Agile Ajax

JavaFX - Another Ajax Killer

Dietrich Kappe, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 @ 5:50 am

Everyone is trying to kill Ajax. Apollo, Project Flair, Silverlight, on and on and on...but..Ajax...just...won't...die. Sun is giving it another try with it's JavaFX.

JavaFX Script takes advantage of the Java Runtime Environment's (JRE) ubiquity across devices and enables creative professionals to begin building applications based on their current knowledge base. It also uses Java technology's "write once, run anywhere" capability to help realize a future where consumers can access content whenever and wherever on any Java-powered device. JavaFX applications will run on JavaFX Mobile, Sun's software system for mobile devices also previewed at JavaOne, as well as desktop browsers (see separate announcement).

I think it must be something about Silicon Valley. I've been at enough events out there to know that people actually talk like this (as opposed to writing press releases like this). The doodoo gets especially deep around the time of JavaOne.

What is at the heart of JavaFX? A new scripting language "based on Java." Hmmmmm, dynamic languages good, statically typed languages bad. I guess when Richard Stallman embedded Lisp in GNU Emacs, he really started a trend.

Scripting is all the rage these days, with Groovy, BeanShell, Javascript and others filling an important niche. But I have to feel it's just a fad. There are good reasons to use statically typed languages, especially when developing large, complex systems over long periods of time. I just hope this doesn't mean we are going into a scripting craze ("We are so past Java and C#...") only to have the pendulum swing the other way ("We tried writing our system in Perl...never again. No scripting here.").

More on the bestiary of Ajax Killers later.



Technorati : , ,

Topics: ,

agile ajax Agile Ajax

Comments: 3 so far

  1. JavaFX (or F3) is statically typed (with type inference I think).
    But it really is an embarrassment. F3 was OK for what it was. It is not an Ajax or Flash killer. There is no sound or video support. There is no nonlinear animation. There is no graphical designer. Their examples are half working imitations of other people’s Flash sites (copyright infringing images and all).

    F3 was a hobby project, and it is nowhere near ready for real use.

    Comment by Asd, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 @ 11:40 am

  2. There’s nothing wrong with dynamic typing, as long as you can statically analyse the code too (plus give hints to static analysers). Mandatory static typing increases dependencies between modules, leading to more monolithic code.

    I like Bracha’s pluggable types - add type annotations when you feel like it, but if your type annotations don’t match, that doesn’t stop programs from running.

    Comment by Ricky Clarkson, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 @ 11:47 am

  3. Flash, Silveright, and JavaFX aren’t positioned to be AJAX killers. AJAX is what the baseline of the web experience will become. Because of its inherent technical limitations, AJAX doesn’t compete with Flash or Silveright

    Comment by Dave, Wednesday, May 9, 2007 @ 6:18 pm

Leave a comment

Powered by WP Hashcash

About Pathfinder

  • We design and build extraordinary applications for companies looking to make the next great idea a reality.
  • learn more

Topics

Blogroll

WordPress

Comments about this site: info@pathf.com