subject: Adobe Flex For Rich Internet Applications [print this page] One of the most popular software used for the development of rich internet applications today is Adobe Flex. Adobe Flex is a software development kit released by Adobe Systems used for rich internet application development based on the Adobe Flash platform. Since Adobe acquired Macromedia in 2005, subsequent releases of Flex no longer require a license for Flex Data Services, which has become a separate product rebranded as LiveCycle Data Services.
Uses
What made Adobe Flex popular is because it seeks to minimize the problems commonly associated when adapting to the animation metaphor upon which the Flash Platform was originally designed. Flex provided a workflow and programming model that is familiar to these developers, which is the use of ActionScript. MXML, an XML-based markup language, offers a way to build and lay out graphic user interfaces. Interactivity is achieved through the use of ActionScript, the core language of Flash Player that is based on the ECMAScript standard.
In a multitiered model, Flex applications serve as the presentation tier. Unlike page-based HTML applications, Flex applications provide a stateful client where significant changes to the view don't require loading a new page. Similarly, Flex and Flash Player provide many useful ways to send and load data to and from server-side components without requiring the client to reload the view.
Different tools have also been developed for more successful results with Flex. On popular tool introduced in 2008 was the Adobe Catalyst. According to to Web design Philippines consultants, Adobe announced a new design tool related to Flex codenamed Adobe Thermo, but in November 17 of 2008, Adobe announced the official name of the product would be Adobe Flash Catalyst.
In Tandem with Adobe Flash Catalyst
Adobe Flash Catalyst (formerly known by its codename Thermo) is a designers' tool for easy creation of the user interface for Rich Internet Applications, one of which is Adobe Flex. According to Web design Philippines consultants, user interface architects can use familiar workflows to create Adobe Flex applications in visual way. Then developers can use the result to build the rest of the application in Flex.
Advantages
* Convert artwork to skin the functional application Flex UI components with a couple of clicks.
* Create and edit behaviors: mouse events handling etc. without writing code.
* Create UIs to handle dynamic data without having access to the actual data source.
* Flash Catalyst can import Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fireworks files keeping all their features.
* Use design-time data placeholders when marking up an application, testing interactivity, and choreographing motion.
* According to Web design Philippines consultants, Adobe Flash Catalyst is completely compatible with Flex Builder (Codename Gumbo), using the same project format.
