JavaFX: How Much Interest Is there?

JavaFX has gotten quite a bit of hype. Not only is it Java's answer to Silverlight, but it is also supposed to be a competitor to Apollo. Part of the goal of JavaFX is an attempt bring Java applets back from the dead. JavaFX, coupled with the consumer JRE and the Java kernel, should allow small, and very fast Java downloads and installs, along with very fast application startup times.

But JavaFX doesn't stop at running just inside the browser. It can also be used to write desktop applications, and even Java ME applications in the future. The JavaFX API is quite powerful, but at the same time, significantly less complicated than the Swing API. JavaFX is more cross platform than Silverlight, and more powerful than, as well as much more cross-platform than Apollo. but how much interest is there really?

Of course, standard disclaimers about "This is not a scientific poll, etc.. ,etc..." apply, but a recent poll on java.net sheds some light on the subject. According to the poll, 15.6% of respondents said they were "very interested" in JavaFX. Unfortunately,, however, 27.6% said they were only ?somewhat interested?, 25.7% said they were "not very interested", and 20.4% said they were "not at all interested". If you are doing the math, you found there is 10.4% left. Those 10.4% had never even heard of JavaFX, by responding with "JavaFWhat"? And since that poll likely only indicates the interest that Java developers themselves have in JavaFX, it doesn't even account for the rest of the developer population, which has probably never even heard of JavaFX.

Despite the fact that JavaFX is receiving quite a bit of press in Java land, with how-to articles and such appearing on the Java desktop community site, actual developer interest, according to the poll (again, with standard disclaimers applied), seems fairly low. This raises a few interesting questions in my mind:

Why is interest in JavaFX--even among Java developers, so low? Is it because most have given up on Java on the desktop and in the browser? Is it because most of them have already decided to adopt Flex?

Is there anything Sun can do to help increase interest in JavaFX within the Java development community?

Is there anything we as a Java development community can do to increase interest in JavaFX among non-Java developers... Like say, Flash developers for example? Or those considering using Apollo?

I look forward to hearing what others in the Java community think on these questions. I, for one, think that JavaFX has a lot of potential--far more potential than the competing technologies. JavaFX can be used in the browser, on the desktop, and even for programming the next generation of Java ME phone applications. Why does the interest level, at least according to this poll, seem quite low?

为什么没人对JavaFX感兴趣？

       JavaFX并只在浏览器内运行，它可被用于写桌面应用，甚至以后的Java ME应用。JavaFX API非常强大，却比Swing API 更简单。比Silverlight、Apollo都更跨平台。然而实际上多少人对此感兴趣呢？

       Java.net日前对此做了调查，结果显示，46.1%的开发者表示对JavaFX没有什么兴趣，10.4%甚至对JavaFX闻所未闻。只有15.6%的开发者表示对JavaFX感兴趣。登录这个网站的多是Java开发者， Java族对JavaFX的兴趣都这么低，更不用说其他开发者了。

1.         为什么JavaFX即使在Java族中的关注度这么低？是因为大部分人放弃了桌面和浏览器中的Java？是因为他们大部分已决定接受Flex？

2.         Sun是否可以为提供JavaFX的关注度而做些工作呢，哪怕只是在Java社区？

3.         我们作为Java族的一员是否该为增加JavaFX的兴趣度而做点什么呢？