RedFX: connecting JavaFX to the Enterprise

A couple of months ago, I started to work on RedFX (http://redfx.org), a framework that enables an easy connection between JavaFX client-based code and Java Enterprise based backend code. I strongly believe that the connection between JavaFX and the enterprise in general is an important aspect in the chances of success for JavaFX.

The main reason I started to work on RedFX is that I needed something like this in a number of JavaFX projects I was doing at LodgON. Initially, we were writing lots of boilerplate code for doing REST-calls to a backend, parsing the result via the PullParser, or for synchronizing state between clients and a server.
However, there are some patterns that often come back, and most applications would benefit from a clear separation between the business functionality of the application and the communication and synchronization parts.

The RedFX functionality is partly inspired by the BlazeDS framework from Adobe. RedFX consists of three parts:

  • (remote) object synchronization: RemoteObjects can be shared across different instances of JavaFX clients and a server.
  • messaging: JavaFX clients and Java Enterprise server code can publish messages and subscribe to channels
  • WebServiceClient: make it easier to call remote resources using REST and parse the result into a JavaFX object.

I am currently in the process of open-sourcing RedFX, and integrating it under the JFXtras umbrella. I am pleasantly surprised by the activity on the jfxtras developer mailinglist. The JavaFX - Enterprise connectivity is a very important aspect. The more JavaFX developers are involved with this, the better. Integrating RedFX in JFXtras will enhance the quality, and make it more accessible.

written on 20:00.

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