I agree with the fact that Flash has been quite limited in terms of
being able to debug an Flash app/site since it does not reveal what the
errors syntax errors are. With Flash 5, if there was an error that the
.swf encountered at runtime it would simply display a message to the
user that a script error was causing the Flash movie to run slowly. I
think Macromedia has addressed this issue in MX by allowing you to step
through lines in actionscript to determine where errors may be before
the swf is actually deployed. This would prove to be quite handy to
test each line of syntax and view results in sequence. This would be
much very similar to tracing each step of a CF app and using <cfabort>
to break the code being processed. I assume that a responsible
developer/designer would not deploy an app to the public unless
scripting issues were resolved. If you were developing a CF app, you
probably wouldn't want to leave any unresolved errors that would be
exposed to the public, so the same should go for Flash.
The beauty of Flash is that it is browser and platform independent and
can exist as a stand-alone app. Okay, maybe it does run a bit slow on a
Mac... well actually quite slow, but it still functions. If there are
script errors, the then the Flash app should not leave the development
stage. This is especially true for XML issues. There are many different
parsers out there... SAX, NITRO, and it is hard to tell which ones work
best.
Some of the best Flash/XML coding that I've seen has come from ZincRoe
... www.zincroe.com. Check up on their work, because the have some
really amazing timeline/xml based projects on the go. From my
experience, Flash works best with XML nodes that use node attributes
rather than just individual nodes for items of data... ie.
<cfloop query="get">
<cfoutput>
<DIRECTOR>
<INFO id="#get.DirectorID#" firstname="#get.firstName#"
lastname="#get.lastName#"></INFO>
<GENRES one="#get.Genre1#" two="#get.Genre2#"
three="#get.Genre3#" four="#get.Genre4#" five="#get.Genre5#"
six="#get.Genre6#"></GENRES>
<OTHER camera="#get.DirectorCamera#"
affiliate="#get.Affiliate#"></OTHER>
</DIRECTOR>
</cfoutput>
</cfloop>
as opposed to.....
<cfloop query="get">
<cfoutput>
<DIRECTOR>
<ID>#get.DirectorID#</ID>
<FIRSTNAME>#get.firstName#</FIRSTNAME>
<LASTNAME>#get.lastName#</LASTNAME>
<GENRE>
<Genre1>#get.Genre1#</Genre1>
<Genre2>#get.Genre2#</Genre2>
<Genre3>#get.Genre3#</Genre3>
<Genre4>#get.Genre4#</Genre4>
<Genre5>#get.Genre5#</Genre5>
<Genre6>#get.Genre6#</Genre6>
</GENRE>
<DIRECTORCAMERA>#get.DirectorCamera#</DIRECTORCAMERA>
<AFFILIATE>#get.Affiliate#</AFFILIATE>
</DIRECTOR>
</cfoutput>
</cfloop>
The marriage of Flash MX and CF6 is very exciting because this means
that two powerful development tools are finally going to come together
and allow for an entirely new level of application development. I have
always wanted to see the day when you could make a CF query inside Flash
and use duplicate movie clip to output the results as opposed to
ouputing the data in CF and loading it in via URLencoded data, XML or
Generator templates. Actually I have seen this done before (SQL selects
inside of Flash) but it did involve some additional configuration on the
server to make it work.
I think what is important is that the two products are now part of a
family. Both have unique qualities, yet combined provide an extremely
powerful and compelling method of application development and site
design.
I think we have a lot to look forward to, and as CF developers have a
great advantage over other developers because many of us have been
anticipating this for a long time.
zzz
Nolan
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On
Behalf Of Marcus Augustus
Sent: March 8, 2002 7:55 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [CFTALKTor] Flash MX is announced
Well I suppose its that same lost feeling you get when developing a lot
of
script based languages, but more so in the case of Flash since there is
very
little debug information that you can rely on. This is heighted when
you
move flash to an environment (plug-in runtime) where the debug window is
not
available.
This largely has to do with development processes, something that our
company has been improving with time.
We have also overcome a number of other hurdles, although which seemed
large
at the time now are built into our solution base. These largely stem
from
bugs in Flash plug-in, which vary from OS to OS and browser to browser.
The
new XML apis haven't exactly been a barrel of laughs either, with some
major
glaring bugs in its implementation, we have found some cement to plug
the
holes.
All in all I know that the Flash and Server marriage has still a way to
go
before reaching some seblance of stability, but I am still optimistic
for
its future for web client side applications.
-marcus
----Original Message Follows----
From: "Dave Yang" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: RE: [CFTALKTor] Flash MX is announced
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 17:10:16 -0500
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>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed, 06 Mar 2002 14:13:46 -0800
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Hi Marcus,
> Therefore you have 2 camps... those that develop on the server side,
and
> those that develop on the client side.
In most cases, this is unfortunate but true - the two sides are heavily
dependent on each other.
> Flash has a great interface for developing time-frame based
animations
> with support for many forms of image and audio mediums. However, the
> "programming" part has left me with that hollow feeling.
To many, Flash is for animation and intros. However, since Flash 5 came
along, many hardcore programmers (myself included) have jumped onto the
bandwagon because it offers a relatively powerful programming language.
In fact, many important programming methodologies for building
applications
is possible in Flash's ActionScript: OOP, class/instance, inheritance,
polymorphism, listeners, event models, design patterns...etc. With Flash
MX,
support is even better for building web applications.
I agree (as with most things) ActionScript has room for improvement, but
I'm
curious which part has left you with a hollow feeling?
> That being said, I have yet to test out the new features of MX, so
perhaps
> there is something still to get excited about.
As a developer, I'm very excited about Flash MX (even after four months
of
using it). From a designer's standpoint, it is also very exciting as it
offers tons of new features. I'm sure most would agree when it is
released
in just a few days.
The bigger picture is yet to be announced though. Getting comfortable in
both client-side and server-side is definitely be an asset.
Dave Yang - Quantumwave Interactive Inc.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://www.quantumwave.com
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