Acknowledgments
The authors would first like to thank the staff at Sun Microsystems and Addison-Wesley for making sure this book saw the light of day. We are particularly appreciative to Vineet Gupta, Craig Ellis, and Scott Stillabower for humoring us while we still tried to do our day jobs.
It was almost three years ago when Craig Ellis called and asked if we would create a demo for JavaONE using a new technology called JavaFX. He instructed us to contact Chris Oliver to get started. Within a week of looking at Chris’s early work, we were sold. We would like to thank Chris for his early support and for putting up with our stupid questions to learn the first incarnations of JavaFX script. Also, we would like to thank Chris for being the inspiration for the entire JavaFX platform. It has come a long way since his first single-handed early prototypes to a full-fledged platform.
Writing a book for a new technology is challenging as there is very little existing documentation. The process required many hours of trial and error testing, email trails, and source code deciphering to determine how things really work. This process also required bouncing ideas, concepts, and assumptions off various people on the JavaFX team to make sure we were on the right track. We would especially like to thank Brian Goetz, who kept steering us in the right direction. We would also like to thank members of the JavaFX engineering team including Joshua Marinacci, Chris Campbell, Per Bothner, and Martin Brehovsky for doing technical reviews and keeping us honest.
We also wanted to get the perspective of those who had never seen JavaFX before so we enlisted and persuaded many of our associates to do reviews. We are most grateful to Geertjan Wielenga, who spent numerous hours reviewing every chapter and providing us with indispensable feedback. We are also thankful for the valuable insights provided by Andy Gilbert, Manuel Tijerino, Gamini Bulumulle, and Dr. Rainer Eschrich.
Besides writing, there are numerous activities that go on behind the scenes to bring a book together. Huge thanks go to Greg Doench for keeping us in line from day one and holding our feet to the fire to meet an ambitious production schedule. We could not have pulled this off without him. Of course there are many people behind the scenes, but we want to personally thank our production editor, Anna Popick, and our copyeditor, Kelli Brooks. We would also like to thank Myrna Rivera for handling the business side of this project.
On a personal note, Jim Clarke would like to add the following: “Foremost, I would like to thank the other Jim and Eric for joining me on this mission. It has been a long time in the making from our original, ‘Hey let’s do a book’ to now. I also want to personally thank Geertjan Wielenga, who went over and above the call of duty in reviewing all of the chapters. Above all, I am appreciative to Brian Goetz for being my sounding board on ideas and complaints. The entire JavaFX engineering team is applauded for putting out such a fantastic platform. I want to particularly thank Robert Field, Richard Bair, and Shannon Hickey for answering my numerous questions.”
Jim Connors would like to add the following: “If they say you can judge a person by the company he keeps, then I am truly fortunate having Jim Clarke and Eric Bruno as friends. It has been a privilege to work with Jim and Eric these last few years; their positive influence has impacted me profoundly and made me a better person. I would also like to thank my wife, Cynthia, and children, Terrence, Nicholas, and Gina, for having the patience to put up with me and the strange hours that writing a book entails. Finally, despite these last few tumultuous years, Sun Microsystems remains one of the finest companies in the world. I thank the corporation for instilling a culture that allows individuals to challenge conventional thought and be the best they can be.”
Eric would like to share the following: “For the past few years, I’ve worked very closely with Jim Clarke and Jim Connors on a number of projects, and have benefited tremendously as a result. Because of them, I’ve grown as a technologist, a writer, and as a professional. Therefore, first and foremost, I need to thank them for moving this project along even as I dragged my feet while I had other commitments. Thanks for your patience and dedication. I also need to thank Craig Ellis, for getting us started working together with JavaFX, and Greg Doench, for helping to move the project along from its beginnings almost two years ago.”