JavaFX - Translation Transformation

A translation transformation simply moves an object to a different position on the same plane. You can translate a point in a 2D plane by adding translation coordinate (tx, ty) to the original coordinate (X, Y); this will get you the new coordinate (X, Y) where the point is relocated to.

Translation Transformation in JavaFX

In JavaFX, using the Translation transformation, a node can be shifted from one position to another position in the same application. This transformation is applied on a JavaFX node with the help of Translate class in javafx.scene.transform package. This class represents an Affine object that relocates the coordinates within the JavaFX application.

Example 1

Following is the program which demonstrates translation in JavaFX. Here, we are creating 2 circles (nodes) at the same location with the same dimensions, but with different colors (Brown and Cadetblue). We are also applying translation on the circle with a cadetblue color.

Save this code in a file with the name TranslationExample.java.

import javafx.application.Application; 
import javafx.scene.Group; 
import javafx.scene.Scene; 
import javafx.scene.paint.Color; 
import javafx.scene.shape.Circle; 
import javafx.scene.transform.Translate; 
import javafx.stage.Stage;  

public class TranslationExample extends Application { 
   @Override 
   public void start(Stage stage) {      
      //Drawing Circle1 
      Circle circle = new Circle(); 
      
      //Setting the position of the circle 
      circle.setCenterX(150.0f); 
      circle.setCenterY(135.0f); 
      
      //Setting the radius of the circle 
      circle.setRadius(100.0f); 
      
      //Setting the color of the circle 
      circle.setFill(Color.BROWN); 
      
      //Setting the stroke width of the circle 
      circle.setStrokeWidth(20); 
       
      //Drawing Circle2 
      Circle circle2 = new Circle(); 
      
      //Setting the position of the circle 
      circle2.setCenterX(150.0f); 
      circle2.setCenterY(135.0f); 
      
      //Setting the radius of the circle 
      circle2.setRadius(100.0f); 
      
      //Setting the color of the circle 
      circle2.setFill(Color.CADETBLUE); 
      
      //Setting the stroke width of the circle 
      circle2.setStrokeWidth(20); 
       
      //Creating the translation transformation 
      Translate translate = new Translate();       
      
      //Setting the X,Y,Z coordinates to apply the translation 
      translate.setX(300); 
      translate.setY(50); 
      translate.setZ(100);  
      
      //Adding transformation to circle2 
      circle2.getTransforms().addAll(translate); 
       
      //Creating a Group object  
      Group root = new Group(circle,circle2); 
         
      //Creating a scene object 
      Scene scene = new Scene(root, 600, 300);  
      
      //Setting title to the Stage 
      stage.setTitle("Translation transformation example"); 
         
      //Adding scene to the stage 
      stage.setScene(scene); 
         
      //Displaying the contents of the stage 
      stage.show(); 
   }
   public static void main(String args[]){ 
      launch(args); 
   } 
} 

Compile and execute the saved java file from the command prompt using the following commands.

javac --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls TranslationExample.java 
java --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls TranslationExample 

Output

On executing, the above program generates a JavaFX window as shown below.

Example 2

In the following example, we are demonstrating translation on 3D shapes. Save this code in a file with the name TranslationExample3D.java.

import javafx.application.Application; 
import javafx.scene.Group; 
import javafx.scene.Scene; 
import javafx.scene.paint.Color; 
import javafx.scene.shape.Cylinder; 
import javafx.scene.transform.Translate; 
import javafx.stage.Stage;  

public class TranslationExample3D extends Application { 
   @Override 
   public void start(Stage stage) {      
      Cylinder cy1 = new Cylinder(50, 100);
      Cylinder cy2 = new Cylinder(50, 100);
       
      //Creating the translation transformation 
      Translate translate = new Translate();       
      
      //Setting the X,Y,Z coordinates to apply the translation 
      translate.setX(200); 
      translate.setY(150); 
      translate.setZ(100);  
      
      //Adding transformation to circle2 
      cy2.getTransforms().addAll(translate); 
       
      //Creating a Group object  
      Group root = new Group(cy1,cy2); 
         
      //Creating a scene object 
      Scene scene = new Scene(root, 400, 300);  
      
      //Setting title to the Stage 
      stage.setTitle("Translation transformation example"); 
         
      //Adding scene to the stage 
      stage.setScene(scene); 
         
      //Displaying the contents of the stage 
      stage.show(); 
   }
   public static void main(String args[]){ 
      launch(args); 
   } 
}

Compile and execute the saved java file from the command prompt using the following commands.

javac --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls TranslationExample3D.java 
java --module-path %PATH_TO_FX% --add-modules javafx.controls TranslationExample3D

Output

On executing, the above program generates a JavaFX window as shown below.

As we can see, with the original position of the cylinder we are not able to clearly see the full image like we do in the translated image. Therefore, translation transformation becomes necessary in cases like these.