JavaFX in Action

Perhaps it’s best to start by explaining one thing this book categorically is not: Java FX in Action is not a retread of readily available online documentation. If you want that kind of thing, no doubt other books will suffice. In the age of search engines and IDE s with context-sensitive help, a complete list of functions for a given class is never more than a few keystrokes away. API documentation is plentiful—what’s usually lacking is an expla- nation of how the various classes fit together, and interact, to solve particular problems. This book seeks to teach Java FX from first principles through practical examples instead of merely repackaging API documentation. The opening third (chapters 1 to 3) introduces the platform and the Java FX Script language, while the remaining two-thirds (chapters 4 to 11) use a project-driven approach to study the Java FX API s. The overriding theme of the book is cool ways to learn a cool technology. The projects are fun, the text permits itself occasional flashes of humor (without being overly flip- pant), and the problem/solution format brightens up even the most mundane parts of the API . But the text doesn’t shy away from hard-nosed technical detail when neces- sary: if you want to understand why, and not just how, this is the book for you. Java FX is a brash, new, energetic, and entertaining technology—this book attempts to capture that spirit: an invaluable desktop companion, alongside the official API documentation