JavaFX 13 adds support for native rendering

On Sep 14, 2019

JavaFX 13, the latest version of the Java-based toolkit for building rich client applications, has arrived, highlighted by native rendering. Native rendering support allows developers to integrate powerful visualization capabilities into their JavaFX applications.

JavaFX is published by the OpenJFX community, since being separated from the Java Development Kit (JDK), and is now distributed by Java solutions provider Gluon. JavaFX 13, released September 10, enables native rendering by supporting WriteableImages backed by NIO bytebuffers, which are direct buffers used in native code.

Other new features and improvements in JavaFX 13 include:

Support for e-paper displays, which are devices with electroprotectic displays. The intent is to run a JavaFX application on a device with an e-paper display by installing the Ubuntu OpenJFX package for Monocle platform. Release notes state that these displays do have limits in grayscale levels and frame rates, so some applications written for LCD screens may be inappropriate.
Support for a static build for Mac OS X. Only shared libraries for native JavaFX components had been supported.
Making color, Point2D, and Point3D fields final. There has been a risk that these values will be modified internally by mistake, which can be avoided by making them final.
Enabling Point2D and Point3D to implement the interpolatable interface.
The addition of an exclusion scope for LightBase.
Upgrading the Direct3D9 shader model from 2.0 to 3.0 for 3D operations.

JavaFX 13 also fixes a number of bugs, such as enabling HTTPS to download all build dependencies and fixing a situation where the menu beeped when Alt-F mnemonics was used. It also fixes a memory leak that had impacted WindowEvent.DESTROY.

JavaFX is for desktop, mobile, and embedded systems. JavaFX 13 follows JavaFX 12, which arrived in March. Moving forward, plans call for developers of JavaFX to use Skara infrastructure, which will mean more sharing of tools, infrastructure, and processes with core OpenJDK development, strengthening OpenJFX as a project under the OpenJDK umbrella.