JavaFX For Dummies

Chapter 7

Introducing the JavaFX Node Hierarchy

In This Chapter

Introducing the most important packages and classes that make up JavaFX

Looking at the important methods that all controls inherit via the Node, Parent, and Region classes

The simplest definition of a JavaFX control is this: A control is an object created from a class that directly or indirectly inherits the JavaFX Control class. The Control class provides all the basic functions that are required for a JavaFX object to be considered a control. For example, any class that inherits the Control class has a visual representation in a scene, can be added to a layout pane, can automatically adjust its size within parameters you set by calling methods such as setMaxWidth or setMinHeight, and can have a tooltip that pops up when the user hovers the mouse over the control.

Although all controls have those features in common, not all those features are provided directly by the Control class. That’s because the Control class itself inherits the Region class, which in turn, inherits the Parent class, which in turn inherits the Node class. Each of these classes along this inheritance chain contributes features to every JavaFX control.

In this chapter, you read about some of the more important features that are common to every ...