Should I use FXML to make a UI? | Together Java | Page 1

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 5:15 PM

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Hi im not rlly that good with making UI's in JFX. I want to make a simple UI for a fluid simulation and I am not sure on what I should be using or where to start. Here are some mock ups I have made for the simulation.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can use? I will be using the same dark theme throughout my entire program so I think having only a few CSS files for everything would be good.

neat ospreyBOT Jan 25, 2024, 5:15 PM

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<@&987246487241105418> please have a look, thanks.

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Here is an AI assisted attempt to answer your question 🤖. Maybe it helps! In any case, a human is on the way 👍. To continue talking to the AI, you can use </chatgpt:1108714622413963314>.

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are a few things to consider when deciding whether to use FXML for your UI:

Complexity of the UI: If your UI is simple and doesn't require much customization or dynamic behavior, you may not need to use FXML. You can directly create and configure JavaFX nodes programmatically.
Separation of concerns: FXML allows you to separate the UI design from the logic by defining the structure and appearance of the UI in an XML-like format. This can make your code more maintainable and easier to understand.
Visual design tools: If you prefer using visual design tools, FXML can be a good choice as it is compatible with tools like Scene Builder, which allow you to drag and drop components onto a canvas.
Collaboration: If you are working in a team where designers and developers collaborate on the UI, FXML can facilitate this collaboration as designers can work on the FXML files while developers focus on the logic.
Learning curve: If you are not familiar with FXML or XML-based languages, there may be a learning curve involved in understanding how to define your UI using FXML.

In summary, if your UI is simple and doesn't require much customization or dynamic behavior, you may not need to use FXML. However, if you prefer separating concerns, using visual design tools, collaborating with designers, or if your UI is more complex, then using FXML could be beneficial.

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 5:16 PM

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yeah you should always use FXML for ui in javafx

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 5:16 PM

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hmm

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ok

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also

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how does it really work?

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what makes it easier than just using simple jfx

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 5:16 PM

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I want to make a simple UI for a fluid simulation and I am not sure on what I should be using or where to start.
I would simply use Canvas

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 5:16 PM

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deep cave what makes it easier than just using simple jfx

you dont need to code everything

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also SceneBuilder is drag/drop software

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to easily create ui

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 5:17 PM

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Ahh ok

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 5:18 PM

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also you might be interested reading this:
#today-i-teach message

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its about animation package in javafx

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 5:19 PM

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oh

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i was thinking of using a delta time game loop

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lmao

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 5:19 PM

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you can

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but this is recommended

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 5:19 PM

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i made a fluid simulation in awt so im just bringing all of that to jfx

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 5:19 PM

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though delta time might be more accurate

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 5:19 PM

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hoary pine but this is recommended

i need to do it for marks in my project 😭

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:00 PM

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hey @hoary pine know what i did wrong here?

I created a Scene class which i extend from and i want to use controller but i can't use it for some reason?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:01 PM

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make it protected

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private wont give you access in subclasses

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also not sure if you want to structure it like this

lapis spindle Jan 25, 2024, 6:02 PM

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i woulent recommend making a type named Scene either, can confuse those reading your code

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especially if you're posting the code to get help

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:03 PM

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lapis spindle i woulent recommend making a type named `Scene` either, can confuse those readin...

oh

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what should i call it instead?

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i didn't knwo what to call it 😭

lapis spindle Jan 25, 2024, 6:05 PM

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well it represents a state of your program (menu, simulation, etc..), so you could name it something related to that

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:05 PM

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hmm

lapis spindle Jan 25, 2024, 6:05 PM

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or even just AppScene would be better

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:05 PM

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yeahh

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or ProgramState?

lapis spindle Jan 25, 2024, 6:05 PM

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sure

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:05 PM

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it sounds cooler

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yay

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:06 PM

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what is the use of this abstract superclass in the first place?

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:06 PM

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tbh

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i saw a bunch of scenes

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and each scene will be implementing the same methods

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and have similar layouts

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so i thought grouping them would make it easier to work with

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my cs teacher said it's a good idea to do taht as well

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:07 PM

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yeah grouping them is a good idea but I wouldnt do it like this

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:08 PM

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oh

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how should i do it?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:09 PM

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probably some enum that stores all your fxml scenes

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which you then manage

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you are going to have one class which extends Application

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:10 PM

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umm

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:10 PM

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hoary pine you are going to have one class which extends `Application`

i don't quite get what you mean with this

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:11 PM

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javafx.application.Application is your starting point in an javafx application

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:11 PM

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yep

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:12 PM

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the start method provides an Stage which is your main window

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in order to switch javafx.stage.Scene (derived from fxml file) you are going to call Stage#setScene

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:13 PM

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yep

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so you're essentially saying to use something like this?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:13 PM

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yeah for each fxml create an enum entry

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:13 PM

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and then i can refer to each scene by using the corresponding constant?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:14 PM

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which will maybe hold the file name as field

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:14 PM

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ahh

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i don't wanna annoy you anymore but is it fine if i could ask one more question?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:15 PM

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yeah all good

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just ask

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:15 PM

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ok thanks

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so with the enums right

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i haven't really used them but aren't they just values that you know aren't going to change?

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so how could i use them to group together common functionality?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:16 PM

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deep cave i haven't really used them but aren't they just values that you know aren't goin...

yeah kinda

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:16 PM

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deep cave so how could i use them to group together common functionality?

enums can have fields and methods

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though I would create another class which manages the Scenes

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like a Manager class

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:16 PM

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ahh

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and then

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each scene would have it's own specialised manager

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:17 PM

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nah

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let me show you a prototype:

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 6:17 PM

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yeah sure that would be great

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my mums calling me so i'll brb but do carry on i will try to come back asap

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 6:26 PM

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// would name it Scene/View or smth but all these are already used by javafx
enum Presentation {
    MAIN("main.fxml"),
    SETTINGS("settings.fxml");
    // add more scenes if needed
    
    // path of .fxml file to load later
    private final String path;

    Presentation(String path) {
        this.path = path;
    }
    
    // maybe add additional methods
}

public class Manager {
    
    private final Stage window;
    private final Map<Presentation, Scene> scenes = new HashMap<>();

    public Manager(Stage window) {
        this.window = window;

        // load all Presentations and their Scene with FXMLLoader
        // maybe even remove the Map and put the Scene into the enum as a field and load it there
        // though loading in enum constructor might be a bad idea
        // maybe even load if someone calls Presentation#getScene and if its not loaded yet
    }    
    
    public void switch(Presentation presentation) {
        // do some stuff
        window.setScene(scenes.get(presentation));
    }
}

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you can extend that with creating an interface for all Controller:

public interface Controller<T> {
    void init(T t);
    void reset();
}

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or smth like that

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 7:00 PM

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Ok im back

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time to have a read

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 7:06 PM

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hoary pine you can extend that with creating an interface for all Controller: ```java publi...

what is the generic T t needed for?

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is it for the specific enum?

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 7:07 PM

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for the args ig

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if you want to provide an init method

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but only if needed

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but I would only add the functionality of storing the controller if needed

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 7:32 PM

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hoary pine if you want to provide an init method

ahh

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 7:33 PM

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hoary pine but only if needed

yep

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 7:33 PM

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hoary pine but I would only add the functionality of storing the controller if needed

in the enum?

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or in another map

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also i think i might make controller an abstract class rather than an interface

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 7:35 PM

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maybe change the enum to this:

enum Presentation {
    MAIN("main.fxml"),
    SETTINGS("settings.fxml");

    private final String path;
    private Scene scene = null;
    private Controller<?> controller = null;
    
    Presentation(String path) {
        this.path = path;
    }
    
    public Scene getScene() {
        if (scene == null) {
            // load and store in scene if called the first time
            // would load the Controller<?> as well through this
        }
        return scene;
    }    
    
    
}

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:00 PM

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hoary pine maybe change the enum to this: ```java enum Presentation { MAIN("main.fxml")...

yeahh done that now

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how does this look?

#

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wait i'll copy the ccode instead

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package com.fluidity.structure;

import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class Manager {
    private final Stage window;

    public Manager(final Stage window){
        this.window = window;

        ProgramState programStateToAdd = ProgramState.MAIN_MENU;
        switchScene(programStateToAdd);
    }

    public void switchScene(ProgramState programState) {
        window.setTitle(programState.name());
        window.setResizable(false);
        window.setScene(programState.getScene());
    }
}

package com.fluidity.structure;

import javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader;
import javafx.scene.Scene;

import java.io.IOException;

// Would be preferable to name it Scene/View, but it would override JFX classes
public enum ProgramState {
    MAIN_MENU("MainMenu.fxml"),
    SETTINGS("Settings.fxml");

    // path of .fxml file to load later
    private final String path;
    private Scene scene = null;
    private Controller controller = null;

    ProgramState(String path) {
        this.path = path;
    }

    public Scene getScene() {
        try {
            if (scene == null){
                FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource(this.path));
                this.controller = loader.getController();
                this.scene = new Scene(loader.load(), 1280, 720);
            }
            return scene;
        } catch (IOException e) {
            System.out.println("Scene Cannot be Loaded: " + e.getMessage() );
            return null;
        }
    }

}

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 8:36 PM

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looks good

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but I would maybe throw some error if IOException happens

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instead of returning null

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also found this one:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/52930361/managing-scene-switching-in-javafx-via-fxml-performance-question
its basically doing the same

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:43 PM

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hoary pine but I would maybe throw some error if IOException happens

it keeps throwing one lmao

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#

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 8:44 PM

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MAIN_MENU("MainMenu.fxml"),

these paths should start with /
so

MAIN_MENU("/MainMenu.fxml"),

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also they should be located in the resources folder

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:45 PM

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ohhh

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still bugging

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hmm

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oh ok

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still throwing errors 😭

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hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 8:46 PM

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cast class exception

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show your controller

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:46 PM

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?

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now it opens up the application but no window pops up 😭

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 8:48 PM

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show your class which extends Application

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your entry point

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you might forgot to call stage.show()

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:49 PM

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😓

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i forgot that

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LMAO

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WHITE SCREEN

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YAY

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 8:49 PM

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gg

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:50 PM

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TYSMMM

hoary pine Jan 25, 2024, 8:50 PM

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now you can easily switch scenes

deep cave Jan 25, 2024, 8:50 PM

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YES

neat ospreyBOT Jan 26, 2024, 9:12 AM

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@deep cave

Your question has been closed due to inactivity.

If it was not resolved yet, feel free to just post a message below
to reopen it, or create a new thread.

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With enough info, someone knows the answer for sure 👍

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 6:52 PM

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hoary pine you can extend that with creating an interface for all Controller: ```java publi...

what does reset and init do?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 6:53 PM

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thats your custom made functionality

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you let all controller implement from Controller<T> and then later when switching scenes in your manager you also call reset on the old controller if it might need to clear smth while not being used and init on the new scene controller to initialise stuff that might be needed for that controller

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you need to implement that in your manager though

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and is optional

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:07 PM

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hoary pine you let all controller implement from `Controller<T>` and then later when **swit...

oh

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when would i need to clear smth though?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:08 PM

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imagine one scene uses some http connection which is not used by other scenes

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you might want to close it

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when the scene is not open

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smth like that

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:08 PM

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ahh fair enough

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yeah i don't think i would need it then because i am not doing any networking in a fluid simulation lol

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:08 PM

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yeah ofc

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but that can include anything that needs to be closed like files etc

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not only networking

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there are many use cases of init/reset methods

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:09 PM

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hoary pine but that can include anything that needs to be closed like files etc

oh yeah fair enough

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but idk if it's just me but don't you just close files straight after you use them?

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don't you do that stuff like filereader.close()

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i forgot what it was

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:09 PM

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yeah most of the time

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:09 PM

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deep cave don't you do that stuff like filereader.close()

nah not really, you use try with resource nowadays

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but its the same thing

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just dont implement that functionality if you dont need it

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:10 PM

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ok that's fine then

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tysm!

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:15 PM

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hoary pine just dont implement that functionality if you dont need it

ok I have an idea

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but im not sure if its stupid or smart

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basically I was thinkign to have controller as an abstract class

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and then extend all my other controllers off it

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because every single scene other than the homepage scene has a previous scene

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which i believe i can set in common

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:17 PM

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what is the use of knowing about the previous scene?

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:17 PM

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i can go back a page

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:17 PM

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yeah you could do that with an abstract class

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you could also combine that with interface + abstract class

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anything works here kinda

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:18 PM

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hoary pine you could also combine that with interface + abstract class

wdym by this?

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also with the controllers, say if i havve a button which i want to shift to a different scene, how do i make the controller access the manager class?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:20 PM

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interface Controller {
    // common functionality to ALL controller including home page
}

// fix naming
abstract ControllerWithPrevious implements Controller {
    // store previous scene ...
}

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smth like that

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and home page would implement from Controller and other which have an previous scnee would extend from ControllerWithPrevious

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thats how I would do it

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might not be the best solution though

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I am sometimes unsure about OOP

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:25 PM

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hoary pine and home page would implement from `Controller` and other which have an previous...

ahhh ok

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:25 PM

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hoary pine I am sometimes unsure about OOP

😭 dw same

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:25 PM

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deep cave also with the controllers, say if i havve a button which i want to shift to a di...

set the manager

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:25 PM

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yeah so like

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if i have my controler

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and i want it to switch to a different scene

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like idk how to make it so that it uses the switchScene() method from my manager

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:26 PM

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add a manager field in the controller

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:27 PM

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ahh and then pass it in every time

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i see

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:27 PM

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class MyController implements Initializable {
  private MyManager manager;
  public void setManager(...) {
    this.manager = manager;
  }
  ...
}

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:27 PM

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deep cave ahh and then pass it in every time

wdym everytime

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set it once

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:28 PM

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ornate badge wdym everytime

like do i have to create a new manager for every controller?

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:28 PM

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no

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pass the same

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:28 PM

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AHH OK

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oops sos caps

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also

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what does the Initializable interface do?

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:28 PM

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it defines a method which is called when the controller is loaded

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:29 PM

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https://openjfx.io/javadoc/21/javafx.fxml/javafx/fxml/Initializable.html

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:29 PM

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useful when you want to setup things

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:29 PM

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hoary pine you can extend that with creating an interface for all Controller: ```java publi...

yeah but it is not equivalent to the init method of the custom controller

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:30 PM

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ornate badge useful when you want to setup things

ahh

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so i don't have to do the object initialization stuff?

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:31 PM

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wdym

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:31 PM

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hoary pine yeah but it is not equivalent to the init method of the custom controller

ahh

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:31 PM

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ornate badge wdym

like Bob bob = new Bob(hello);

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it just does that when i load the controller?

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:31 PM

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?

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:31 PM

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umm

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i think i am confusing

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one second lemme try the code and i could figure out myself maybe

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:33 PM

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the initialize method provided by Initializable is called by JavaFX if you load an fxml file through FXMLLoader

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the custom made init method will be used by our Manager class

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and called each time you would switch a scene

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:34 PM

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ahh

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so my controller class would require both?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:35 PM

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depends what you want to do

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but implementing Initializable is optional

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would you use it in your controller?

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:35 PM

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hmm

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thing is i am not sure 😭

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i am going to try implement without initializable first

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Ahhh

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i think i know now

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so every controller would need a manager to switch the scenes around if needed

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:38 PM

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they should share the same Manager instance

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:38 PM

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and since every scene in my program has a button which leads to another scene, they should share the same manager

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:38 PM

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hoary pine they should share the same Manager instance

yep

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so i have to think of a way to give them all the same manager

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would that be through the enum?

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:39 PM

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deep cave so i have to think of a way to give them all the same manager

just set the manager

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:40 PM

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ornate badge ```java class MyController implements Initializable { private MyManager manage...

.

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use a setter

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and do controller.setManager(manager)

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:40 PM

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ahh and i call that setter from the enum class?

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i do get that i can use a setter but i am unsure where to call it from such that they all have the same manager

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 7:40 PM

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wdym

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you can it when you initialize everything

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probably in the start method

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:41 PM

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I have to do that for every controller NootLikeThis

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is there a way I can do it for all controllers quickly?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:50 PM

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share your code

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:50 PM

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@Override
    public void start(Stage stage) {
        Manager sceneManager = new Manager(stage);

        HomePageController controller = new HomePageController();
        controller.setManager(sceneManager);

        sceneManager.loadScene(ProgramState.MAIN_MENU);
    }``` 

this is the start method so far (I haven't put in the other controllers yet)

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 7:51 PM

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you shouldnt create the controller yourself

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its provided by FXMLLoader

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:51 PM

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oh 💀

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 7:58 PM

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hoary pine its provided by `FXMLLoader`

umm so how am i meant to like access it?

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that's where i am confused

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is it within the program state class?

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 8:00 PM

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deep cave umm so how am i meant to like access it?

FXMLLoader has a getController method

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 8:02 PM

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oh no i get that

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this is specific to the ProgramState enum i had created earlier

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so i have these

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public class Fluidity extends Application {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage stage) {
        Manager sceneManager = new Manager(stage);
        sceneManager.loadScene(ProgramState.MAIN_MENU);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        launch();
    }
}```

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:03 PM

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where are you using FXMLLoader?

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 8:03 PM

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and this

public enum ProgramState {
    MAIN_MENU("/MainMenu.fxml"),
    MAIN_SIMULATION("/MainSimulation.fxml"),
    SETTINGS("/Settings.fxml"),
    ABOUT("/About.fxml"),
    EXIT("/Exit.fxml"),
    RECORDINGS("/Recordings.fxml");

    private final String path;
    private Scene scene = null;
    private Controller controller = null;


    ProgramState(String path) {
        this.path = path;
    }

    public Scene getScene() {
        try {
            if (scene == null) {
                FXMLLoader loader = new FXMLLoader(getClass().getResource(this.path));
                this.scene = new Scene(loader.load(), 1280, 720);
                this.controller = loader.getController();
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println("Scene Not found: " + "\n" + e.getMessage());
            System.exit(0);
        }
        return scene;
    }
}```

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i don't understand how i would get the manager in there

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:04 PM

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you dont but manager can take use of the enum

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there you are storing the controller

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 8:04 PM

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deep cave and this ```java public enum ProgramState { MAIN_MENU("/MainMenu.fxml"), ...

Don't catch Exception, don't just print stuff, handle the execption correctly, and don't use System.exit

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:04 PM

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yeah I would handle this differently

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 8:04 PM

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ornate badge Don't catch Exception, don't just print stuff, handle the execption correctly, a...

wait why 😭

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:05 PM

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but I think the program needs to close anyways

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because it cant load stuff thats 100% needed for the application to work

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 8:06 PM

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package com.fluidity.structure;

import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class Manager {
    // The stage which the entirety of the program will be on
    private final Stage window;

    // The manager is the main class which contains the stage
    // It controls the switching between scenes
    public Manager(final Stage window) {
        this.window = window;
        window.setTitle("Fluidity - The Eulerian Fluid Simulator");
    }

    public void loadScene(ProgramState programState) {
        window.setResizable(false);
        window.setScene(programState.getScene());
        window.show();
    }
}

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so from this class, you're saying i should access the enum where i am storing the controllers and then set manager?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:06 PM

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programState.getController().setManager(this)

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smth like that

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 8:07 PM

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yeahhhh

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:07 PM

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but you maybe need instanceof and cast here

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 8:18 PM

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oooh

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it works

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i will fix the try catch dw 😭

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public Manager(final Stage window) {
        this.window = window;
        window.setTitle("Fluidity - The Eulerian Fluid Simulator");

        for (ProgramState programState : ProgramState.values()) {
            programState.initialise();
            if (!programState.isEmpty()) {
                programState.setManager(this);
            }
        }
    }```

runic osprey Jan 28, 2024, 8:52 PM

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(I would also log if scene != null)

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:52 PM

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also I wouldnt call the enum ProgramState

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 8:53 PM

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deep cave

this shouldn't be in an enum

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you are just abusing static here

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this should be in the manager

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 8:53 PM

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I would make an enum for all scenes

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but it shouldnt have all this logic

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 8:54 PM

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yea

runic osprey Jan 28, 2024, 8:59 PM

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Yeah I guess if you think to name your enum state, it should probably be split up to an object pepekek

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I've been lowkey lurking on your progress through all these threads 😆 Cool project

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:00 PM

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lmao

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:17 PM

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i wouldnt recommend using enums for this, since it'll keep everything in memory & all states will be exposed - it introduces global mutable state with setManager

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:17 PM

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lapis spindle i wouldnt recommend using enums for this, since it'll keep everything in memory ...

I mean just the scenes, like only the path

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put the logic in Manager

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:20 PM

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runic osprey I've been lowkey lurking on your progress through all these threads 😆 Cool pro...

i suck at gui stuff 😭

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primarily cos i haven't read much about it and don't have time to

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:20 PM

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lapis spindle i wouldnt recommend using enums for this, since it'll keep everything in memory ...

oh

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:21 PM

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ornate badge this should be in the manager

even the loading and stuff?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:21 PM

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yeah

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your enum should only store the paths in this case

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:23 PM

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hoary pine your enum should only store the paths in this case

so should i store their scenes and controllers in a map?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:24 PM

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yeah most likely

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like:

// find better name here
public enum UI {
    HOME("path/to/fxml");
    
    private final String path;

    UI(String path) {
        this.path = path;
    }

    // getter
}

private final Map<UI, Scene> scenes = new EnumMap<>(UI.class);

... logic in Manager

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:27 PM

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hoary pine I mean just the scenes, like only the path

this would be a lot better, although wouldn't scale well if there are 100~ states

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:27 PM

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Enum Map?

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i was gonna use a hashmap

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:27 PM

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lapis spindle this would be a lot better, although wouldn't scale well if there are 100~ state...

how come?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:28 PM

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lapis spindle this would be a lot better, although wouldn't scale well if there are 100~ state...

he would just loop through the Enum for the logic

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:28 PM

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there are other factors, such as persistenting the data that was on the scene last time it was shown, or whether the scene should be reset to it's default state when shown

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:28 PM

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and got a nice way for switching scenes

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as you can use the Enum to identify a scene (fxml)

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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hoary pine like: ```java // find better name here public enum UI { HOME("path/to/fxml")...

program state sounds coool 🥹

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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its not fitting though

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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oh

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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I couldnt come up with a better name though

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you cant name it Scene

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because of javafx Scene

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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the manager could cache scenes when needed. that way the amount of scenes possible are still unbounded, and you could still save time by re-using scenes

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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lapis spindle this would be a lot better, although wouldn't scale well if there are 100~ state...

there will never be that much scenes

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:29 PM

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without having to keep all the scenes in memory

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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there will be like 5 Scenes

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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ornate badge there will never be that much scenes

depends on how large the project is

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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lapis spindle the manager could cache scenes when needed. that way the amount of scenes possib...

how could i implement caching? is there a way i can force the program to store a bunch of data at a memory location with shorter access times?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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lapis spindle depends on how large the project is

sounds like pre optimization

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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deep cave how could i implement caching? is there a way i can force the program to store a...

just dont

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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hoary pine just dont

oh yeah im just curious lol

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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lapis spindle depends on how large the project is

even if the project is thousands of classes, 100 scenes is a lot

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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hoary pine sounds like pre optimization

no, its design, accounting for what the program is meant to be

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:30 PM

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?

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the design will be the same

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just the Manager would be different then

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you wouldnt use a Map

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but instead some Cache datastructure

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:31 PM

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ornate badge even if the project is thousands of classes, 100 scenes is a lot

class count doesn't matter. it's the different UIs that have to be supported which matter, which is handled via fxml. the same controller can be used for different scenes

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if they only expect to have a few scenes, then this doesn't matter. keeping them all in memory wont have a huge impact

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 9:32 PM

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lapis spindle class count doesn't matter. it's the different UIs that have to be supported whi...

It shouldn't tho, it's way simpler like that
And remember here that we are talking about a really small project

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:32 PM

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    private final Map<ProgramState, Scene> scenes = new EnumMap<>(ProgramState.class);
    private final Map<ProgramState, Controller> controller = new EnumMap<>(ProgramState.class);``` 

does creating an EnumMap mean i don't have to put every enum value into the map?

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:32 PM

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nah its just a Map implementation made for Enum type keys

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 9:32 PM

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deep cave ```java private final Map<ProgramState, Scene> scenes = new EnumMap<>(Progra...

you have to put them because you have to put the scenes

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 9:32 PM

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ahh

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 9:32 PM

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ornate badge It shouldn't tho, it's way simpler like that And remember here that we are talki...

i dont know the size of their project. all i know is keeping all scenes in memory can be a resource burden

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:33 PM

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loading a new scene each time switching wont be nice either

ornate badge Jan 28, 2024, 9:34 PM

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it depends of what you want to do

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but it isn't a problem right now

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 9:34 PM

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yeah it really depends on the context

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 10:12 PM

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WOOOOOO

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IT WORKS

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now to make it look 10000x better

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 10:12 PM

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peepo_happy

deep cave Jan 28, 2024, 10:12 PM

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btw is it possible to set background images in css?

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or is it done in fxml

hoary pine Jan 28, 2024, 10:14 PM

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uh both works probably

lapis spindle Jan 28, 2024, 10:14 PM

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deep cave btw is it possible to set background images in css?

yes, with fx-background-image

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 12:51 AM

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ornate badge even if the project is thousands of classes, 100 scenes is a lot

its not actually that much. think about how many different views there are in social media programs. tons of in-house software requires many scenes, whether for the stage or dialogs

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in their case, they may need only a few. but in general, you wouldn't want to define scenes with enums. it violates O/C, as you'll be constantly adding scenes as needed, unless you were 100% sure you only needed a small specific amount of scenes

hoary pine Jan 29, 2024, 5:58 AM

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How would you do it then?

ornate badge Jan 29, 2024, 7:33 AM

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It's basically the same code, but instead of caching the scenes, you either don't cache them or use weak references
But at the end, the design is exactly the same so I don't know what you are talking about

hoary pine Jan 29, 2024, 7:56 AM

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yeah thats what I thought

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:46 PM

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ornate badge It's basically the same code, but instead of caching the scenes, you either don'...

using enums?

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:53 PM

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hoary pine How would you do it then?

i would have the manager decide which scenes to keep in memory. the more frequent scenes would stay in memory, while lesser-used scenes would be re-loaded. scenes would specify whether it's state should be persisted or not, so the manager could save a snapshot of the state in areas where the scene needs to be reconstructed with it's previous state

hoary pine Jan 29, 2024, 4:53 PM

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then you didnt understand what I mean

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the enum is only storing the path to the .fxml file

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the manager is loading and handling the actual scenes

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:54 PM

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yeah, but you'd have to modify the enum anytime a new scene is introduced, and could wind up with a shit-ton of enum values

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(that's where O/C is violated)

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its fine for small 1-person projects

hoary pine Jan 29, 2024, 4:54 PM

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it is also fine for bigger projects

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you will never ever reach 100 scenes

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:55 PM

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not when multiple people are introducing scenes

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:55 PM

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hoary pine you will never ever reach 100 scenes

i dont see why you guys keep saying this

hoary pine Jan 29, 2024, 4:55 PM

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even if, would having 100 enum values be bad? I dont think so

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:55 PM

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think of all the different views you encounter within apps you currently use

hoary pine Jan 29, 2024, 4:55 PM

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yeah but not everything is a new scene

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 4:58 PM

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hoary pine even if, would having 100 enum values be bad? I dont think so

100 enum values isn't the worst part. i'd say it's a code smell, but not the part that can cause trouble. and if there's only 1 dev, its possible to ignore crucial principles without getting bit

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it's the fact that any new scene would require the enum class to be modified, which isn't a good idea if you decide to introduce a new developer onto the project

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it may work for them, and i even said this design is probably fine for them, if that's their situation

ornate badge Jan 29, 2024, 4:59 PM

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lapis spindle 100 enum values isn't the worst part. i'd say it's a code smell, but not the par...

the problem of not using an enum, is that you have no compile time guaranty that your code is correct

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swapTo(View.MAIN_MENU)

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thanks to enums, you can do that

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but without it

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you are stuck with strings

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 5:00 PM

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ornate badge the problem of not using an enum, is that you have no compile time guaranty that...

so all paths in all programs should be defined as an enum constant?

ornate badge Jan 29, 2024, 5:00 PM

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lapis spindle so all paths in all programs should be defined as an enum constant?

at least as a regular constant

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 5:00 PM

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not all scenes should be known by all code. there are nested scenes, which should only be known by their parent

ornate badge Jan 29, 2024, 5:01 PM

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Actually, the best of both worlds would be to use reflection

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swapTo(MainController.class)

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it gets rid of the disadvantages of both

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but the problem of reflection... is reflection itself

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 5:02 PM

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ornate badge `swapTo(MainController.class)`

yup, that would be a lot more flexible

ornate badge Jan 29, 2024, 5:02 PM

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Question is, do you want to play with reflection is a student project pepekek

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 5:02 PM

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i mean, it needs extra detail, but that would allow it to be unbounded

ornate badge Jan 29, 2024, 5:02 PM

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or small project

lapis spindle Jan 29, 2024, 5:03 PM

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it doesnt need to use reflection, though. the constants could be defined in the class, privately, to allow compile-time safety

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the benefit is removing the bounds on how many scenes there are

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you arent depending on some global base of scenes. each scene handles it's own dependencies

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the manager itself decides whether to re-use scenes or re-load scenes, whether to persist state in a scene, etc..

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it'll actually manage the scenes, opposed to being a middle-man for simply swapping between them

#Should I use FXML to make a UI?