Is it too late for JavaFX to succeed

One developer, Mark Volkmann, a steering committee member of the Saint Louis Java Users Group, says JavaFX has been slow in its progress. "I think it wasn't too late when they first announced it, but I think they have moved too slowly since they've announced it," says Volkmann, who prefers HTML5.

"At the moment, I don't really have a lot of interest in JavaFX," Volkmann says, remarking that he wants to see if he can get by using HTML5, JavaScript, and the jQuery JavaScript library.

While JavaFX is better than rival technologies, it did not get the proper backing from Sun, says Java developer Frank Greco, chairman of the New York Java Special Interest Group. "It's superior, but maybe that doesn't count anymore," he says, adding that he has developed some small JavaFX programs.

At this stage, JavaFX will survive only if Oracle can build a business around it, says Mark Little, chief technologist for middleware at Red Hat and a member of a Java Community Process executive committee. "Otherwise, it will die."

To help build a business around it, JavaFX needs tools support and integration with more IDEs, Greco says. To this end, Oracle's efforts for the JavaFX tool chain include accommodating existing tools with plug-ins that enable exporting of vector graphics, images, and filters to the Java platform, says Nandini Ramani, director of Java development at Oracle, in an interview posted on the Oracle Website.