JavaFX 1.0 is around the corner. The planned release date was December 2nd, but it has been postponed to December 4th. What can we expect from the release? Despite the doubts from the community and my own, I actually looking forward to it. Why? A couple of thing:

• Tool support has still a long way to go, but it is getting better (I really like to see this project to succeed)
• The new Applet plugin is living up to its promises.
• I am more and more impressed by the performance of the Java platform, this will also translates to JavaFX’s performance. A real performance comparison between JavaFX, ActionScript, and Silverlight..
• JavaFX.com will be updated! At last the ugly, ajaxy, and buggy page goes away. Hopefully, the next one will be better and shows JavaFX’s capabilities.
• It seems that the Java team is not affected by Sun’s announced staff cuts.
• Release 1.0 contains a JavaFX Mobile prelease.
• The best at last: JavaFX will support Windows and Mac OSX! Linux support is on its way. This is really crucial, JavaFX can only succeed when it supports all major platforms equally.

Still, there are some open issues:

• I am still not convinced about JavaFX script and about the new language. Maybe we will see something similar to JavaFx what now happens to Java – maybe it will become a multiple language platform.
• The community has to accept JavaFX. Company support would also help.
• Development must be faster. Especially at the beginning (JavaFX has a lot to catch up) short release cycles are desireable.
• Sun must implement a clear vision. It seems that they have intern doubts about what to do.

If you live in the San Francisco area, there is a JavaFX release party. Infos are on JavaFX.com. Btw. Java 6 update 11 was release today.