Apache Pivot is an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

platform for building

rich web applications A rich web application (originally called a rich Internet application, or RIA or installable Internet application) is a web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software. The concept is closely related to a sing ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

or any

JVM A Java virtual machine (JVM) is a virtual machine that enables a computer to run Java programs as well as programs written in other languages that are also compiled to Java bytecode. The JVM is detailed by a specification that formally describes ...

-compatible language. It is released under the Apache License version 2.0.

Architecture

Its

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

es are divided in the following categories:Platform Overview | Apache Pivot
/ref> * Core classes that enable the classes in the other categories to function * WTK classes that provide user interface elements such as buttons and lists. These are built according to the model-view-controller architecture. Most of Pivot's classes are included in the WTK category. * Web classes that enable communication with remote computers * Charts that allow the software engineer to build interactive

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

s * Tools that provide utility functionality

WTK

WTK or widgets toolkit are the graphical components of Apache Pivot. There are more widgets than in other Java GUI libraries like JFC/

Swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, SWT or

JavaFX JavaFX is a software platform for creating and delivering desktop applications, as well as rich web applications that can run across a wide variety of devices. JavaFX has support for desktop computers and web browsers on Microsoft Windows, Linu ...

. The components are based on Java2D and are completely skinnable and support color schemes. The demos "Kitchen Sink" and "Component Explorer" give a complete overview and show the possibilities of interaction. Additionally, it is easy to add and use self-made components because of the open structure. Also part of WTK are the so-called decorators which add graphical effects and even animations to the components.

BXML

In Apache Pivot, the GUI usually is designed using BXML files. BXML is an XML-based markup language for simplifying the construction of Java object hierarchies. While it is most often used to define the user interface of an Apache Pivot application, it is not limited to user interface construction, and can actually be used to create hierarchies of any object type. In the case of Apache Pivot the designer can place the WTK-components and set their properties without writing a single line of Java code. In more complex projects there usually is one class file for each BXML file to hold the logic, though there are other possibilities.

Scripting

Apache Pivot supports all

JSR 223 Scripting for the Java Platform is a framework for embedding scripts into Java source code. There is no requirement for a given Java virtual machine (JVM) to include any engines by default, but the Oracle JVM (Java 6 and later) includes a JavaScr ...

scripting languages to script the BXML files. It is even possible to create an entire Pivot application without any compiled code at all. The script fragments can either be placed inside certain tags directly inside a BXML file, or in external files which get included during runtime.

Non-GUI features

The WTK is just one part of Pivot, but it is a complete rich web application framework. Pivot has its own Collection API (to ease synchronizing the contents to the GUI) and APIs for accessing REST web services and parsing

RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...

JSON JSON (JavaScript Object Notation, pronounced ; also ) is an open standard file format and data interchange format that uses human-readable text to store and transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and arrays (or other ser ...

and

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...

References

External links

* {{Rich web applications

Pivot Pivot may refer to: *Pivot, the point of rotation in a lever system *More generally, the center point of any rotational system *Pivot joint, a kind of joint between bones in the body *Pivot turn, a dance move Companies *Incitec Pivot, an Austra ...

Rich web applications XML software