I think the other important point about components is the usability
factor.
It's about having a consistent user experience across different Flash
applications, which can only really happen we use the same components.
Otherwise behaviours change from application to application and the
user has no real idea how applications are going to behave.
This already causes problems with Flash, so the fact that there is a
standard component library is at least attempting to address it is a
very good thing in my opinion.
Perhaps that framework needs refining over time, but the more people
use the same components with the same behaviours the better; it's not
just about using them because they're quick or easy.
Sam
On 25 Nov 2006, at 22:45, Michael Bedar wrote:
Using a component someone else made to suit a general audience is
almost always going to be less good than creating a custom
component for a specific task/project, given a sufficiently skilled
developer, no matter how good the general component is. So if you
use a 3rd party component, it should be because you lack the time,
skill and/or desire to create it yourself. Using a set of
components extends this idea, where now the set is even less likely
to perfectly suit the task at hand, but also the work required and
skill needed to instead create manually all components needed
increases as well.
I have never personally used any component sets, but that is only
about 90% practicality, and 10% stubbornness in my own partial
estimation. There are certainly a few sets out there that seem
eminently usable, and now the Flex 2 framework presents us with a
very tempting basis for development, but I am very uncomfortable
with the idea of using code in my projects that I have not written,
since it seems like a somewhat slippery slope. I am getting to the
point where I am contemplating using 3rd party libraries, which is
less invasive than components, but still something that did not
exist a few years ago.. but if one looks at the wonderful 3D Flash
libraries coming out now; they have gained a level of complexity
where I have to admit that I am not interested in trying to produce
a functional equivalent on my own.
Mike
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