Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

FLTK VS JavaFX

Compare FLTK VS JavaFX and see what are their differences

FLTK logo FLTK

Fast Light Toolkit - Fast Light Toolkit (FLTK)

JavaFX logo JavaFX

JavaFX is the next step in the evolution of Java as a rich client platform.
  • FLTK Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-18
  • JavaFX Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-18

FLTK features and specs

  • Lightweight
    FLTK is designed to be small and simple, making it easy to compile and port across different platforms without consuming significant system resources.
  • Cross-Platform
    FLTK supports major operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a versatile choice for applications that need to operate across these platforms with minimal changes.
  • Fast Performance
    FLTK's lightweight nature ensures rapid execution and responsiveness, which is crucial for graphical applications that require quick updates and fluid interactions.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source toolkit, FLTK allows developers to modify the source code to suit specific needs and contribute to its development, fostering a collaborative community.
  • Easy to Learn
    FLTK's API is considered straightforward and easy to learn for developers familiar with C++, reducing the learning curve for new users.

Possible disadvantages of FLTK

  • Limited Features
    Compared to other modern GUI toolkits, FLTK provides fewer built-in widgets and lacks certain advanced features, which may require additional development effort.
  • Old-Style Look and Feel
    The user interface components of FLTK can appear outdated compared to more modern GUI frameworks, potentially affecting the visual appeal of applications.
  • Less Community Support
    FLTK has a smaller community and less frequently updated documentation compared to more popular frameworks, which can make finding help and resources more challenging.
  • Limited Third-Party Libraries
    There are fewer third-party libraries and extensions available for FLTK, which might limit the ease of extending functionality or integrating with other tools and technologies.
  • Single Thread Limitation
    FLTK predominantly works within a single-threaded context for GUI operations, requiring careful management when incorporating multi-threading in applications.

JavaFX features and specs

  • Rich UI Controls
    JavaFX provides a wide range of built-in UI controls, such as buttons, tables, and charts, which makes it easy to create complex user interfaces.
  • FXML Support
    JavaFX allows developers to use FXML, a scripting interface that enables them to design user interfaces with XML, separating the logic from design, enhancing maintainability.
  • CSS Styling
    The framework supports CSS for styling UI components, offering flexibility in design and the ability to create visually appealing applications.
  • Scene Graph
    JavaFX's scene graph provides a hierarchical structure for managing the layout, simplifying the development of complex UIs with animations and transformations.
  • Cross-Platform
    JavaFX applications are cross-platform, allowing developers to run the same application on different operating systems without modifications.
  • Integration with Java
    As a part of the Java ecosystem, JavaFX integrates seamlessly with existing Java libraries and tools, benefiting from Java's robust environment.

Possible disadvantages of JavaFX

  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Despite its powerful features, JavaFX can be challenging to learn for beginners, especially those not familiar with Java.
  • Limited Third-Party Libraries
    Compared to other UI frameworks like Swing or frameworks outside of Java, JavaFX has a relatively smaller ecosystem of third-party libraries and tools.
  • Performance Issues
    JavaFX might face performance challenges, particularly when dealing with resource-intensive applications or those requiring very high responsiveness.
  • Mobile Support Limitations
    JavaFX's support for mobile platforms is not as strong as other frameworks, requiring additional tools or platforms like Gluon for mobile development.
  • Market Adoption
    The adoption of JavaFX in the industry is not as widespread as other technologies like React or Angular, which might influence community support and development resources.

FLTK videos

P3D Core2 'Frosting' , More FLTK GUI goodies

JavaFX videos

JavaFX Project Car Review #6 Homepage GUI and Controller

More videos:

  • Review - JavaFX will be removed from JDK 11
  • Review - JavaFX Projects Car Review #2 Login and GUI Controllers

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FLTK and JavaFX)
Development Tools
43 43%
57% 57
Rapid Application Development
Cross-Platform Development
IDE
48 48%
52% 52

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, JavaFX seems to be a lot more popular than FLTK. While we know about 37 links to JavaFX, we've tracked only 2 mentions of FLTK. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FLTK mentions (2)

  • declarative GUI libraries
    Itโ€™s not declarative, but small, cross platform, old school C++, and has a graphical UI designer that writes the C++ code for you. Since you mentioned Rust, it has Rust bindings too: http://fltk.org . It has different schemes that make it look more modern than the default schemeโ€ฆ. Source: over 2 years ago
  • not sure about a file i found in my \AppData\Roaming folder (fltk.org)
    Hello, I was recently looking through my \AppData\Roaming and found a folder called fltk.org and I am not sure of why it is there or where it has come from. Does this folder come from any games that can be downloaded or something? Source: over 4 years ago

JavaFX mentions (37)

  • JBang, the missing scripting tool of the Java ecosystem
    JavaFX is a desktop and UI framework. Its official website is openjfx.io and is also supported by Gluon which provides additional UI components and brings mobile app support to JavaFX. JBang supports this frameowrk and can be used to create signle file JavaFX applications. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Home to Anything JavaFX Related
    It has a very active community, nothing is dead when there are active users. It has been living as independent package for a long time https://openjfx.io. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Book review - Frontend Development with JavaFX and Kotlin
    Other topics handled in this chapter are Kotlin utilities for JavaFX and direct downloads of JavaFX releases from openjfx.io. The author also explains why FXML is not used in the book. I agree with his view that the XML files are not as dynamic as code and bring a mix of technologies into your project. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Setting up Continuous Integration
    One, I don't understand Java environments really well. All I have done so far is create some GUI applications using JavaFX. Wish I could share my code, but unfortunately, its part of my assignments and can't be open-sourced. Second, the instructions I found in the Contributing docs were bare-minimum, and kinda hard to follow for a beginner. An experienced Java developer would get them really quickly, no doubt... - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • How to use the JavaFX library Medusa to display weather data
    JavaFX (an open source, next generation client application platform for desktop, mobile and embedded systems) has many useful out the box UI controls to build modern interactive desktop apps. These include buttons, checkboxes, list views, labels etc, that can be configured and styled in countless ways. Iโ€™ve using them for many years at work building mapping apps! - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing FLTK and JavaFX, you can also consider the following products

Qt - Powerful, flexible and easy to use, Qt will help you not only meet your tight deadline, but also reduce the maintainable code by an astonishing percentage.

GTK - GTK+ is a multi-platform toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces.

PyQt - Riverbank | Software | PyQt | What is PyQt?

wxWidgets - wxWidgets: Cross-Platform GUI Library

Electron - Build cross platform desktop apps with web technologies

Avalonia - A multi-platform .NET UI framework