ADR-0005: Selection of JavaFX and Skija for the Frontend GUI
Status
Accepted
Context
FrankenScore requires a high-performance, cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI) for music notation editing and display. The GUI needs to handle complex musical scores with potentially hundreds of staves and thousands of measures, while providing a responsive and intuitive user experience. Additionally, the chosen technology should integrate well with our Clojure-based backend, support efficient rendering of musical notation, and provide high-quality, consistent printing across all platforms. The ability to produce professional-grade printed output is a critical requirement for a music notation application.
Decision
We will use JavaFX as the primary GUI framework for FrankenScore, with Skija (Java bindings for Skia) for high-performance 2D graphics rendering and printing.
Rationale
1. Native Performance:
- JavaFX provides native-like performance across different platforms.
- Skija, being a Java binding for Skia (used in Chrome and Android), offers high-performance 2D graphics capabilities.
2. Clojure Compatibility:
- JavaFX can be easily used with Clojure, maintaining language consistency across the project.
- Existing Clojure wrappers for JavaFX (e.g., cljfx) can simplify development.
3. Cross-platform Support:
- JavaFX applications can run on Windows, macOS, and Linux with minimal platform-specific code.
4. High-Quality, Consistent Printing:
- Skija's rendering capabilities extend to printing, ensuring high-quality output.
- Using the same rendering engine for display and printing guarantees consistency between screen and paper.
- Cross-platform printing consistency is achievable as Skija handles the rendering independent of the operating system's print drivers.
5. Rich UI Components:
- JavaFX provides a comprehensive set of UI controls and layouts out of the box.
6. Custom Rendering Capabilities:
- Skija allows for custom, high-performance rendering of musical notation, crucial for both display and printing in FrankenScore.
7. Scalability:
- The combination of JavaFX and Skija can handle large, complex scores efficiently, both for on-screen display and printing.
8. Modern Architecture:
- JavaFX's scene graph and property binding system align well with reactive programming models.
9. Community and Ecosystem:
- Both JavaFX and Skija have active communities and ongoing development.
10. Familiarity:
- The team has existing experience with Java-based technologies, reducing the learning curve.
11. Integration with Backend:
- Using JVM-based technologies for both frontend and backend simplifies integration and data exchange.
Consequences
Positive:
Negative:
Implementation Approach
Alternatives Considered
1. Electron (Web Technologies):
- Rejected due to potential performance limitations with large scores and higher resource usage.
- Concerns about achieving consistent, high-quality printing across platforms.
2. Qt (C++ with Clojure bindings):
- Rejected due to more complex integration with Clojure and potential licensing concerns.
- While Qt offers good printing support, integrating it with Clojure would be more challenging.
3. Java Swing:
- Rejected in favor of the more modern JavaFX framework.
- Printing in Swing can be more cumbersome and may not provide the same level of consistency across platforms.
4. Pure Web Technologies (ClojureScript):
- Rejected due to performance concerns for complex score rendering and limitations in controlling print output precisely.
- May be considered for future web-based versions, but not suitable for the core application where print quality is crucial.
Notes
Accepted
Context
FrankenScore requires a high-performance, cross-platform graphical user interface (GUI) for music notation editing and display. The GUI needs to handle complex musical scores with potentially hundreds of staves and thousands of measures, while providing a responsive and intuitive user experience. Additionally, the chosen technology should integrate well with our Clojure-based backend, support efficient rendering of musical notation, and provide high-quality, consistent printing across all platforms. The ability to produce professional-grade printed output is a critical requirement for a music notation application.
Decision
We will use JavaFX as the primary GUI framework for FrankenScore, with Skija (Java bindings for Skia) for high-performance 2D graphics rendering and printing.
Rationale
1. Native Performance:
- JavaFX provides native-like performance across different platforms.
- Skija, being a Java binding for Skia (used in Chrome and Android), offers high-performance 2D graphics capabilities.
2. Clojure Compatibility:
- JavaFX can be easily used with Clojure, maintaining language consistency across the project.
- Existing Clojure wrappers for JavaFX (e.g., cljfx) can simplify development.
3. Cross-platform Support:
- JavaFX applications can run on Windows, macOS, and Linux with minimal platform-specific code.
4. High-Quality, Consistent Printing:
- Skija's rendering capabilities extend to printing, ensuring high-quality output.
- Using the same rendering engine for display and printing guarantees consistency between screen and paper.
- Cross-platform printing consistency is achievable as Skija handles the rendering independent of the operating system's print drivers.
5. Rich UI Components:
- JavaFX provides a comprehensive set of UI controls and layouts out of the box.
6. Custom Rendering Capabilities:
- Skija allows for custom, high-performance rendering of musical notation, crucial for both display and printing in FrankenScore.
7. Scalability:
- The combination of JavaFX and Skija can handle large, complex scores efficiently, both for on-screen display and printing.
8. Modern Architecture:
- JavaFX's scene graph and property binding system align well with reactive programming models.
9. Community and Ecosystem:
- Both JavaFX and Skija have active communities and ongoing development.
10. Familiarity:
- The team has existing experience with Java-based technologies, reducing the learning curve.
11. Integration with Backend:
- Using JVM-based technologies for both frontend and backend simplifies integration and data exchange.
Consequences
Positive:
- High-performance rendering of complex musical scores on screen and in print.
- Consistent, high-quality printed output across all supported platforms.
- Consistent development experience with Clojure across frontend and backend.
- Cross-platform compatibility without significant additional effort.
- Flexibility to create custom UI components for specific music notation needs.
- Good integration with our backend architecture.
- Early implementation of printing functionality ensures it's a core, well-integrated feature.
Negative:
- Potential for larger application size due to bundling of JavaFX runtime.
- May require additional effort to achieve platform-specific look and feel if desired.
- Limited web deployment options compared to web-based technologies.
- Potential complexity in handling various paper sizes and printer-specific settings across platforms.
Implementation Approach
- Set up a basic JavaFX application structure using Clojure.
- Integrate Skija for custom rendering of musical notation.
- Implement core UI components using JavaFX controls.
- Develop custom JavaFX components for music-specific elements (e.g., staff, measure, note).
- Use Skija for rendering detailed musical symbols and notation.
- Implement reactive UI updates using JavaFX properties and bindings.
- Develop the printing subsystem early in the project:
- Implement Skija-based rendering for print output.
- Ensure consistency between screen display and printed output.
- Develop a cross-platform print dialog and settings interface.
- Implement support for various paper sizes and orientations. - Optimize rendering performance for large scores using techniques like virtualization.
- Develop a theming system to allow for customizable appearances.
- Implement platform-specific optimizations where necessary.
- Conduct thorough testing of printing functionality across all supported platforms.
Alternatives Considered
1. Electron (Web Technologies):
- Rejected due to potential performance limitations with large scores and higher resource usage.
- Concerns about achieving consistent, high-quality printing across platforms.
2. Qt (C++ with Clojure bindings):
- Rejected due to more complex integration with Clojure and potential licensing concerns.
- While Qt offers good printing support, integrating it with Clojure would be more challenging.
3. Java Swing:
- Rejected in favor of the more modern JavaFX framework.
- Printing in Swing can be more cumbersome and may not provide the same level of consistency across platforms.
4. Pure Web Technologies (ClojureScript):
- Rejected due to performance concerns for complex score rendering and limitations in controlling print output precisely.
- May be considered for future web-based versions, but not suitable for the core application where print quality is crucial.
Notes
- Regular performance benchmarking should be conducted, especially for large score rendering and printing.
- Consider creating an abstraction layer over JavaFX to ease potential future GUI framework changes.
- Investigate options for reducing application size, such as custom JavaFX runtime builds.
- Stay updated with JavaFX and Skija developments to leverage new features and improvements.
- Develop comprehensive documentation for custom UI components and rendering techniques, including printing-specific details.
- Plan for potential future web deployment by designing components with possible web adaptation in mind.
- Establish a comprehensive test suite for printing functionality, covering various score complexities, paper sizes, and printer types.
- Consider partnering with printing experts or music publishers to validate the quality and consistency of printed output.