RFR: 8301302: Platform preferences API [v3]

[Michael Strauß]

On Thu, 11 May 2023 14:38:01 GMT, Michael Strauß <mstrauss at openjdk.org> wrote:

>> Hi all,
>> 
>> First of all, thanks for the efforts to integrate this new API into JavaFX. As a style theme developer myself I think this API is missing nowadays and will be a good addition to the SDK!
>> 
>> A comment not related to this specific PR but... the discussion about this new API was being held on the mailing list some time ago, I was also involved in that discussion. It stopped so I thought this wasn't going to go forward. I've only recently realized the discussion moved to here. So, my comment is: is there a centralized place to check on all the new developments in the javafx platform including ongoing efforts (I thought the mailing list was that place) ...?
>> For instance, I was having a small discussion on Twitter with a prominent member of the JavaFX community about how having this kind of API would be of interest to JavaFX. I don't think anyone involved knows that this PR (that would add such a feature) is ongoing... they might also have interesting insights to add...
>
> @dukke I don't think there's a central place for all JavaFX discussions. I've observed that high-level discussions seem to happen on the mailing list, while discussions of concrete implementation proposals often happen on GitHub. You didn't get any notifications on the mailing list for this PR since it's still in the Draft state.
> 
> That being said, this proposal seems to be stuck in the "do we want this in JavaFX?" stage.

> Talking about #511 and #1014. I think that both the APIs are quite nice additions to JavaFX. However I was thinking, @mstr2 can't the two features be split? It seems to me, correct me if I'm wrong, that the Platform Preferences API still requires quite some work. On the other hand the support for themes seems to be easier and faster to implement. I think it would be worth splitting the two features, and trying to add the Theme API by the next release

I've already proposed to deliver the feature in three installments to make it easier to get it agreed upon and reviewed:
1. [Platform Preferences API](https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8301302) (this PR)
2. [Allow Stage to control the appearance of window decorations](https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8301303)
3. [Add CSS themes as a first-class concept](https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8267546)

The Platform Preference API is ready to be reviewed, as far as I'm concerned. While it has been discussed extensively on the mailing list and here on GitHub, the feature proposal as a whole is still lacking buy-in from the OpenJFX project leads.

Note that getting the Style Theme API in before Platform Preferences is harder than it sounds. The built-in JavaFX themes Caspian and Modena will need to be re-implemented as first-class themes, and that requires Platform Preferences to support high-contrast themes on Windows. The alternative of keeping two different code paths would lead to significant additional maintenance cost.

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PR Comment: https://git.openjdk.org/jfx/pull/1014#issuecomment-1568656832