Today I have an interview with Mikael Grev. For those new to this series, here are the people who have been interviewed so far:
Hi there. Thanks for taking the time to do this quick interview. Can you please introduce yourself?
Hello Jonathan!
I have been in the Java ecosystem since Swing was a newborn. I work with many different things, some of which include creating Android apps (one Google Now competitor soon to be released), conceptual design for fighter aircraft systems, client application development/architecture and creating components/widgets in Swing and now JavaFX. Much API, UI/UX design and performance work, less web crap.
I’m a geek from very young age, I started programming my C-64 when I was ten (according to mom). Then I had a slight detour into piloting fighter jets for 17 years until I two years ago went back to being a full time computer geek and API snob. I collect pixels and have many of them in use and I set an alarm to go to bed in the evening.
Is this your first time presenting at JavaOne, or are you a JavaOne veteran?
It’s my fifth time being at JavaOne. I also presented in 2008 where I got a Rock Star award, of which I am very proud. And to this day, to my knowledge, I am the only fighter pilot in the known universe who also have been awarded JavaOne Rock Star! 😉
What are you going to talk about at JavaOne?
The session name “Create JavaFX Layouts Like a Boss” pretty much gives it away. I will focus on MigLayout as the tool, which I and Tom Eugelink has now readied for JavaFX 8. There will be a lot of general advice on how to make scalable and beautiful layouts. The intention is to raise the general – not-so-interested-about-visuals- developer well above ugly layouts without additional work. It will be fast-paced so don’t come there without ++coffee in your veins.
Do you have any big announcements or releases planned leading up to (or at) JavaOne? Can you give any hints? 
I hope I will. Given the move towards simpler – and in that somewhat harder to figure out – GUI:s, it is recommended that one use subtle animations to convey intent. Animation is a great way to help the end user on the path to understanding the flow of your app. Unfortunately it’s not that easy to do UX-centric animations manually, even when the animation itself – the moving/fading part – is managed by the framework, like in JavaFX. My goal is to enable good looking animated transitions between layout changes just by adding the keyword “animate” to MigLayout. In >= 60fps. If I can’t make it ready in time I will pretend to faint 42 minutes into the presentation.
Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?
My session might be funny. So come by if you like that kind of thing. If you don’t like funny, come by anyway and not laugh.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to answer these questions! All the best for your JavaOne talks!
Thank you Jonathan!
