JavaFX vs Silverlight/WPF

[Theodore Casser]

I just know I'm going to get attacked for this at some point. Bear in mind that I wear two hats in my company - I'm not just a Java developer/architect, but also our primary .NET developer.

It occurred to me, while browsing in this forum, that there's quite a few 'versus' arguments being made - JavaFX vs JSF/applets/WebStart (where I think that it's almost comparing apples and oranges) or JavaFX vs Flex/Swing (which is closer to apples and apples). And in another thread, there was mention of (hopefully) eventual creation of tools to let graphic designers get more involved in JavaFX.

It all sounds a lot, to me at least, like Microsoft's Silverlight or Windows Presentation Framework (WPF), which fills the same goal, exposing the underlying language in a manner that makes declaring GUIs easier. Has there been anything to show the differences (pro or con) between the two approaches? Aside from the obvious (Java vs .Net and scripting vs XML declaration), in the limited time both have been available, is there anything on which one has a smaller learning curve with non/beginning programmers, performance issues, etc? (I know there's a tools difference already, but setting that aside...)

Just occurred to me and I thought I'd inquire.

[James Weaver]

Theodore,

I hope that all of the RIA technologies do well. I'm very impressed with Flex/AIR, and think that Silverlight has a place (albeit probably less cross-platform). My main reason for choosing JavaFX Script is that it runs on the JVM. I like to quote what Josh Marinacci of Sun said in a Java Posse interview recently:
"JavaFX is sort of a code word for reinventing client Java and fixing the sins of the past"

See the following blog post for a link to the interview:
Hear Juicy Bits about J6u10 and JavaFX in Java Posse Interview

[Eric Pascarello]

Originally posted by James Weaver:

that Silverlight has a place (albeit probably less cross-platform).

Look into Moonlight

Eric

[Theodore Casser]

Well, I'd purposely not mentioned Moonlight (as my understanding is that it's not yet complete). But I am aware of it, since I'm a proponent of Mono where we can use it... and obviously, all the RIA technologies would be a boon in the modern web paradigm.

But as I said, I'm curious as to the thoughts, pro-con, on the different approaches between the two, since it's the closest I can think of to comparing apples and apples (JavaFX/Java to Silverlight/.Net). Has there been any comparison in the marketplace, or a review to see how they stack up against each other, for where one might be a better fit on a task than the other, without the marketing folks putting their two cents in?