JavaFX FXML controller – constructor vs initialize method

javajavafx

My Application class looks like this:

public class Test extends Application {

    private static Logger logger = LogManager.getRootLogger();

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {

        String resourcePath = "/resources/fxml/MainView.fxml";
        URL location = getClass().getResource(resourcePath);
        FXMLLoader fxmlLoader = new FXMLLoader(location);

        Scene scene = new Scene(fxmlLoader.load(), 500, 500);

        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        launch(args);
    }
}

The FXMLLoader creates an instance of the corresponding controller (given in the FXML file via fx:controller) by invoking first the default constructor and then the initialize method:

public class MainViewController {

    public MainViewController() {
        System.out.println("first");
    }

    @FXML
    public void initialize() {
        System.out.println("second");
    }
}

The output is:

first
second

So, why does the initialize method exist? What is the difference between using a constructor or the initialize method to initialize the controller required things?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Best Answer

In a few words: The constructor is called first, then any @FXML annotated fields are populated, then initialize() is called.

This means the constructor does not have access to @FXML fields referring to components defined in the .fxml file, while initialize() does have access to them.

Quoting from the Introduction to FXML:

[...] the controller can define an initialize() method, which will be called once on an implementing controller when the contents of its associated document have been completely loaded [...] This allows the implementing class to perform any necessary post-processing on the content.

Related Topic