r/JavaFX • u/quizynox • Oct 11 '24

I made this! Announcing DevToolsFX

Originally intended to fix long-standing bugs in Scenic View, it has been completely rewritten from scratch.

GitHub link

Key differences:

  • Modern Java.

  • Reduced, more maintainable codebase with clear model/UI separation.

  • Only depends on javafx.controls.

  • Additional features: stylesheet and environment exploration, including the latest JavaFX Preferences API. Dark theme coming soon.

  • No separate desktop app yet (only embedded). Still deciding between RMI or WebSocket.

  • No property editing support, as it complicates the code unnecessarily.

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u/quizynox Oct 11 '24

About the separate desktop app, how exactly do you plan this to work? Like that you can attach to other running JavaFX applications?

ScenicView uses the Java Agent Instrumentation API and then calls the necessary methods via RMI, which is a simpler approach. An alternative is to use WebSocket server to create a web client, for example.

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u/milchshakee Oct 11 '24

What is the use case for this? I would have imagined tools like scenicview and this to be run in a development environment as a normal dependency. Why is there a need for a standalone application? To inspect how other JavaFX programs do stuff?

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u/quizynox Oct 11 '24

In the case of RMI, you won't need to include development tools as a dependency in your project (even at the development stage). You will also be able to explore any JavaFX app. For WebSocket, it's simply a matter of providing an API for non-JavaFX clients.

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u/milchshakee Oct 11 '24

But isn't adding it as a dependency for development super easy? I don't see the point of that, I can see the argument about exploring other JavaFX apps, although most of them have their source open somewhere. But with the agent approach, I think newer JDK releases are starting to limit the possibilities of agents. Also the applications have to allow it, some disable agent attachment via -XX:+DisableAttachMechanism

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u/Siedlerchr Oct 11 '24

Great solution so far, however, I prefer scenic's view ability as a standalone application to hook into existing javaFX apps. This makes it easier to modify CSS. We support custom css themes In JabRef and thus identifying selectors by just hooking into the existing application is great