MVC with fxml

Question

Hello,
I have a question concerning fxml, Is it true that the only possible link between fxml view and Model is done through controller?
Edited by: 914170 on 11 oct. 2012 06:47

Answer 1

I'm not sure there is anything in JavaFX where there is only one possible way to do it ;).
You certainly can map a model to the view directly in the FXML. The easiest example is where the model follows Javabeans conventions (no-arg constructor and get/set methods). Then you can instantiate your model directly in the FXML. If you want something more complex you can use a factory or builder to access the model.
Here's the simplest example I can do. Here's a model:
Model.java
package mvc;
import javafx.beans.property.ListProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleListProperty;
import javafx.collections.FXCollections;
import javafx.collections.ObservableList;
public class Model {
     private SimpleListProperty<String> items ;
     public Model() {
          items = new SimpleListProperty<String>(FXCollections.observableArrayList("One", "Two", "Three"));
     public ListProperty<String> itemsProperty() {
          return items ;
     public ObservableList<String> getItems() {
          return items.get();
     public void setItems(ObservableList<String> items) {
          this.items.set(items);
}And here's the view:
MVCDemo.fxml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?import javafx.scene.layout.BorderPane?>
<?import javafx.scene.control.ListView?>
<?import mvc.Model ?>
<BorderPane xmlns:fx="http://javafx.com/fxml">
     <fx:define>
          <Model fx:id="model" />
     </fx:define>
     <center>
          <ListView items="${model.items}" />
     </center>
</BorderPane>And the startup:
MVCDemo.java
package mvc;
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader;
import javafx.scene.Parent;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
public class MVCDemo extends Application {
     @Override
     public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
          Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("MVCDemo.fxml"));
          Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 400);
          primaryStage.setScene(scene);
          primaryStage.sizeToScene();
          primaryStage.show();
     public static void main(String[] args) {
          launch(args);
}You can access the model in the controller using injection in the usual way:
@FXML Model model ;