On 14 Jun, 09:52, Anish <anishkuma...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jun 13, 6:54 pm, Mehdi <vio...@REMOVEME.gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:48:12 -0500, Jules Winfield wrote:
> > > ...but after doing some research, I ran across a technology byAdobecalled
> > >Flex. I ran some of the demo apps and was completely blown away! They have a
> > > very modern look and they are as responsive as desktop apps. Haveanyof you
> > > made the transition from WinForms toFlex? What are the pros and cons? I get
> > > the impression that theFlexuser interfaces are created using a language
> > > called ActionScript. What are your thoughts on this language?
>
> > I haven'tanyexperience in either AJAX orFlexapplication so I won't be
> > able to give you definitive advices on either but I've got a few general
> > thoughts about that. Just like you, I dislike web browser based application
> > both as an end-user and as a developer point of view. I have been
> > unfortunate enough to have to do some simple Flash developement with
> > ActionScript and integrate that into a .NET application and, boy, that was
> > painful... But I'm sure thatFlexbeing specifically targeted as developing
> > application (as oposed to Flash animations), it is perfectly usable by
> > "traditional" software developers without too much pain.
>
> Yes I agree. its lots more easier to develop web based applications
> usingFlex.
>
>
>
> > If I had to switch from tradtional desktop application development to
> > browser based application development using either AJAX orFlex, I would be
> > extremely careful before taking the plunge and choosingFlexin favor of
> > AJAX for a number of reasons:
>
> > -Flexapplications are nothing else than Flash files. This means that by
> > choosingFlex, you are tying yourself to a proprietary format, runtime and
> > environment. Of course, it is unlikely that a company likeAdobewill
> > collapse in the near future or that they'll pull the plug on Flash. AJAX on
> > the other side is based on (now) standards and is widely supported by all
> > the major players in the industry.
>
> > -Flexrequires Flash 9 to be installed on the client machine while AJAX
> > applications require nothing but a resonably recent web browser. This might
> > or might not be an issue. On the other side, AJAX probably requires a lot
> > more testing and tweaking to make sure that the application works fine in
> > most browser whileFlexapplications should work the same in every browser
> > as they run on top of the Flash runtime.
>
> AJAX based apps require lots of testing n tweaks before we can make
> sure it runs as expected on all web browsers. Withflexwe have the
> luxury that we can develop for one web browser and be sure that it
> runs exactly the same way on other browsers too provided they have
> flash player 9 or above ;-)
>
> > - Support: with the explosion of the AJAX buzz and number of AJAX based
> > application, the amount of available books and online resources (web sites,
> > discussion forums...) dedicated to AJAX development is almost limitless.
> > What aboutFlex?
>
> Even I feel there arn't as much supporting sites forFlexwhen
> compared to AJAX. but definetlyFlexhas somegoodbooks andgood
> start up tutorials. TotalTraining has some nice video tutorials onflex.http://www.totaltraining.com/prod/adobe/flex2_ria.asp
>
> > - Development tools: with AJAX being well on its way of becoming the next
> > main development platform after Windows, there are loads of tools and
> > environment developed by many different companies to make development
> > easier. And this is probably just the beginning. WithFlex, you'll probably
> > always be stuck with whatAdobehas to offer.
>
> The chances of being struck withAdobeis more, but that said now we
> can expect more asFlexis open sourced (http://www.adobe.com/go/
> opensourceflex)
>
>
>
> > - Whenever you'll need to hire a developer or a consultant to work on your
> > applications, how easy will it be find a suitable candidate? With ASP .NET
> > and AJAX it should be reasonably easy these days and in the future to find
> >gooddevelopers with all the required expertise and experience. I have my
> > doubts on theFlexside. On top of that, I guess that a number ofFlex
> > developers are former Flash designers who are great at designing
> > fancy-looking UIs but have little to no experience and background knowledge
> > in developing robust and secure business applications. Also, if you choose
> >Flexand need to find somebody able to work on both the front-end and
> > back-end of your system, you'll need to find somebody with expertise in
> > bothFlexand .NET. I suppose these kind of people are quite thin on the
> > ground.
>
> Getting aFlexdeveloper is not an easy task. May beFlexis quite new
> and it still needs to generate lots of enthu for developers to begin
> learning it.
>
> > - Of course, given the type of applications you're developing, I suppose
> > that security is a paramount in every aspect of your work. I can't comment
> > on this but obviously what each framework offers in terms of security
> > features would be an important parameter.
>
> I feelAdobehas taken security in consideration. But again it depands
> on what kind of applications we are developing.
>
>
Jules,
I am currently considering investing into Flex also pretty much for
the same reasons. ActionScript in its third generation is a great
language now. It pretty much there on the OOP side of things so as a
C#/C++ developer the concepts will be native to you and it will just
be a case of picking up the namespaces (oops I mean packages as they
are called in AS).
Adobe have built a great framework the only thing I am battling is the
data binding options available to you. Web Services are pretty slow
and if you are offering the user a ultra smooth and fast UI coupled
with slow data connectivity I am not sure how about the combo. The
question for me is can you really develop data centric apps with this
amazing technology without the frint end user being faced with an hour
glass every five minutes as Flex battles to suck data out of slow
responding web services.
Flash Remoting is a solution to this problem but it is also an
expensive one that I am told often loses in the cost vs benefit sum
up.
You should check out WebOrb as it delivers native object from .NET
directly to Flex without having to use WS. I am still getting my head
around it so you should go check it out if you haven't already.
http://www.themidnightcoders.com/weborb/
Have fun. Its exciting stuff especially when you can easily port your
apps to Adobe Air (Apollo). Try porting your winforms to ASP.NET that
easily.
Shion
> > These are just some random thought, I probably forgot the most important
> > ones but what's for sure is that the look & feel or eitherFlexor AJAX
> > applications is definitely not the only or even the most important point to
> > take into account here.
>
> Open Lazlo :- This is one of the competing technologies withFlexand
> open Lazlo is open source. But i felt its not quite easy to develop
> apps using Open lazlo. It lackedFlexBuilder kind of IDEhttp://www.openlaszlo.org/
>
> Hope all this thoughts will help you decide the best.
>
> regards,
> -Anish
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