OpenJX project is an interpreter written in Java which allows developers to produce a Java Swing Application or Applet from a few lines of XML and JavaScript.
OpenJX is based off the Purple programming language, which was originally developed for no other purpose than to see if I could write my own compiler. It incorporated XML and PERL and translated the code into C which it would then compile. However, like many of the play or "for fun" languages, it quickly became a dead project. In the past year rich internet and client application languages have gained in popularity. When I first began reviewing rich internet application (RIA) and rich client application (RCA) technologies I came accross projects like Adobe's Flex language. While Flex is exciting in that it allowed me to create applications in Flash, it still lacked many of the robust features of Java and the processing power. I searched and searched for a Flex-like Java project. However, no adequate equivalents existed. This led me to believe that a re-implementation of the Purple language could be useful and due. So far the results have gone far beyond my expectations. OpenJX is very similiar to Flex. However, at its core it is Java.
OpenJX is similiar to Flex in style. However, its end result is Java Swing. OpenJX applications are also unlike Flex in the following ways:
1. 100% support for all Java Components in Javascript.
2. Distributed Plugin System allows for integration of plugins hosted across networks.
3. Full XML validation.
4. Interpreted.
5. XML may be run as Applet or Application with no change to the JX XML file.
6. Scripting language is Javascript as opposed to Flex's Actionscript.
Many other differences exist however, if you know how to develop in one, it is easy to develop in the other.
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