Sun demonstrates JavaFX scripting language

Sun Microsystems on Tuesday announced it will soon be releasing JavaFX Rich Client Technology, a family of products for creating Rich Internet Applications without resorting to complex programming associated with Java. The announcement took place at the 13th annual JavaOne Conference. JavaFX programs will allow easier access and therefore appeal to more people who wish to create Java applications, the according to Sun's executives.

Demonstrations showcasing the abilities of the tools developed for the suite included a sphere rendering tens of HD videos simultaneously, called Movie Cloud. Another, Photo Flocker, demonstrated rendering photos with dynamic photo tagging, displaying and sorting through photos. The Connected Life demo illustrated the ease of creating RIAs for multiple platforms by creating an application for a web browser, social network, desktop operating system and a mobile phone.

Unlike similar products from Adobe (AIR) and Microsoft (Silverlight) which effectively need to start from scratch, the Sun solution is based on Java, which is already used on servers that power many Internet sites, according to the company's chief executive, Jonathan Schwartz.

"JavaFX Script is going to bring Java to creative professionals," said Schwartz. "It's no longer the domain of object-oriented programmers."

While the full JavaFX Desktop suite will be launched in the fall of this year, a preview program will come by the summer. The spring of 2009 will see the release of JavaFX Mobile and JavaFX TV. [via News.com]