Who killed Swing?

Figure 1. Marcus Aurelius emperor

Good question. Who killed Swing? It seems no one knows the answer. In theory Swing was not a bad boy, and it does not deserve this slow passing away. So, what happened?

Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor, he ruled the western world from 161 to his death in 180 A.D. People describe him as a 'perfect emperator', except for one detail: he named succesor his son Commodus, not a balanced boy, so to speak.

He is also known for his book Meditations writen in campaign. Meditations is still revered as a literary monument of service and duty. One fragment:

"To be kind is invincible"

Well, Swing was not kind at all. It was complex and bloated. Writing a simple layout with Swing was difficult. The same layout in JavaFX is a piece of cake.

How easy is to be kind with JavaFX!

Marcus Aurelius "the wise" faced many challenges. In Asia, the Parthian empire invaded Armenia and Syria. From the north germanic tribes launched raids againts the border. He deal successfully with the attacks. Key to their success was a prior decission:

Marcus accepted the emperor throne with one condition: that he and Verus (military chief) were made joint emperors. This way, Verus had little incentive to overthrow Marcus. Verus remained loyal until his dead in 169.

Today, this would be an example of 'strategic partnership'. Really it was just common sense. Java FX has a very good foundation, but you need more than a nice language to thrive. Strategic alliances are needed to leverage the JavaFX potential.