Diference between close() and dispose()

Question

in Java Swings we had two methods to close a JFrame, i.e frame.dispose() and frame.hide() / or frame.setVisible(false).
But in FX, we have a single methos to close the stage which is : Stage.close() and it is equivalent to hide().
So does that mean, on calling stage.close(), the memory and the resources allocated to the stage remain intact and the stage is only vanished from the screen?
Does that further imply, FX doesnt have any method to comple 'dispose' of the stage as in swings?
please reply
Edited by: 949779 on Jul 30, 2012 6:17 AM

Answer 1

The docs donot say anything about the resource management done by Stages. Comparing it with Swing is useless since they're completely different.
The reason for dispose() in Swing was that even when your code does not refer to a JFrame anymore, there are still native resources which refer to the JFrame which will keep it from being garbage collected. Dispose() releases those resources.
In JavaFX the distinction between close and dispose is probably no longer needed because using weak refs they can track when the Stage is no longer referenced anymore and then release all resources associated with it (if it works that way at all).
So, close() would 'hide' the Stage, and when it gets garbage collected an automatic 'dispose' occurs. If Stages needed any further special treatment I would expect a mention in the docs.