Apache Pivot 1.4 vs. JavaFX, Flex, Silverlight, Swing [closed]

Question

I've recently heard about Apache Pivot being moved to the Top Level Projects category and I was wondering who has tried the most recent version and compared it to other RIA tools. What are the proper categories for comparison?

It seems to be easier to pick up for Java developers since JavaFX has a different scripting language. The Pivot developers say that Pivot is what Sun should have made instead of JavaFX.

Answer 1

Good to hear from you. :-) I agree that we tend to focus more on applet deployment in Pivot's design. However, there is nothing inherent in the platform that prevents an application from using multiple top-level windows. It's just not something we cater to since it isn't relevant to our primary use case (which, as you noted, is browser deployment). Note that it is also not possible to create multiple top-level windows in Flex or Silverlight.

Re: "who is creating applets these days?" - it's not so much about creating applets as it is about creating RIAs. If you ask the question, "who is creating RIAs?", I think the answer would be "a lot of people". Pivot simply allows developers to build RIAs in Java (rather than ActionScript, for example).

Greg