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We use a bunch of different tech stacks, but there's some Java in there. In fact, I recently had to create a cross-platform desktop app, and I'm still not awar

We use a bunch of different tech stacks, but there's some Java in there. In fact, I recently had to create a cross-platform desktop app, and I'm still not aware of a better option then the JVM. I would have preferred to write it in Scala, but opted for Java to make it easier for the rest of the team to maintain. Java isn't an awesome language, but it's fine. There's a lot of awful legacy Java code out in the wild, and I wouldn't want to work on it. But Java as a language is boring, inoffensive, and it works. As a result, it's probably going to be around for a long time.

joaomacp 9y ago
> I recently had to create a cross-platform desktop app, and I'm still not aware of a better option then the JVM. What GUI library(ies) did you use? Just Swing? Java-FX as well? I'm curious about this - I've developed the macOS part of a desktop app, where the Windows part used WPF, and we shared C# code (.net core, so it would run in both platforms). The advantages were that each app looked 'native' to its OS. But in my opinion, the disadvantages outweighed them: a) No linux support. b) Double the work on the UI parts. The Java alternative would reverse this: no native-looking UI elements, but they would be done once and run everywhere, including Linux. Another alternative would be Electron, but I feel (though I'm not sure) Java would be more performant. Can anyone chime in on this? I know there's no definitive winner on this space...
- actsasbuffoon 9y ago
  I just used JavaFX. It looks native everywhere, the tooling was good, and it works on Linux. I recommend taking a look. I've written almost no Java before this project, and I had never used JavaFX before. It took about 2 weeks to go from beginning to end on the project, which I was happy with.
  - vbezhenar 9y ago
    Oracle wants to drop JavaFX. I'm not sure about its future. It might be bright if someone wealthy would pick it up or dark if it'll end up in some apache catacombs. I would use Swing, it's very old, but it works and it's not going anywhere.
    - chris_wot 9y ago
      Ah, Oracle - where good frameworks and open source products go to die.

joaomacp 9y ago

> I recently had to create a cross-platform desktop app, and I'm still not aware of a better option then the JVM. What GUI library(ies) did you use? Just Swing? Java-FX as well? I'm curious about this - I've developed the macOS part of a desktop app, where the Windows part used WPF, and we shared C# code (.net core, so it would run in both platforms). The advantages were that each app looked 'native' to its OS. But in my opinion, the disadvantages outweighed them: a) No linux support. b) Double the work on the UI parts. The Java alternative would reverse this: no native-looking UI elements, but they would be done once and run everywhere, including Linux. Another alternative would be Electron, but I feel (though I'm not sure) Java would be more performant. Can anyone chime in on this? I know there's no definitive winner on this space...

actsasbuffoon 9y ago
I just used JavaFX. It looks native everywhere, the tooling was good, and it works on Linux. I recommend taking a look. I've written almost no Java before this project, and I had never used JavaFX before. It took about 2 weeks to go from beginning to end on the project, which I was happy with.
- vbezhenar 9y ago
  Oracle wants to drop JavaFX. I'm not sure about its future. It might be bright if someone wealthy would pick it up or dark if it'll end up in some apache catacombs. I would use Swing, it's very old, but it works and it's not going anywhere.
  - chris_wot 9y ago
    Ah, Oracle - where good frameworks and open source products go to die.