P4
Support for FXML and CSS in JavaFX is great, as it allows to separate graphical UI design (FXML + CSS) from technical implementation (controller + model POJOs).
Unfortunately there is (at least) on scenario where UI designers have no other chance that to learn Java: When it comes to replacing the visual experience of cells (like changing from a simple icon plus text label to a more complex "interior"). The reason is that for this purpose, one has to write a customo cell factory.
One could assume that it should be a simple and straightforward task to write a generic cell factory which simply loads FXML internally. Unfortunately this is a rather bad idea, as it implies heavy I/O on the rendering thread, leading to poor performance and overly use of CPU cycles and RAM fragmentation due to lots of short-living objects.
Also the next idea won't work: Cloning a preloaded Node. Unfortunately, Nodes are not cloneable (not even the few built-in implementations, neither virtually all custom ones).
Hence, there is not solution possible with JavaFX 8 and 9, so there should be a plan to support this in Java FX 10. Several idea come into mind, like:
* (A) Real Templates: Template<Node> t = FXMLLoader.compile(URL); Node n = t.createInstance();
* (B) Stream Cache (key is URL, value is content) inside FXMLLoader.
* (C) Making Node cloneable, and implement it for all standard widgets.
This issue does neither provide a full discussion of the topic, nor a comprehensive list of solutions. It merely serves as a trigger for a future discussion within the JavaFX project team.
Unfortunately there is (at least) on scenario where UI designers have no other chance that to learn Java: When it comes to replacing the visual experience of cells (like changing from a simple icon plus text label to a more complex "interior"). The reason is that for this purpose, one has to write a customo cell factory.
One could assume that it should be a simple and straightforward task to write a generic cell factory which simply loads FXML internally. Unfortunately this is a rather bad idea, as it implies heavy I/O on the rendering thread, leading to poor performance and overly use of CPU cycles and RAM fragmentation due to lots of short-living objects.
Also the next idea won't work: Cloning a preloaded Node. Unfortunately, Nodes are not cloneable (not even the few built-in implementations, neither virtually all custom ones).
Hence, there is not solution possible with JavaFX 8 and 9, so there should be a plan to support this in Java FX 10. Several idea come into mind, like:
* (A) Real Templates: Template<Node> t = FXMLLoader.compile(URL); Node n = t.createInstance();
* (B) Stream Cache (key is URL, value is content) inside FXMLLoader.
* (C) Making Node cloneable, and implement it for all standard widgets.
This issue does neither provide a full discussion of the topic, nor a comprehensive list of solutions. It merely serves as a trigger for a future discussion within the JavaFX project team.