If you didn't get a chance to watch the live broadcast of TechCast Live with Ajay Patel and Justin Kestelyn, you can now watch the on-demand replay below using our handy embedded video player. In this edition of TechCast Live, Justin and Ajay covered a wide range of important topics including:

1) The importance of the Java community
2) Future directions in the JCP
3) JavaOne
4) How Glassfish fits into Oracle's Application Server portfolio
5) JavaFX 2.0

And much more. Oh, and Justin: from all of us here at the Java Source, thanks for the shout-out!

In an Oracle Technology Network interview, Java Champion Stephen Chin, Chief Agile Methodologist for GXS, and one of the most prolific and innovative JavaFX developers, provides an update on the rapidly developing changes in JavaFX.

Chin expressed enthusiasm about recent JavaFX developments:

"There is a lot to be excited about -- JavaFX has a new API face. All the JavaFX 2.0 APIs will be exposed via Java classes that will make it much easier to integrate Java server and client code. This also opens up some huge possibilities for JVM language integration with JavaFX."

Chin also spoke about developments in Visage, the new language project created to fill the gap left by JavaFX Script:

"It's a domain-specific language for writing user interfaces, which addresses the needs of UI developers. Visage takes over where JavaFX Script left off, providing a statically typed, declarative language with lots of features to make UI development a pleasure."

"My favorite language features from Visage are the object literal syntax for quickly building scene graphs and the bind keyword for connecting your UI to the backend model. However, the language is built for UI development from the top down, including subtle details like null-safe dereferencing for exception-less code."

Read the entire article.

I spoke recently with Ed Burns, who is a Consulting Member of the Technical Staff at Oracle and specification lead for JavaServer Faces, the standard Web Application Framework for Java EE.
 
Q: JSF is more than six years old now -- is it still relevant?

A: Yes, for two reasons: first, because of the new features introduced in JSF 2.0, and second, because of the sensible design choices in the original architecture. My personal minimal goal with JSF 2.0 was to ensure that it was good enough to convince people who had tried JSF 1.2 and not liked it to give it a second chance. Based on blogs, tweets, and first-person accounts, I think we succeeded. Facelets is now built into the spec. I can confidently say that no other server-side Java framework has as simple and powerful Ajax integration as JSF 2.0. The composite component feature enables true UI abstraction for the first time in the Java EE platform. These and other features make JSF a very compelling choice for the UI of rich Internet applications.

Even though user expectations have changed since JSF was first released, the essential challenges of building a UI for a distributed application remain the same. Specifically, all web apps must address data conversion and validation, page flow, persistence, localization and internationalization, and UI layout and composition. JSF has been called a "kitchen sink framework". This characterization is only fair when you consider JSF in the context of the entire Java EE stack. It's kinder to say that Java EE is a "full stack solution". The JSF part of the Java EE full stack solution addresses everything one must consider when developing a web-based UI for a distributed application, with sensible defaults for everything. JSF can play a useful role even in "native" HTML5 applications that heavily leverage the client data store, WebSockets, the Canvas and other features designed to let the UI logic reside entirely in the browser. In this case, the data binding, conversion and validation portion of JSF can be used to simplify the task of integrating data from the client into the back end.

Q: What do you see as JSF's competition?

A: We need to distinguish direct from indirect competitors. UI technologies divide into two broad areas: desktop and mobile. Desktop is further broken down into apps with an installer, and browser-based apps. Browser-based apps are broken down into apps that require a plugin (such as Flash or JavaFX) and those that do not. Here, JSF is one entry in a crowded field. Other entries include Wicket, Vaadin, Spring MVC, Spring Web Flow, and Struts2.

While JSF is in direct competition with these other technologies, it's also in competition with entries in other areas.

Q: In a world of many different client device types, where does JSF fit?

A: Client device independence has been a part of JSF since day one. There are several JSF component libraries that are designed to let you author JSF pages targeted at smartphones and other handheld devices. Oracle's ADF Mobile product, from Fusion Middleware 11g, and Touchfaces, from Prime software, are two solid examples. 

Q: What's the outlook for JSF in the coming year?

A: We just finished JSF 2.1 and we're now drafting the JSR for JSF 2.2. This will be a full JSR, not a maintenance release, which will enable us to do more. Some things we are considering include page actions, full HTML5 forms support, first class browser detection, and inclusion of JSR-276 metadata in the standard components. 
 

First, a brief editorial if I may.  The upcoming JavaFX 2.0 platform has been getting overwhelmingly positive reaction from the community so far.  While the public sentiment seems to be cautiously optimistic, I've heard nothing but positive reactions from everyone that I've spoken to about the platform.   In fact, many of the early adopters of JavaFX have told us directly that they are very encouraged about the direction the platform is taking.

One such early adopter is Oracle's own Jim Connors.  As his day job, Jim is a principal sales consultant (basically an engineer that supports Oracle's sales efforts) in the New York area.  However, Jim also co-wrote a book with Jim Clarke and Eric Bruno on JavaFX and has spoken and conducted training sessions at events like the New York Java Developer Day, the Java Road Trip, and other events.

In his thoughtful editorial, Jim discusses some of the reasons why he believes the new directions Oracle is taking JavaFX make sense, including:

• Better developer tools
• Lower barriers to adoption -> better accessibility to existing Java developers
  
• Improved performance
• More flexibility (ability to use other dynamic languages, etc)

To read more about Jim's thoughts on the new JavaFX, check out his blog.  Or if you want to learn more about the JavaFX platform, pick up a copy of his book.  And if you still want to use JavaFX Script, you can check out Project Visage

In this very detailed article that will be published in the November/December edition of Oracle Magazine (available online now), Java Champion Jim Weaver walks you through the process of creating a custom layout manager for JavaFX.  Included with the article is a sample project that will let you step through a tutorial with ease to learn how these concepts can be applied. From the article itself

"This article introduces some of the built-in layout managers included with JavaFX 1.3 and shows you how to extend layout management to include a unique custom layout. The article steps through a sample application that manipulates images of playing cards"

To learn more about layout managers in JavaFX 1.3 and to try out the tutorial, check out Jim Weaver's excellent article here.

As you are most likely aware, Oracle announced at JavaOne 2010 that JavaFX Script was being replaced with a pure Java API.  This transition brings the following benefits:

• Allow the use of powerful Java features such as generics, annotations, and multi-threading
• Make it easier for Web developers to use JavaFX from other popular dynamic languages such as JRuby, Groovy, and JavaScript
• Allow Java developers to use other system languages such as Scala which run on the JVM for writing large or complex JavaFX applications

However, there are a number of developers that are sad to see JavaFX Script go away and to this end, Stephen Chin has announced Project Visage.  Reading Jim Weaver's blog yesterday, I noticed a post that project Visage has released the first preview of its new compiler.  Check it out and let them know what you think.  And if you are so inclined... contribute some code!

Tonight, the Silicon Valley JavaFX User Group is hosting a talk on JavaFX 2.0 presented by Richard Bair and Jai Suri from the JavaFX product team.  From the event website:

"In this session, members of the JavaFX product team share key information about the direction of JavaFX. Come hear about the latest developments in JavaFX and view firsthand demos and samples illustrating the new capabilities of the platform." 

The event is being hosted by Oracle at the Oracle Conference Center in Redwood Shores.  There are still a few seats remaining in the room, so if you would like to attend go ahead and register here.  If you are remote or would prefer to join from home, you can view a livestream and you can even participate and ask questions from afar! 

The Silicon Valley JavaFX User Group also archives past presentations so if you miss this one, or would like to view a previous meetup, you can check out the archives.
  

The energy level here at the San Francisco Hilton is electric as JavaOne 2010 has officially kicked off!  The first technical sessions kicked off this morning and there is a huge amount of anticipation around the JavaOne Opening keynote tonight.  If you were not able to join us live here in San Francisco, there are a couple of ways that you can follow-along from afar.  First, Oracle Technology Network is streaming 3-4 hours of live interviews (see schedule) throughout the week with technologists from Oracle and Oracle partners.  In addition, there will also be live streams for all of the keynotes available at the same URL.  So grab a beverage of your choice, sit back, and enjoy the show!

JavaFX Expert Jim Weaver has recently penned an excellent article entitled, Real-world JavaFX Applications: loadUI for the Oracle Technology Network. 

JavaOne is here again and this year there will be plenty of JavaFX-related material.  With over 30 sessions, there are a plethora of development tips and real work examples to inform and inspire you.  Find out how Major League Baseball uses JavaFX, or how it can be used to help doctors or even to rescue workers in the field!  There will also be plenty of sessions on using the latest platform features and improving your designer-developer workflow. 

In addition, be sure to stop on by the JavaFX pods at the DEMOgrounds to see demos of the latest JavaFX apps and to ask questions of the team!  You can also learn what our engineers have under wraps for the next major release of JavaFX during the Monday 10:00 AM opening session of the JavaFX and Rich User Experience track. Visit our JavaOne page on JavaFX.com for the complete list of JavaFX sessions

The Java team has released JavaFX 1.3.1 to improve the development of client-side Java applications. Version 1.3.1 includes a number of important enhancements along with a number of bug fixes and new documentation.
 
In addition, NetBeans 6.9.1 is also available now and includes support for the latest version of the JavaFX SDK. Here are some of the key JavaFX improvements:

• Start-up Improvements:  JavaFX 1.3.1 includes a new customizable progress indicator and leverages enhancements in Java SE update 21.  The progress indicator can help provide an indication to the end-user of how much time is left in the start-up process.  To learn more about optimizing the start-up experience, please review the new JavaFX Application Startup Experience tutorial
• Improved Debugging: NetBeans 6.9.1 adds support for the JavaFX 1.3.1 SDK and delivers a number of debugging-related enhancements
  
• Documentation: The release includes a CSS Reference Guide and improved JavaFX API documentation
  

For more information, check out the JavaFX 1.3.1 release notes or download JavaFX 1.3.1 now and let us know what you think!

Jim Weaver has written a great article on using CSS support in JavaFX 1.3 to stylize client-side user interfaces.  In his words:

"One of the hallmark features of JavaFX 1.3 is the introduction of JavaFX CSS, which provides the ability to apply styling to any element in the user interface. This article focuses on JavaFX Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which is primarily the domain of designers but is also important for developers to understand.

One of the strengths of JavaFX is that it enables designers and developers to collaborate on creating applications. JavaFX CSS is a feature of JavaFX that encourages this collaboration. As with traditional Web applications, developers can focus on an application's functionality while designers can apply styles to elements of the user interface."

To read more about using CSS with JavaFX 1.3, check out his article entitled, "Stylin' with JavaFX"

Absolutely thrilled that we have announced that MLB is using JavaFX to deliver several fantasy baseball applications for this year's baseball season.  JavaFX enabled MLB.com to leverage its existing Java platform experience and skills to create, maintain and support rich client applications.

JavaFX brings control back to development teams by giving them an environment and tools that are familiar and accessible, and reduces the dependency on third-party flash developers.  Additionally, by using Java on both the server and the client provides a cleaner, more integrated development architecture that allows developers to be more efficient and create better applications.

MLB.com has always been viewed as a technology leader and innovator and their choice of JavaFX is yet another example of this leadership and we certainly view it as a strong endorsement of the technology.  Let's play ball!

Improved JavaFX API documentation is now available on the web. This update includes a new CSS Reference Guide, improved summary documentation for several common packages, and improved class documentation for several preview classes.

New CSS Reference Guide. This guide includes an overview description of how CSS styles are applied to nodes in the scene graph and the various different CSS types that exist.  For each Node class, the guide lists the CSS properties that can be applied to that class.

Improved package summary documentation.  To view the package summary documentation, start at the main API page.  This page has a listing of all the JavaFX packages and shows a one-line summary for each. Click the disclosure arrow to reveal the summary documentation for that package. Summary documentation has been greatly improved for several important packages, specifically the following:
 
             javafx.animation
             javafx.scene
             javafx.scene.chart
             javafx.scene.control
             javafx.scene.layout

Improved documentation for preview classes.  To access the documentation for the preview classes, expand com.javafx.preview.control and com.javafx.preview.layout in the left nav bar of the API documentation.

Have you checked out the new JavaFX Composer yet?  If not, you might want to check out this screencast from the NetBeans team which will show you how to quickly and efficiently build JavaFX applications using this brand-new tool