Timers and javafx

Question

I am trying to write a code that will make things appear on the screen at predetermined but irregular intervals using javafx. I tried to use a timer (java.util, not javax.swing) but it turns out you can't change anything in the application if you are working from a separate thread.(Like a Timer) Can anyone tell me how I could get a Timer to interact with the application if they are both separate threads?

Answer 1

You don't need java.util.Timer or java.util.concurrent.ScheduledExecutorService to schedule future actions on the JavaFX application thread. You can use JavaFX Timeline as a timer:

new Timeline(new KeyFrame(
        Duration.millis(2500),
        ae -> doSomething()))
    .play();

Alternatively, you can use a convenience method from ReactFX:

FxTimer.runLater(
        Duration.ofMillis(2500),
        () -> doSomething());

Note that you don't need to wrap the action in Platform.runLater, because it is already executed on the JavaFX application thread.

Answer 2

berry120 answer works with java.util.Timer too so you can do

Timer timer = new java.util.Timer();

timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
    public void run() {
         Platform.runLater(new Runnable() {
            public void run() {
                label.update();
                javafxcomponent.doSomething();
            }
        });
    }
}, delay, period);

I used this and it works perfectly