 
> You left out charts.
> 
Indeed I did! Charts right now will be lumped in with Controls. I have to look again but I didn't think charts on their own added a whole lot of weight (in the JavaFX Script days they were HUGE due to some way that they were written and the compiler, the product of which produced something massive).
> From the outside, it looked to me that Builders were there to relieve the collective guilt of killing off JavaFX Script.  This was before the uptake of FXML.
> 
Partially I guess. I think it was that FXML wasn't done yet and we really wanted some way to write UI that wasn't the "Swing way". And Builders seemed like a great Java thing to do (Its even in effective Java yo!) so that seemed good. And there were strong proponents of it. And there was no tool support for FXML for a while -- but now all the IDEs I think have code completion for FXML so it isn't as inferior vs. static code. There are still lots of people who wouldn't touch XML with a ten-foot pole, but you're never going to please everybody. The killer to me is that in order to "fix" builders we have to add a pile of weight to the platform, and it just isn't justified in my mind.

Thanks!
Richard

Aren't you on vacation? ;-)