Getting Started with JavaFX Scene Builder 1.1

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1 Prepare for This Tutorial

This chapter provides information about system requirements and recommendations to prepare your development environment before you create the IssueTrackingLite FXML layout that you will build in this tutorial using JavaFX Scene Builder.

JavaFX Scene Builder is a design tool for the JavaFX platform. It allows simple drag-and-drop positioning of graphical user interface (GUI) components onto a JavaFX scene. As you build the scene, the FXML code for the designed UI is automatically generated. JavaFX Scene Builder provides a straightforward interface that can help you quickly prototype interactive applications that connect GUI components to the application logic.


Note:

JavaFX Scene Builder does not have dependency on any particular IDE. However, since this tutorial was prepared using NetBeans IDE, it is recommended that you use NetBeans IDE to complete this tutorial. If Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA is your preferred IDE, see Using JavaFX Scene Builder with Java IDEs for more information. You can also use Scene Builder as a standalone tool to create your UI layout and edit the resulting FXML file using a text editor of your choice. If you choose to work with this tutorial outside of any IDEs, there are sections in this tutorial that highlight what you need to do to use the Apache Ant utility to connect the layout that you build to the sample application's Java source code, apply the style sheet, and run the sample application.

Use the following requirements and recommendations before continuing with this tutorial:

  1. (Required) Install all the required software before you use JavaFX Scene Builder. See JavaFX Scene Builder Installation Guide for more details.

  2. (Required) Download the IssueTrackingLite.zip sample file included with this tutorial and extract its contents. The IssueTrackingLite folder you extract contains a completed version of the FXML layout that you will build using this tutorial. The issue-tracking system enables you to query existing project issues, modify them, or add new issue.

  3. (Required) Use JavaFX Scene Builder User Guide to familiarize yourself with the JavaFX Scene Builder user interface that is shown in Figure 1-1. Click the image to see a larger version.

  4. (Recommended) Install NetBeans IDE 7.4, which is used in this tutorial to illustrate the integration between NetBeans IDE and JavaFX Scene Builder. As mentioned in the Note above, you can also create the IssueTrackingLite UI layout using other Java IDEs, such as Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA, or a standalone instance of Scene Builder.

  5. (Recommended) Familiarize yourself with the JavaFX concepts by reading the available articles on the JavaFX Documentation web site at http://docs.oracle.com/javafx. In particular, learn about the FXML concepts by reading Getting Started with FXML and get familiar with layouts using Working With Layout in JavaFX.

Figure 1-1 Main Window for JavaFX Scene Builder (Click image to enlarge.)

Description of Figure 1-1 follows
Description of "Figure 1-1 Main Window for JavaFX Scene Builder"

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