Clojurians Log v2

It'll be an honor, actually! Appreciate your kindness. But please understand I'm not a software developer; I don't call myself a programmer yet. So my knowledge and skill level is way down there.

Congratulations! I wanted to see what's possible with cljfx, so I downloaded the Windows jar and clicked around in the app a bit. Just wanted to let you know that it takes quite long (seconds) to load image backgrounds. Also, you might want to check if opening image files works consistently. I thought you're probably not developing on Windows, so this may be of help.

Thanks! Yes, I developed Backdrop on Linux and tested it on windows 10. I also noticed the startup time is long, it took like 8 seconds, but I'm still ok with it.

Opening background images didn't work on your pc?

First, there are default images the app provides. Loading those takes seconds -- from a few seconds to more than a few. Second, I didn't test this much, but opening image files also seems to take long. Also, I'm not sure if it opens files every time. I only tested the jar on Eclipse Temurin JDK 25.

I see. There is some room for improvement for image processing, that's why loading preset backgrounds takes long to render, especially when the screenshot image is large.

While I was at it, I've just downloaded the msi file and did the same actions. I'm experiencing similar issues. As for opening image files, it appears that those vertical images simply don't work with the app.

Thanks for the feedback! It only opens files on request.

Anyhow, congrats again. An app developed with cljfx is a rare thing; thanks for being a pioneer!

Thanks. Overall I was satisfied with the result. For this particular app, javafx works quick well across different platforms except the screenshot part, different OSes and desktop environments may behave differently.

Yeah, looks pretty neat! Have you written any posts about this app? I'd love to read some and learn from them.

Not yet, except posting updates along the journey on LinkedIn and X. What aspects are you interested in? Maybe I'll write one down the road.

For me, someone actually doing this whole thing, including packaging and deploying, seems so amazing. You must have encountered more than a few difficulties and explore less known territories. But I'll have to visit your LinkedIn and X pages first.

Got it. I'll definitely cover those if I write something, thanks.

Honestly I never thought I would create a desktop app! Cljfx and Clojure makes this possible. Huge thanks to @vlaaad for creating cljfx, I really love the reactive approach.

Huge thanks to @vlaaad, indeed!

@whatacold It's amazing! Your no-fluff, to-the-point article along with the tangible product is a big encouragement to my cljs journey. Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to write up the post. I feel this should be one of the first things that people who are interested in or just beginning with cljs are encouraged to read.

It would have saved me a lot of doubts and second guesses.

I'm sure there are more people out there who would find it helpful.

What are you building currently with cljs?

I am really sorry for delayed response; I don't use Slack regularly, and I haven't been able to use it in the last several days. And it was "cljs" but "cljfx". Sorry for causing confusion! What I've been exploring with cljfx: • Interface for source prepping part for video generation. (Video generation itself being handled by Premiere Pro ExtendScript) I used to do it with Google Apps Script in Google sheets, but now use Clojure + cljfx for that part. I'm also exploring if I could eliminate Premiere Pro in the work flow and use java2d + ffmpeg with cljfx for the UI. Example videos (which have virtually no viewers): ◦ https://www.youtube.com/@RealFluentology • I'm also thinking about building a simple media player + recorder app for practicing language. ◦ gamepad or midi controller support ◦ listening-repeat ◦ pause (silenced replay of the ab-repeat slice) ◦ recording during pause ◦ comparison play I feel very strong affection towards the concept of slice repeat. And I see your "about" page and say OMG to myself!

No worries, I don't expect immediate response here. Guess what? We share some interest about YouTube video making and language learning, we can talk about this later (maybe in dm?).🎉

@scottdnd Hey! In case you're interested, there is a short blog post: https://blog.kenhuang.io/blog/2026-04-23-desktop-app-clojure-cljfx/