Re: Modeler (modest) ambition

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So... Just to add some JavaFX commentary here...

I still think the JavaFX prototype I did is worthwhile for fleshing out.
You can edit your UI in Scene Builder and wire everything up easily. For
most of the typical tasks, it is easy to continue with what is there
(basically connecting inputs -- text fields, etc -- to the backend data
model). A couple months ago I started adding Undo/Redo to it and need to
pick that up again. Probably need a few days to implement it (at least
partially, might not get all the undo/redo things done initially).
Allergies and taxes were a distraction, but I should start it again.

Thanks,
mrg


On Mon, Apr 20, 2026 at 10:24=E2=80=AFAM Andrus Adamchik <[email protected]=
om>
wrote:

> So I feel like the advent of agentic coding opens up new possibilities fo=
r
> CayenneModeler. While some want you to think you can simply prompt Claude
> to "Rewrite CayenneModeler in JavaFX" (or Electron or JetBrains Compose
> Multiplatform), still with our limited resources, building and supporting
> an entirely new thing is realistically out of reach.
>
> But I think we can take the current Swing app to a new level by augmentin=
g
> our rusty Swing skills with AI. A few of my experiments adding this or th=
at
> UI piece were mostly successful. A few idea on top of my mind:
>
> 1. A built-in MCP server for DB Import and CGen. This is to close the loo=
p
> on agentic coding, allowing to use both of these tools from an agent CLI.
> (The MCP idea was what prompted me to look into this to begin with)
> 2. Fix table editors UX (selections conflicting with cell editors)
> 3. Write unit tests
> 4. Modernizing L&F. Not sure how far we can get while staying in Swing,
> but worth a try. Looking at FlatLaf lib, which is a successor of JGoodies
> that we already use
> 5. Implement dozens of small usability features (such as showing currentl=
y
> selected Obj|DbEntity in tab view headers, etc.)
>
> My first pass (about 70% done) was not anything visual, but rather
> refactoring the existing messy code to rid it of various architectural
> experiments accumulated over the years (such as auto-bindings) and unifyi=
ng
> the MVC structure to be as close as possible to vanilla Swing. Ironically=
,
> Claude was not that helpful in this process. It was good old IDE
> refactoring, manually going through hundreds of files chasing dead code a=
nd
> inconsistencies.
>
> Anyways, just putting this on the radar.
>
> Andrus

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