My first JavaFX script

I just wrote my first JavaFX script. This script is actually a little benchmark I run when first looking at a new language. Is it rigorous and scientific ? Not at all. It is a very modest benchmark that gives me a feel for the language speed. It includes a bunch of operations typical of the kind of code that I write (string manipulations, collection manipulations, etc...). The code is not optimized to any degree and might actually run faster (or slower) if I was to use more idiomatic style. I also use a number of Java class. I think this is needed because this is also representative of what actual code will look like.
So what is the result ? Turns out that in this benchmark JavaFX is only 2 times slower than Java (511 milliseconds in one tests compared to 272 using Java). If you compare that to other JVM languages that is actually quite good. Groovy for example runs this particular benchmark in about 2600 millis (about 5 times slower than JavaFX). Of course JavaFX is a statically typed language so I was hoping I would get that kind of performance. I suspect that this will improve with subsequent versions. Scala for example runs the benchmark in about the same time as Java.
Of course speed is not the only criteria for language selection. Groovy for example being a dynamic language has a lot of characteristics that make it really appealing. However, in my case for the kind of applications I work on I cannot run 10 times slower than Java. If I can write only a small portion of an application using a language then this language becomes much less interesting. With the kind of speed that JavaFX is giving me I know I can write most of my code using it. That makes it really appealing. Now if JavaFX graphic rendering can get fast enough and with its already compeling UI capability it becomes a clear winner in my book.

FInally a decent Groovy and Scala IDE

Yesterday I installed InterlliJ Community edition on my Linux system at home. I have not completed my evaluation but I must say that what I have seen so far looks good.
Groovy support is available "out of the box" while Scala support can be added by downloading a plug-in. I have been reading about both languages and I even started writing little scripts at work in Groovy (utilities to extract data from text files and such). However I must say that the lack of a good IDE was quite a hindrance. As a Java programmer I expect a lot from my IDE being used to programs like Eclipse and Netbeans. Some of the productivity gains from those new languages are not so impressive when one is used to working with a good IDE. Take for example the Groovy (or Scala) "def" keyword. This is often presented as one of the advantages of Groovy over Java. You can replace:

  StringBuilder myString =  new StringBuilder();

with:

  def myString =  new StringBuilder()

The problem is that in Eclipse for example when I enter the first expression I type the following:

  myString =  new StringBuilder();

Then I just press +F1 and select "Create local variable" and the IDE adds the missing type at the beginning of the line.
Another example is the Groovy @Delegate annotation that generates delegate methods for a given member. Again in Eclipse I just right click the member and select "Generate delegate methods" from the Source menu.
Of course, in this category both Groovy and Scala offer much more gains then what an IDE like Eclipse can offer. However, those gains have to be weighted against the loss of other IDE functionality. As a Java programmer and Eclipse user I expect a good browser for my language. A browser is an essential part of a good OOP environment. This is so true that Smalltalk development kits have always included a browser. It is somewhat painful to apply good OOP principles if you don't have a browser (good OO programming tends to result in more numerous small classes).
The other must of course is code completion. The large number of core classes and API makes this absolutely essential.
I think a good open source environment like IntelliJ will contribute to the adoption of both Groovy and Scala.