You are viewing a plain text version of this content. The canonical link for it is here.
Posted to users@flex.apache.org by Dennis Raddle <de...@gmail.com> on 2013/07/11 04:07:00 UTC
educational software development
I know very little about Flex, ActionScript, Flash, or AIR. I'm taking some
educational software I developed in Python/Qt on Windows, and I want to
rewrite it with Adobe's stuff so it can run on iOS and Android.
I'm trying to get a feel for which tools will be useful to me. Right now
I'm working with the book "Flex 4.5 Fundamentals: Training From the
Source." I notice that the examples in the book are geared toward RIA's,
while my software will not have any Internet features to speak of. It's
more like a very simple game (some 2D animation, drawings, fonts) on a
desktop. At this point I'm not sure if Flex is even useful to me, or if I
will end up writing this purely in ActionScript. I don't know if Flash
Builder will be useful to me for that.
So, given that my app uses fonts, some simple graphics and 2D animation,
and given that I want it to run on iOS and Android, which of the Adobe
tools do you think I'll end up using?
Dennis
Re: educational software development
Posted by Lee Burrows <su...@leeburrows.com>.
Marmalade (http://www.madewithmarmalade.com/sdk) might be worth a look
if you're C++ savvy. I havent used it but sounds like it has potential
(for graphical projects at least)
On 11/07/2013 04:18, Gary Young wrote:
> Dennis, I think IntelliJ is the best IDE( much better than FlashBuilder)
> for Flash/Flex development, and I admire you have C/C++ experience, because
> FlasCC can complile C/C++ into Flash App, which is a killer feature. -Gary
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 11:02 PM, haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and IMHO,
>> its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <dennis.raddle@gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
>>> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
>>> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
>>>
>>> Dennis
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
>>>> browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
>>> your
>>>> app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly
>> complex
>>>> user interactions. -Gary
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> regards,
>> lala
>>
--
Lee Burrows
ActionScripter
Re: educational software development
Posted by Dennis Raddle <de...@gmail.com>.
Thanks for the details, everyone. I'm still looking into all these
suggestions.
Dennis
On Thu, Jul 11, 2013 at 1:28 AM, Carlos Velasco <
carlos.velasco.blanco@gmail.com> wrote:
> Take a look at Uriana (https://www.assembla.com/spaces/uriana/wiki). It's
> not gone away, but being built and upgraded right now and it also helps
> with mobile based complex applications.
>
> In case you are interested, feel free to ask any doubts about Uriana and
> how to use it at your projects.
>
> Cheers,
> Carlos.
>
>
> 2013/7/11 Scott Matheson <sm...@intralinks.com>
>
> > Hi
> > I have been developing the same educational app "units of sound" in a
> > HyperCard type tool ToolBook for the past 16 years, 3 years ago we
> started
> > the process to move this app to flex,
> >
> > I have no regrets so far, however I know I may have to recode in to HTML5
> > in the next 3-5 years depending on how flex develops, I hope I do not
> have
> > to do this, if I was starting today,I think I would have gone down the
> > HTML5 road, HTML 5 and the supporting frameworks have come on a lot in
> the
> > past 3 years
> >
> > Unlike commercial software, educational software is not a highly
> > profitable product, so we have a small team
> >
> > In this market you must have a tablet version of you product, I hope to
> > save a lot of time with the flex AIR / Tablet
> >
> > I found design the hardest part of the project, until adobe gave up with
> > flex you had so many way of approaching you project and no clear winner,
> > now most if not all of these frameworks have gone/ past away, the road is
> > clear, KISS, use simple MVC and stay within the simple flex frame work
> you
> > can
> >
> > The other big help in FLEX is the 1000's of example of how to do X Y Z on
> > the web, and the support from this group
> >
> > Scott
> >
> > PS launch of units of sound UK English q4, US English Q1 CY 14' yes us
> > Brits are coming to the US to teach you how to read :)
> >
> > Sent from my iPad
> >
> > On 11 Jul 2013, at 05:22, "Thiago Maia" <a0...@a00s.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I using Flex/AIR+Blazeds+Tomcat+Java+MySQL in eclipse. I just press
> play
> > and everithing start to work. Then to convert do AIR I just press
> Convert
> > to AIR, and again everithing work (this case not including java that will
> > run on the server).
> > > I really looking for to move to IntelliJ but I couldnt make all this
> > work together. In the intellij website have a tutorial but didnt help to
> > put all together. Do you know any tutorial about that?
> > >
> > > thanks
> > >> Dennis, I think IntelliJ is the best IDE( much better than
> > FlashBuilder)
> > >> for Flash/Flex development, and I admire you have C/C++ experience,
> > because
> > >> FlasCC can complile C/C++ into Flash App, which is a killer feature.
> > -Gary
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 11:02 PM, haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and
> > IMHO,
> > >>> its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <
> > dennis.raddle@gmail.com
> > >>>> wrote:
> > >>>> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is
> there
> > >>>> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
> > >>>> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
> > >>>>
> > >>>> Dennis
> > >>>>
> > >>>>
> > >>>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <flashflexpro@gmail.com
> >
> > >>>> wrote:
> > >>>>
> > >>>>> My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most
> > desktop
> > >>>>> browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when
> 1)
> > >>>> your
> > >>>>> app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly
> > >>> complex
> > >>>>> user interactions. -Gary
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> --
> > >>> regards,
> > >>> lala
> > >
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > Disclaimer: This electronic mail and any attachments are confidential and
> > may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify
> the
> > sender immediately by replying to this email, and destroy all copies of
> > this email and any attachments. Thank you.
> >
>
Re: educational software development
Posted by Carlos Velasco <ca...@gmail.com>.
Take a look at Uriana (https://www.assembla.com/spaces/uriana/wiki). It's
not gone away, but being built and upgraded right now and it also helps
with mobile based complex applications.
In case you are interested, feel free to ask any doubts about Uriana and
how to use it at your projects.
Cheers,
Carlos.
2013/7/11 Scott Matheson <sm...@intralinks.com>
> Hi
> I have been developing the same educational app "units of sound" in a
> HyperCard type tool ToolBook for the past 16 years, 3 years ago we started
> the process to move this app to flex,
>
> I have no regrets so far, however I know I may have to recode in to HTML5
> in the next 3-5 years depending on how flex develops, I hope I do not have
> to do this, if I was starting today,I think I would have gone down the
> HTML5 road, HTML 5 and the supporting frameworks have come on a lot in the
> past 3 years
>
> Unlike commercial software, educational software is not a highly
> profitable product, so we have a small team
>
> In this market you must have a tablet version of you product, I hope to
> save a lot of time with the flex AIR / Tablet
>
> I found design the hardest part of the project, until adobe gave up with
> flex you had so many way of approaching you project and no clear winner,
> now most if not all of these frameworks have gone/ past away, the road is
> clear, KISS, use simple MVC and stay within the simple flex frame work you
> can
>
> The other big help in FLEX is the 1000's of example of how to do X Y Z on
> the web, and the support from this group
>
> Scott
>
> PS launch of units of sound UK English q4, US English Q1 CY 14' yes us
> Brits are coming to the US to teach you how to read :)
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On 11 Jul 2013, at 05:22, "Thiago Maia" <a0...@a00s.com> wrote:
>
> > I using Flex/AIR+Blazeds+Tomcat+Java+MySQL in eclipse. I just press play
> and everithing start to work. Then to convert do AIR I just press Convert
> to AIR, and again everithing work (this case not including java that will
> run on the server).
> > I really looking for to move to IntelliJ but I couldnt make all this
> work together. In the intellij website have a tutorial but didnt help to
> put all together. Do you know any tutorial about that?
> >
> > thanks
> >> Dennis, I think IntelliJ is the best IDE( much better than
> FlashBuilder)
> >> for Flash/Flex development, and I admire you have C/C++ experience,
> because
> >> FlasCC can complile C/C++ into Flash App, which is a killer feature.
> -Gary
> >>
> >>
> >> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 11:02 PM, haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and
> IMHO,
> >>> its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <
> dennis.raddle@gmail.com
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
> >>>> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
> >>>> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
> >>>>
> >>>> Dennis
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
> >>>> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most
> desktop
> >>>>> browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
> >>>> your
> >>>>> app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly
> >>> complex
> >>>>> user interactions. -Gary
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> regards,
> >>> lala
> >
>
> ________________________________
>
> Disclaimer: This electronic mail and any attachments are confidential and
> may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the
> sender immediately by replying to this email, and destroy all copies of
> this email and any attachments. Thank you.
>
Re: educational software development
Posted by Scott Matheson <sm...@intralinks.com>.
Hi
I have been developing the same educational app "units of sound" in a HyperCard type tool ToolBook for the past 16 years, 3 years ago we started the process to move this app to flex,
I have no regrets so far, however I know I may have to recode in to HTML5 in the next 3-5 years depending on how flex develops, I hope I do not have to do this, if I was starting today,I think I would have gone down the HTML5 road, HTML 5 and the supporting frameworks have come on a lot in the past 3 years
Unlike commercial software, educational software is not a highly profitable product, so we have a small team
In this market you must have a tablet version of you product, I hope to save a lot of time with the flex AIR / Tablet
I found design the hardest part of the project, until adobe gave up with flex you had so many way of approaching you project and no clear winner, now most if not all of these frameworks have gone/ past away, the road is clear, KISS, use simple MVC and stay within the simple flex frame work you can
The other big help in FLEX is the 1000's of example of how to do X Y Z on the web, and the support from this group
Scott
PS launch of units of sound UK English q4, US English Q1 CY 14' yes us Brits are coming to the US to teach you how to read :)
Sent from my iPad
On 11 Jul 2013, at 05:22, "Thiago Maia" <a0...@a00s.com> wrote:
> I using Flex/AIR+Blazeds+Tomcat+Java+MySQL in eclipse. I just press play and everithing start to work. Then to convert do AIR I just press Convert to AIR, and again everithing work (this case not including java that will run on the server).
> I really looking for to move to IntelliJ but I couldnt make all this work together. In the intellij website have a tutorial but didnt help to put all together. Do you know any tutorial about that?
>
> thanks
>> Dennis, I think IntelliJ is the best IDE( much better than FlashBuilder)
>> for Flash/Flex development, and I admire you have C/C++ experience, because
>> FlasCC can complile C/C++ into Flash App, which is a killer feature. -Gary
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 11:02 PM, haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and IMHO,
>>> its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <dennis.raddle@gmail.com
>>>> wrote:
>>>> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
>>>> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
>>>> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
>>>>
>>>> Dennis
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
>>>>> browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
>>>> your
>>>>> app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly
>>> complex
>>>>> user interactions. -Gary
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> regards,
>>> lala
>
________________________________
Disclaimer: This electronic mail and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to this email, and destroy all copies of this email and any attachments. Thank you.
Re: educational software development
Posted by Thiago Maia <a0...@a00s.com>.
I using Flex/AIR+Blazeds+Tomcat+Java+MySQL in eclipse. I just press play
and everithing start to work. Then to convert do AIR I just press
Convert to AIR, and again everithing work (this case not including java
that will run on the server).
I really looking for to move to IntelliJ but I couldnt make all this
work together. In the intellij website have a tutorial but didnt help to
put all together. Do you know any tutorial about that?
thanks
> Dennis, I think IntelliJ is the best IDE( much better than FlashBuilder)
> for Flash/Flex development, and I admire you have C/C++ experience, because
> FlasCC can complile C/C++ into Flash App, which is a killer feature. -Gary
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 11:02 PM, haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and IMHO,
>> its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <dennis.raddle@gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
>>> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
>>> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
>>>
>>> Dennis
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
>>>> browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
>>> your
>>>> app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly
>> complex
>>>> user interactions. -Gary
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> regards,
>> lala
>>
Re: educational software development
Posted by Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>.
Dennis, I think IntelliJ is the best IDE( much better than FlashBuilder)
for Flash/Flex development, and I admire you have C/C++ experience, because
FlasCC can complile C/C++ into Flash App, which is a killer feature. -Gary
On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 11:02 PM, haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com> wrote:
> sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and IMHO,
> its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <dennis.raddle@gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
> > something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
> > C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
> > > browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
> > your
> > > app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly
> complex
> > > user interactions. -Gary
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> regards,
> lala
>
Re: educational software development
Posted by haseeb ahmed <la...@gmail.com>.
sorry for interruption. haxe.org provides equally good workflow and IMHO,
its more future proof. 99% similar to as3 stuff.
On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <de...@gmail.com>wrote:
> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
> > browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
> your
> > app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly complex
> > user interactions. -Gary
> >
> >
>
--
regards,
lala
Re: educational software development
Posted by Greg Dove <gr...@gmail.com>.
If you're developing on Windows, FlashDevelop gives you a pretty good
no-cost option, and lets you code for Flash (pure as3), Flex, or Haxe
(which is really quite good and lets you directly target swf or as3 source
code, or, via OpenFL gives you swf/air/js/c++ targets from the same flash
api based Haxe code - including android and iOS ).
FlasCC gives you ways to re-use c++ code as highly optimized swf bytecode
whereas Haxe/OpenFL gives you ways to create native c++ apps using the
same/similar flash api in Haxe code.
Flex on the other hand is an awesome, fully loaded RIA "construction kit".
I use FlashBuilder mostly for Flex, but I know many (like Gary) who swear
by IntelliJ. Flex is great for certain things, but it has been criticised
in the past for being bloated and slow. And it can be. But as with most
things there are usually ways to optimize when it's possible or distract
the user when it's not. I think the main concern in the recent past was
mobile performance (and size) with Flex. These concerns are easing with the
rapid advances in the mobile space.
I use FlashDevelop primarily for Haxe, but it is also very good for pure
as3 (not so great for mxml, although it's been a long time since I tried
that, so it may now be better than it was).
Flash professional is a tool that is mainly focused on the design
elements/assets, including timeline based animations etc. But you can code
with it too, a lot of as3 developers started out with this. But most people
I know prefer to code in a dedicated editor, and based on what you
described I expect you would too, the coding support in Flash is still
quite basic.
Nothing conclusive there, just more options to consider. But if you want to
try a no-cost approach, consider giving FlashDevelop a whirl... and then
choose something more if you need it. Whether you should use Flex or not
depends on how much your app could leverage the Flex component set - not
easy to advise based on your description. If you decide not to use Flex,
then FlashDevelop might be all you need.
Greg Dove
Dove Software Development Ltd
http://greg-dove.com
On Thu, Jul 11, 2013 at 2:54 PM, Dennis Raddle <de...@gmail.com>wrote:
> Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
> something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
> C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
> > browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1)
> your
> > app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly complex
> > user interactions. -Gary
> >
> >
>
Re: educational software development
Posted by Dennis Raddle <de...@gmail.com>.
Is Flash Builder a good tool for ActionScript development, or is there
something better? I don't want to pay for more than one tool. I'm a
C++/Python programmer so I'm comfortable working in code.
Dennis
On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 7:36 PM, Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
> browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1) your
> app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly complex
> user interactions. -Gary
>
>
Re: educational software development
Posted by Gary Young <fl...@gmail.com>.
My answer is YES, Flash Platform is the only one can cross most desktop
browsers and Android/IOS apps, others are just fake. Use Flex when 1) your
app will use a lot of standard components; 2) your app has highly complex
user interactions. -Gary
On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 10:07 PM, Dennis Raddle <de...@gmail.com>wrote:
> I know very little about Flex, ActionScript, Flash, or AIR. I'm taking some
> educational software I developed in Python/Qt on Windows, and I want to
> rewrite it with Adobe's stuff so it can run on iOS and Android.
>
> I'm trying to get a feel for which tools will be useful to me. Right now
> I'm working with the book "Flex 4.5 Fundamentals: Training From the
> Source." I notice that the examples in the book are geared toward RIA's,
> while my software will not have any Internet features to speak of. It's
> more like a very simple game (some 2D animation, drawings, fonts) on a
> desktop. At this point I'm not sure if Flex is even useful to me, or if I
> will end up writing this purely in ActionScript. I don't know if Flash
> Builder will be useful to me for that.
>
> So, given that my app uses fonts, some simple graphics and 2D animation,
> and given that I want it to run on iOS and Android, which of the Adobe
> tools do you think I'll end up using?
>
> Dennis
>