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Wessel Wessels
Wessel Wessels

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🧮 Recreating a Vintage Casio Calculator with Java & JavaFX

In this project, I rebuilt my original Casio Personal M-1 calculator in JavaFX — not just the functionality, but the entire look and feel, down to the pixel. What started as a UI practice exercise turned into a full-blown retro replica.

📐 The Inspiration

This is the actual calculator that started it all — the one I used as a kid:


![Original Casio Calculator]

And here’s my JavaFX recreation, built using Scene Builder and custom styling:


![JavaFX Replica]

From digit alignment to button layout, I wanted it to feel like the original — scratches and all.

🛠️ What I Built

ASO Calculator is a clean, desktop JavaFX app with:

  • A glowing LED-style custom display using a handmade font
  • CSS styling for realistic button shadows, presses, and bevels
  • Custom layout with StackPane for glow overlays
  • Packaged into an .exe installer via jpackage

🔣 Font Creation

The calculator display font was redrawn by hand in CorelDRAW, then converted and spaced in FontForge. Decimal alignment required custom kerning to match the real LED layout.


![Font Vector Preview]

The display glow is achieved using two overlapping labels and a Gaussian drop shadow — pure JavaFX CSS.

📚 What I Learned

This project helped solidify my understanding of:

  • JavaFX layouts (GridPane, VBox, StackPane)
  • CSS styling in JavaFX (hover effects, drop shadows)
  • Scene Builder UI integration
  • GitHub workflows and markdown formatting
  • Packaging apps into .exe using jpackage
  • Font creation using external tools and embedding them via JavaFX

💡 Why This Matters

It’s more than a calculator.

It represents the bridge from:

  • Theory → Application
  • Tutorial → Original Project
  • Learning Java → Becoming a Java Developer

🚀 Try It Out

✅ You can download and test the final app directly from the GitHub Releases tab:

🔗 Download Installer

➡️ ASO.Calculator-1.0.exe

⚠️ May trigger antivirus warnings since it's unsigned. It’s safe to install.

🔗 GitHub Repo

Browse the full source code, font files, styling, and instructions here:

👉 https://github.com/aso-repos/CalculatorJavaFX

👋 About Me

Java & JavaFX dev.

Caught the coding bug at 12 when I wrote my first program on a Commodore 64. Now actively pursuing my dream & building desktop apps in Java. Certified in Java, Python, HTML and CSS. (See LinkedIn profile for full qualification list, learning institutions, and experience.)

Let’s connect:

🔗 LinkedIn

🔗 GitHub Profile

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