In the beginning, web developers used static HTML to serve as the user interface for their application. This soon proved to be very tedious for development as the entire page had to be generated again with the exception of one particular area where an if condition generates a different output.
Then came Gmail – the most spectacular AJAX application that showed everyone what can be done if you use the XMLHTTPRequest object in the various browsers. This made it easier for both the web application developers and the users. Javascript frameworks were created and user interface libraries created to facilitate developing web applications based on this tool.
As web applications got more and more complex, these libraries could not keep up with the demand of better user interface widgets and a more flexible API.
While all this was happening Macromedia, now Adobe has been working on Adobe Flex. Until recently only enterprise users were able to create UIs in this fabulous platform. But Adobe (which acquired Macromedia) released the SDK as an open source project.
This article will discuss all the reasons why your application should use Adobe Flex for creating the user interface:
1. Flex Is Easier To Develop Than Javascript
The programming in Flex is done using Actionscript. This language is 90% similar to javascript. If you know Javascript, its only a matter of knowing the differences and adopting the object oriented mindset to get started coding in Flex.
Actionscript is extremely similar to Java in that it supports inheritance, private variables, packages and interfaces.
2. Binding Is Much Simpler
This one feature is sure to appeal to many developers. If you want to detect the change in some variable or the value of a text box, perhaps to do some validation, it takes dozens of lines of code in Javascript but it is done automatically from the MXML markup. With javascript, you would have to manually create the div element that showed the error message and manually enter the error message using innerHTML.
3. Leverage Actionscript Lirbaries
There are numerous actionscript libraries that are available for performing operations that are not available in Javascript. Actionscript libraries exist for performing complex encryption and even manipulating images! Something that cannot be done in Javascript. I suspect Pixlr is a flex application
4. Complex Widgets
HTML wasn’t meant to create the interfaces of applications. It was meant for displaying styled documents. Embedding such widgets as DataGrid requires you to define the widget in terms of a lot of markup and hundreds of lines of javascript code to add the necessary behavior and style.
Actionscript however comes with pre-built advanced interfaces such as Accordions, Tabs, Tab Bars, Menus, Context menus, form items and stacked widgets. With flex it would be possible to make web applications feel like desktop applications.
5. Porting To Adobe AIR Is Trivial
If you have created your application to work on the browser, then the same code can be easily turned into a desktop application with the exact same interface. The best part is the application will run in Windows, Macintosh and Linux with the native look and feel.
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