Hello JavaFX on Classpath

It is still possible to run a JavaFX application by using the classpath instead of module-path. There are 2 changes that we need to make to our previous sample to achive it:

  • Add a static method run() in HelloFX which will call Application.launch method
  • Add a Launcher.java file with a main method to call HelloFX.run method
  1. Add a static method run() in HelloFX:
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Label;
import javafx.scene.layout.StackPane;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class HelloFX extends Application {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage stage) {
        Label l = new Label("Hello JavaFX!");
        Scene scene = new Scene(new StackPane(l), 640, 480);
        stage.setScene(scene);
        stage.show();
    }

    public static void run(String[] args) {
        launch();
    }
}
  1. Add a Launcher.java file with a main method to call HelloFX.run method:
public class Launcher {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        HelloFX.run(args);
    }
}
  1. Compile both these file using classpath:
javac -classpath \
$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.base.jar:$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.graphics.jar:$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.controls.jar:\
HelloFX.java Launcher.java

javac --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls HelloFX.java

Add any additional jars used by the application. For example, if it is using FXML functionality, add the javafx.fxml module:

java -classpath \
$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.base.jar:$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.graphics.jar:$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.controls.jar:$PATH_TO_FX/javafx.fxml.jar\
Launcher

javac --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls,javafx.fxml HelloFX.java
  1. Run the application:
java --module-path $PATH_TO_FX --add-modules javafx.controls HelloFX

java --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls HelloFX

Checkout the OpenJFX samples repository for more samples.