Drombler Commons: Conventions to simplify FXML loading

Correctly loading a FXML file in JavaFX usually requires quite some boilerplate code.

In my projects I came up with a new naming convention:

If a class "mypackage.<name>" loads a FXML file, then the FXML file should be in the same package and be named "<name>.fxml".


One advantage is, that when following this naming convention it's quite easy to see, which FXML loader/ fx:root-controller and FXML file belong together.

Another advantage is, that when using a utility method, the loading code for eg. a fx:root-based mypackage/MyPane.fxml file (a construct I can highly recommend) such as:

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1. <fx:root type="SomePane" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml">  
2.         ...  
3. </fx:root>  

<fx:root type="SomePane" xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml"> ... </fx:root>
can be simplified to this:

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1. package mypackage;  
2.   
3. import org.drombler.commons.fx.fxml.FXMLLoaders;  
4. ...  
5.   
6. public class MyPane extends SomePane {  
7.   
8.     public MyPane() {  
9.         FXMLLoaders.loadRoot(this);  
10.     }  
11.   
12.     ...  
13. }  

package mypackage; import org.drombler.commons.fx.fxml.FXMLLoaders; ... public class MyPane extends SomePane { public MyPane() { FXMLLoaders.loadRoot(this); } ... }
This code will:

• set the ClassLoader
• set the root
• set the controller
• set the ResourceBundle by looking for a mypackage/MyPane.properties file (or a locale specific derivation using the default Locale)
• set the location to mypackage/MyPane.fxml
• load the mypackage/MyPane.fxml file
• reduce code duplication 
• reduce typos

The FXMLLoaders utility class provides several other utility methods taking advantage of this naming convention, such as utility methods for loading non-fx:root based FXML files, which then for a mypackage/MyApplication.fxml file such as:

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1. <SomePane xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml" >  
2.     ...  
3. </SomePane>  

<SomePane xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml" > ... </SomePane>
can simplify the loading code to this:

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1. package mypackage;  
2.   
3. import org.drombler.commons.fx.fxml.FXMLLoaders;  
4. ...  
5.   
6. public class MyApplication extends Application{  
7.        
8.     @Override  
9.     public void start(Stage stage) {  
10.         SomePane root = FXMLLoaders.load(getClass());  
11.         ...  
12.     }  
13.       
14. }  

package mypackage; import org.drombler.commons.fx.fxml.FXMLLoaders; ... public class MyApplication extends Application{ @Override public void start(Stage stage) { SomePane root = FXMLLoaders.load(getClass()); ... } }
Other variants allow to specify an alternative ResourceBundle or a pre-existing FXMLLoader.

The FXMLLoaders utility class is provided by the Drombler Commons - FX - Core artifact:

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1. <dependency>  
2.     <groupId>org.drombler.commons</groupId>  
3.     <artifactId>drombler-commons-fx-core</artifactId>  
4.     <version>0.6</version>  
5. </dependency>  

<dependency> <groupId>org.drombler.commons</groupId> <artifactId>drombler-commons-fx-core</artifactId> <version>0.6</version> </dependency>
Like the other Drombler Commons artifacts, it can be used inside and outside of an OSGi environment.