Bill Snyder's Blog: Java desktop frameworks: Where are we headed?

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Java desktop frameworks: Where are we headed?

Posted by wsnyder6 on April 05, 2007 at 09:00 AM | Comments (5)

Finally

It's been nice to finally see various toolkits arrive with the promise to make Java desktop development simpler, more focused (and more fun).

I think JavaDesktop development is coming to a cross roads - and I am wondering, what will the focus be next? It seems that in the last few years much emphasis has been put on data-binding, application-infrastructure, and more recently, graphical effects.

But all these, are really pieces of the desktop app infrastructure. While they definitely make life easier for the developer, there is still another step to take...

Domain-specific UI code

Its been about 4 years since the initial Java Desktop Network Components debuted. The overall idea at the beginning was to afford creation of desktop applications using declarative markup. So the project had built in components for data-binding, application-infrastructure, and even some basic effects.

That's where I'd love to see all these frameworks come together -> into some domain-specific-markup-type framework that makes it easy to build desktop applications. (Oh, and it has to be extensible.) I know this has already been discussed, but I don't quite agree with the proposed solution. I'd like to see something done in Java, because of it's maturity and richness.

It will be interesting to see where F3 goes, and if any similar projects get started.

What do you think? Where should the focus be now within Java desktop development?

Comments

Comments are listed in date ascending order (oldest first) | Post Comment

just curious, ( have you heard of | what do you think of ) http://jmatter.org/ ? thanks, / eitan
Posted by: eitan on April 05, 2007 at 02:28 PM

There are some good projects out there that prove Java can compete in this space. There were presentations on Swixml, Canoo and JMatter at the Desktop matters conference back in March. They all look very promising.
Posted by: rabbe on April 06, 2007 at 08:27 AM

I don't know where Java Desktop is headed or for what uses, but for database oriented applications, there is still a massive gap between what Java/Swing provides and what is needed. If Java Desktop is to succeed on IT projects, this gap must be bridged.
Posted by: neilweber on April 06, 2007 at 09:37 AM

When clicking on the 'graphical effects' link above I get the following error: "Your account does not have the "Project Page - View" permission needed for you to access the page you requested in the animatedtransitions project" Is this a problem with the Project configuration, or perhaps the new java.net?
Posted by: mgbacke on April 06, 2007 at 09:46 AM

mgbacke
Thanks. That project is still in the works, I think, and not ready for public release.To avoid confusion, I changed the link to something else.
Posted by: wsnyder6 on April 06, 2007 at 10:02 AM

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