Essential JavaFX

Description

• Copyright 2009
• Dimensions: 7" x 9-1/8"
• Edition: 1st

• eBook
• ISBN-10: 0-13-704430-5
• ISBN-13: 978-0-13-704430-6

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version.

A complete introduction for beginners to Sun's powerful JavaFX scripting language

JavaFX is a scripting language which provides built-in properties for manipulating objects within a 2D coordinate system. A competing technology to Microsoft's Silverlight, JavaFX provides the tools to fill and pen stroke colors, and create special effects, shapes and lines. It also manipulates images and play videos and sound and defines animations that affect objects over time. This complete introduction for any level doesn't bury you with details. It starts quickly with an introduction to the power of JavaFX key features--scene node graphs, nodes as components, the coordinate system, layout options, colors and gradients, custom classes with inheritance, animation, binding, and event handlers. It then shows step-by-step how these features could be used in a real JavaFX application and will help an application look professionally designed. Commissioned by JavaFX product team and reviewed by renowned Java author, Brian Goetz, this guide is intended as the first and most accessible book for people new to JavaFX.

• The Andersons are working directly with the JavaFX team at Sun for a complete and authoritative guide
• Gets you started on building rich Web apps quickly without having to sort through unnecessary details or search the Web for answers
• Focuses on most useful features and shows how to build apps that tap the full potential of JavaFX

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Sample Content

Table of Contents

Preface   xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Chapter 1 Getting Started with JavaFX 1

What You Will Learn 1

1.1  What Is JavaFX? 1

1.2  The JavaFX Bundle 2
1.3  Where to Get JavaFX 3

1.4  Using JavaFX on the Command Line 11

Chapter 2 A Taste of JavaFX 13

What You Will Learn 13

2.1  Introducing JavaFX 13

2.2  Project GuitarTuner 14

2.3  JavaFX Program Structure 17
2.4  Key JavaFX Features 19

2.5  Making Things Look Good 26 Gradients 26

2.6  Doing Things 31

2.7  Source Code for Project GuitarTuner 36

Chapter 3 JavaFX Language 43

What You Will Learn 43

3.1  Variables and Types 43

3.2  Operators 47

3.3  Expressions 50

3.4  Sequences 54 Sequence Literals 54 Printing

3.5  Functions 61 Defining Functions 61 Passing

3.6  Classes and Objects 67 Classes 67 Object

3.7  Inheritance 74

3.8  Triggers 82 On Replace with Variables 82 On

3.9  Script Files and Packages 85 Variable Scope 85

3.10  Exception Handling 89
3.11  JavaFX Keywords 92

Chapter 4 Graphical Objects 93

What You Will Learn 93

4.1  Setting the Stage 93
4.2  Shapes 101

4.3  Paths 114

4.4  Layout Nodes 117

4.5  Geometry 118

Chapter 5 User Interface Components 125

What You Will Learn 125

5.1  JavaFX UI Controls 125

5.2  Swing Components 128
5.3  Swing Example 136 Pizzas Are Circles 136

5.4  Creating Skinnable Components 143

Chapter 6 Anatomy of a JavaFX Application 159

What You Will Learn 159

6.1  Project Piano 159

6.2  PianoKey Components 161

6.3  Building the Keyboard 172

6.4  SwingButtons and Animation 175

6.5  Adding Help and Improving Visual Effects 180

6.6  Source Code for Project Piano 186

Chapter 7 Animation 197

What You Will Learn 197

7.1  Timelines 198 Animation Basics–Moving an

7.2  Timeline Actions 210

7.3  Transitions 217

7.4  Path Animation 225

7.5  Chutes and Ladders 229

Chapter 8 Working with Images 241

8.1  Using Image 241

8.2  Using ImageView 244
8.3  Building a Wall of Photos 256

8.4  Mouse Dragging 262

8.5  Animated Photo Carousel 266

Chapter 9 Web Services 277

What You Will Learn 277

9.1 JavaFK Pull Parsers  277

9.2  JavaFX HttpRequest 288

9.3  Flickr: Interesting Photos 293

9.4  Flickr: Searching with Tags 300

9.5  Flickr: Getting User Photos 304

Chapter 10 Mobile Applications 307

What You Will Learn 307

10.1  JavaFX Mobile–What Does It Mean? 307

10.2  Making a JavaFX Application Mobile Ready

10.3  Mobile-Only Applications 323
Grouping Elements Together 325

Index  329

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