This collection of frequently asked questions (FAQ) provides brief answers to many common questions about the JavaFX Coding Challenge. Please check here for answers before posting a question to a JavaFX Forums or before sending an email to one of the support email addresses.

JavaFX Coding Challenge FAQ

  1. What is the JavaFX Coding Challenge?

    A: The JavaFX Coding Challenge is a contest conducted by Sun Microsystems targeting the professional developer and student communities. Through this contest, we intend to reach out to both communities to spread the awareness about JavaFX - an expressive rich client platform for creating and delivering rich Internet experiences across all the screens of your life, including mobile devices, desktops, televisions, and other consumer devices. This contest is designed to generate enthusiasm for the JavaFX technology and to encourage professional developers and students to develop and contribute rich internet applications that demonstrate the use of JavaFX. Prizes will be awarded to those who submit the best entries as determined by the judges in accordance with the Official Rules.

  2. Who is eligible to participate in the contest?

    A: This contest is open to students enrolled at an accredited college or university at the time of entry and members of the Sun Developer Network at time of entry ("Developers"). All Entrants must be of majority legal age in their country and a legal resident of one of the following countries; Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, a European Union member state, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, and Venezuela.

  3. How do I enter the contest?

    A:
    1. Register for the contest to receive updates and reminders via email (contest related communications only).
    2. Download JavaFX 1.1.
    3. Develop an innovative rich internet application using JavaFX 1.1 and NetBeans 6.5.
    4. Last, complete the submission form.

  4. What kind of projects or applications should I develop?

    A: The participant can choose to develop any JavaFX application, such as a game, a web site with mash-ups, or a utility. It must work either on the desktop or on the mobile emulator, and ideally it would work on both. We are looking for original applications that are visually compelling. Please use your imagination.

  5. Will entries be accepted in all languages?

    A: Submissions will be accepted in English only.

  6. What are the prizes?

    1st Place: $25,000
    2nd Place: $10,000
    3rd Place: $5,000

  7. Are there prizes for students?

    A: We will award three $1,500 prizes to the top applications submitted by students. Students can compete for the larger prize amounts. One prize per entrant.

  8. Can students compete for the larger prize amounts?

    A: Students and professional developers are eligible to win the top prize amounts. Students who don't win one of the top prizes are then eligible for one of the student prizes. One prize per entry.

  9. Are there other prizes available?

    A: Up to 100 honorable mention prizes of a $25 Amazon Gift certificate will be rewarded. (Restrictions apply for international users.)

  10. What is the deadline for submitting my application?

    Contest starts: March 23rd, 2009
    Contest deadline: May 29th, 2009

  11. When will the winners be announced?

    Judging period: June 1st -- June 29th, 2009
    Winners announced: Week of June 29th, 2009

  12. How will winners be notified?

    A: Winners will be notified via email the week of June 29th, 2009.

  13. After I registered for the contest I did not receive a confirmation email. Am I registered?

    If you completed the registration form, you are registered. We are not sending confirmation emails for registration. Registration is optional, not required. When you submit your application, we will send an email confirming that we have received your submission.

  14. Who will own the code and application once it is submitted? Can I sell or promote that application commercially?

    You (or your team) will own the code and the application. You can use the submitted application to sell and promote commercially. By participating in the contest, you are agreeing to give some rights for Sun to use the application for promotional purposes. All winning applications will be promoted on JavaFX.com (not the source code). For more details please read the contest rules.

  15. Who are the judges?

    A: All entries will be judged by a panel of experts, which includes James Gosling and members of the JavaFX engineering and product marketing teams.

  16. Are there guidelines I need to follow when building and submitting my application for this contest?

    1. All entries must be submitted as a Netbeans project containing the JavaFX 1.1 application.
    2. Entry must be supported on at least one of the following: (i) Windows XP SP3, FireFox 3.0, JRE 1.6u12 (or above); (ii) Windows Vista, Firefox 3.0, JRE 1.6u12 (or above); (iii) MacOS 10.5.4, Safari 3, Java SE 1.6.0_07 (or above); (iv) JavaFX 1.1 Mobile Emulator (or above).
    3. Entry must be developed as a JavaFX desktop application that works both within a browser as an applet and on the desktop as a standalone application, and/or a JavaFX mobile application.
    4. Entry must be in English.
    5. Entry must be submitted electronically via www.javafx.com/challenge in accordance with the on-screen instructions with the following information:

      1. Each Entrant's full name, email address, physical address, and country of residence, and whether the Entrant is a Student or Developer (for all team members).
      2. A short description of the Entry, including a description of the Entry, the key points about the Entry's functionality, an explanation of how to run the Entry's code, and the specific supported platforms.
      3. All applicable source materials required to re-create the "usable" form and run the application or utility. NOTE: Any Entries with "source materials" that fail to create a "usable form" will be disqualified.
    6. If Entrant includes third party open source libraries and/or code in an Entry, Entrant shall identify the applicable third party open source license(s) and shall certify that Entrant has complied with the terms of such license(s).
    7. The Entry must be the Entrant's original work, created solely by the Entrant(s) and must not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other intellectual rights of any person or entity.

  17. Must the application be developed using Netbeans?

    A. Participants may develop their application on the IDE of their choice. However, the entry must be submitted as a zipped Netbeans 6.5 project containing everything needed to create the working JavaFX 1.1 application.

  18. What criteria will the judges us to judge the applications?

    A: The judges will use the following criteria to judge each application:

    • Technical merit and use of JavaFX features
    • If the application is targeted at the desktop or browser, the ability to run the application both as a web browser applet and as a standalone desktop application
    • If the application is targeted at the JavaFX 1.1 Mobile Emulator, the ability to support both touchscreen and keypad input
    • Viral nature of the application, which includes the ability and desire of the user to pass the application or knowledge of their application to their social network
    • End user experience, which includes the performance and robustness of the application
    • Originality and uniqueness of the application, which includes the problem addressed or the innovative nature of the application
    • Creativity and fun, which includes how the application differentiates itself and reflects the creativity of the developer to provide enjoyment and capture the user's imagination
  19. How many submissions can I submit?

    A: There is no limit on the number of Entries per participant.

  20. Can teams participate in this contest?

    A: A team of up to five (5) individuals can participate. Prize amount will be split evenly among the team members based on the size of the team. If an Entry is submitted by a team, each individual member of the team must meet the eligibility requirements set forth in the contest rules. Each team must consist of either all Students or all Developers. If an Entry is submitted by a team, the team must designate one individual member of the team as the team leader for contact purposes. The team leader is responsible for submitting the Entry on behalf of the team and shall designate all members of the team with the Entry submission. The team leader is also responsible for responding to all Contest related communications or requests.

  21. If I submitted an application for the Code JavaFX Contest 2009 in India, can I submit the same application for this contest (JavaFX Coding Challenge)?

    A: The Code JavaFX Contest in India and the JavaFX Coding Challenge have different submission requirements and judging criteria. Although you can submit the same application for both contests, please keep in mind that without making significant improvements or changes you could receive a lower score in the Originality criteria as submissions for both contests will be compared. If you plan to submit the same application, we strongly recommend that you add additional features or functionality, as Originality is one of the criteria used to judge the applications.

  22. Can open source code be included in an entry?

    A: Yes. You must identify the applicable third party open source license(s) governing the open source libraries and/or code and must certify that you have complied with the terms of such license(s).

  23. Can third party code be included in an entry?

    A: Yes, you can include third party code in an entry, but you must comply with the terms of the third party license governing such code. You cannot submit an entry that infringes on any third party proprietary, intellectual property, industrial property, personal rights or other rights, includes any personally identifiable information, or violates any applicable law.

  24. Can I use 3rd party libraries?

    A: Yes, you may use third party open source libraries so long as you comply with the terms of the applicable license(s). In addition, you may call via web services into other 3rd party libraries so long as you have the rights to use such web services under the applicable third party license(s).

  25. Can I use multimedia assets (audio,video, graphics, etc.) created by third parties?

    A: Yes, you can use multimedia assets (audio,video, graphics, etc.) created by third parties so long as such assets are licensed to you under an open source or Creative Commons license. You must comply with the terms of such license and identify which specific third party assets have been included.

  26. Where can I download NetBeans?

    A: www.netbeans.org

  27. Where can download JavaFX SDK?

    A: www.javafx.com/downloads

  28. Where can I go to learn more about JavaFX?

    A: www.javafx.com/learn

  29. What if I have a technical questions about JavaFX?

    A: If you have technical questions about JavaFX visit the JavaFX Forums or contact us with your question.

  30. What if I have a question about the contest?

    A: You can contact us with your contest-related questions.