Type Safe Builders

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Type Safe Builders

JavaFX is a bit verbose, as is Java. Kotlin's apply and with functions, in combination with the shortened accessor syntax and the lack of a new operator and other tricks goes a long way to make your code more readable.

There is nothing wrong with sticking to pure Java FX and the Kotlin syntax. However, if you would like to cut down even further on the boiler plate, and describe your views in a declarative and consice way, you could take a look at the type safe builders of Tornado FX.

The builders contain no magic. In fact, they are very simple extension functions to the Java FX Pane class, which enables you to create a new node, set some properties and add it to the children list of the parent Pane with very little code. The hierarchical nature of the builders makes it extremely easy to understand the ui composition with a simple glance.

hbox {
    label("Hello world") {
        addClass("heading")
    }

    textfield {
        promptText = "Enter your name"
    }

    // You can also add nodes that are not created with the builders
    this += Label("Plain old label")
}

The full list of available functions can be seen in the Builders.kt source file. If you miss a feature, send us a pull request, and we'll be happy to include it.

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