JavaFX: Why JavaFX 2.0? Develop Hardware-Accelerated RIA using JAVA.

Why Use JavaFX?

JavaFX provides a powerful Java-based UI platform capable of handling large-scale data-driven business applications.
JavaFX applications are completely developed in Java, one of the most widely deployed technologies with one of the largest developer communities in the world, while leveraging the power of standards-based programming practices and design patterns.

JavaFX provides a rich set of UI controls, graphics and media API with high-performance hardware-accelerated graphics and media engines to simplify development of immersive visual applications.

JavaFX 2.0 is Java’s next generation graphical user interface (GUI) toolkit for developers to rapidly build rich cross-platform applications. Built from the ground up, JavaFX takes advantage of modern GPUs through hardware-accelerated graphics while providing well-designed programming interfaces enabling developers to combine graphics, animation, and UI controls. The new JavaFX 2.0 is a pure Java language application programming interface (API).

The key architectural strategies provided by JavaFX 2.0 API are the reuse of existing Java libraries and the bridging of communication between other languages that run on the JVM (Visage, Jython, Groovy, JRuby, and Scala).

Nandini Ramani of Oracle plainly states the intended direction of JavaFX the platform in the following excerpt from the screen-cast, Introducing JavaFX 2.0:

“The industry is moving toward multi-core/multi-threading [type] platforms with GPUs. JavaFX 2.0 leverages these attributes to improve execution efficiency and UI design flexibility. Our initial goal is to give architects and developers of enterprise applications a set of tools and APIs to help them build better data driven business applications.”

— Nandini Ramani - Oracle Corp, VP of Development, Java Client Platform.

Table of features and benefits:

Features	Benefits
Java APIs for JavaFX. JavaFX 2.0 applications are completely developed in Java	Developers can use their favorite Java development tools Leverage thousands of existing Java libraries Developers can use popular JVM-based scripting languages, such as Groovy, JRuby and Scala
FXML, a scriptable, XML-based markup language for defining user interfaces.	Develop and maintain complex user interfaces easily
Web rendering engine	Seamlessly mix and match native Java capabilities and the dynamic capabilities of web technologies in your applications
Seamless integration into Swing applications	Existing Swing applications can be updated easily with new JavaFX features, such as rich graphics API, media playback, and embedded Web content
High-performance hardware accelerated graphics pipeline	JavaFX applications featuring data visualizations and complex user interfaces can leverage modern graphics cards for optimal performance
High-performance media engine	Playback video and audio content in popular formats within your application
Over 50 charts, form and layout components, easily customizable through the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).	JavaFX provides all the major UI controls required for the development of a full featured application. Components can be easily skinned using standard Web technologies such as CSS
Ubiquitous deployment via the Java Runtime Environment (JRE)	The JavaFX Runtime is installed with the Java Runtime Environment, ensuring its availability on more than 97% of enterprise desktops worldwide [Source: Forrester, November 2009: Enterprise Platform Trends, H1 2009]

If you plan to use and develop javaFX based GUI you will need the JavaFX SDK.
By the way now starting with Java SE 7 Update 2, the JDK includes the JavaFX SDK.

For more information & resources:

DOWNLOAD JavaFX NetBeans IDE JDK 7 START LEARNING Step 1: What is JavaFX Step 2: Install JavaFX SDK Step 3: Get Started with JavaFX Step 4: Learn More Flex&Java: Using Adobe Flex and JavaFX with JavaServer Faces 2.0

API DOCUMENTATION JavaFX APIs DISCUSSION FORUM JavaFX Forum OTHER RESOURCES JavaFX: is fully back to java, welcome back to java world JavaFX: JavaFX 2.0 Is Here! FAQ Roadmap Features overview (data sheet)