Future of JavaFX

[Felix Bembrick]

I agree with Johan that there is a rich and vibrant JavaFX community and most examples of its adoption are behind corporate firewalls.

But Johan, why would Oracle build a "JavaFX ecosystem" within Oracle and spend millions on a product that earns them nothing? Surely that is not sustainable. And where are all the big changes and enhancements in JFX 9?

> On 2 Dec 2015, at 00:27, Johan Vos <johan.vos at gluonhq.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi Dirk, all,
> 
> Although this person from Codename One attacked me a few times before
> (using words like we're selling snake oil), I tried to ignore it. This is
> very uncommon for the Java community. In the Java community, we have
> different views, we prefer different technologies, but we show at least
> some basic respect to other views and we don't insult people. Clearly, this
> isn't the policy inside Codename One. I wonder where they get the time for
> writing negative things about others, rather than writing positive things
> about their own technologies. So although I'm offended, I try to write code
> and keep my customers happy rather than fighting.
> 
> But the moment you may lose customers because what others write about a
> technology you want to use, a line is crossed. I keep all options open on
> how to respond, but here are already some thoughts:
> 
> * The JavaFX engineers at Oracle (current and past) are doing a fantastic
> job.
> 
> * Yes, I wish Oracle would spend more resources on JavaFX (and on Java in
> general).
> 
> * JavaFX is growing. Gluon is growing.
> 
> * There are many JavaFX success stories, but unfortunately many of those
> are hidden behind company walls. At Gluon, we have great customers with a
> huge investment in JavaFX that make amazing products. But company policies
> often prohibit us from even mentioning those on our website. This is an
> issue, as I believe many people would be surprised to see who is using
> JavaFX and at what size. I'm not sure how to address this, and it is
> something Peter Pilgrim talked about in a follow-up post as well.
> 
> * JavaFX on Mobile is getting there. Don't believe self-declared and
> aggressive "mobile experts" with a different agenda. I'm one of those
> people working day and night to make this happen. And apart from very few
> exceptions, the Java community has been very supportive to this effort. I
> don't let those exceptions ruining my day or my customers.
> 
> * There really is a JavaFX eco-system. Oracle is spending resources on it,
> and there are a large number of individuals and companies providing free
> and commercial frameworks, services, trainings, books.
> 
> * JavaFX is open source with a business-friendly license. You don't like
> something? Fix it.
> 
> Dirk, keep up the good work. I hope your customer realises that there is a
> large community behind JavaFX, with both open-source and commercial
> offerings. They should feel safe using JavaFX.
> 
> - Johan
> 
> 
> On Mon, Nov 30, 2015 at 5:13 PM, Dirk @ Google <dlemmermann at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> Hi there,
>> 
>> there has been quite a shake-up in the JavaFX community last week when
>> Shay Almog (Codename One) first responded to a blog of mine (
>> dlemmermann.wordpress.com) with a lot of negative comments regarding
>> JavaFX and its future. He then followed up with a long blog asking the
>> question „Should Oracle Spring-Clean JavaFX“ (
>> https://www.codenameone.com/blog/should-oracle-spring-clean-javafx.html <
>> https://www.codenameone.com/blog/should-oracle-spring-clean-javafx.html>).
>> 
>> I do understand that it is often a good strategy to not comment on stuff
>> like this because commenting would just draw attention to it, but we have
>> now reached the point where potential customers are questioning the
>> sustainability of a JavaFX-based solution. They are now wondering if JavaFX
>> will still be around in a few years. In my specific case the customer
>> demands an answer from me and my partners within the next week, and if not
>> convincing they will go with something / someone else. We will loose a
>> contract worth around one million dollars because of one blog written by
>> Shay with no follow-up from Oracle.
>> 
>> What is needed is an official statement from Oracle / Oracle employees /
>> JavaFX development team, saying that Oracle is still committed to JavaFX
>> and that it will still be around for a while. Can somebody please do that?
>> 
>> Dirk
>> 
>> 
>>