---
title: A JavaFX Editor for the Cooling Simulator
description: The companion editor for the cooling-system sim. Drag-and-drop graph layout, JSON export, upload-to-backend. Small tool, mattered more than I expected.
date: 2026-04-25
projectPeriod: 'October-November 2018'
thumbnail:
  src: ./_assets/process-simulator-input.jpg
  alt: JavaFX graph editor for the cooling system simulator.
tags: ['simulation', 'tools']
role: Editor author
stack: ['JavaFX', 'JSON', 'REST API']
outcome: A drag-and-drop graph editor that let non-developers feed the simulator
audience: technical
links: []
---

Non-technical event organisers needed to rewire a cooling plant in real time without me hovering. That was the brief, and it ruled out every interface I'd have enjoyed writing. The [cooling system sim](/articles/nuclear-cooling-simulation/) was only as useful as the tool that fed it, so in late 2018 I built a JavaFX desktop editor: lay out the plant as a graph, edit each element's parameters in a side panel, export JSON, or upload straight to the backend.

Small tool, and the whole event hinged on it. If I built it again I'd skip JavaFX and put the editor in the browser next to the monitoring clients. One install fewer for everyone, and one fewer reason for someone to call me over.