Frameworks
Hostile Territory
Sun's JavaFX vs. Silverlight, Flash and AIR.
A funny thing happened while we were all distracted by Windows Azure, Windows 7 and the promise of .NET Framework 4.0. An honest-to-goodness software platform fight broke out.
In the past couple months we've seen the release of the shipping versions of Sun's JavaFX rich Internet application (RIA) platform and runtime, key updates to Adobe's Flash, Flex and Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) offerings, and even early details about the next version of Silverlight 3. All this, of course, on top of the long-awaited October release of Silverlight 2, which finally gave .NET developers the ability to deliver business logic on Silverlight's RIA platform.
JavaFX, though, is just entering a fight in which many developers have already picked sides. Sun makes a courageous pitch, noting that JavaFX enjoys many of the same platform benefits from Java that Silverlight developers do with .NET. There's also the ubiquity argument of JavaFX, which benefits from Java's broad deployment across PCs and devices of every stripe. But in a conversation with Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, the point that caught my attention was this:
"On desktops, it's evident that browsers are somewhat hostile territory. They're owned by the largest Web services companies, whether it's Internet Explorer or Chrome or even Firefox," Schwartz says. "That means the first bite of the apple is frankly owned by someone other than the app developer."
As Schwartz notes in our interview, he regards the ability to de-link RIA apps from the browser as the single most compelling feature of JavaFX. Any PC with a compatible Java virtual machine installed -- and that's most of them -- can run JavaFX apps directly on the desktop just as well or better as it does in the browser. Heck, users will be able to drag JavaFX apps out of the browser and onto the desktop.
As Schwartz contends, "If you don't own your own traffic, you can't own your own business. If you're always reliant on somebody else to take the tickets before [customers] enter the theater, then they're probably going to be in a better position to dictate which movie gets watched."
Industry watchers agree that JavaFX delivers some very good technology, but they also agree that Sun faces a huge challenge in winning over developers. What do you think of JavaFX as an alternative to Silverlight, Flash and AIR? Will your shop be looking at it for your RIA work? Let me know at mdesmond@1105media.com.
Corrections and Clarifications
In a previous Redmond Review column ("Selling Self-Service," Dec. 1, 2008), an editing error produced an improper quote from Microsoft Analysis Services Team member Amir Netz. Netz was correctly attributed as saying that the Gemini BI client will not offer any APIs or other developer hooks. However, the next sentence was inaccurately edited as a direct quote from Netz, when in fact it was a statement from columnist Andrew Brust. It was Brust's hope, not Netz's, that the team will change its mind on API support.
Also, in a recent news story ("
.NET Out of the Box
," Nov. 1, 2008) John Papa and his company were incorrectly identified. Papa is a senior consultant with ASPSOFT Inc., which is located in Windermere, Fla.
About the Author
Michael Desmond is an editor and writer for 1105 Media's Enterprise Computing Group.