Thanks for the reply. It sounds like a bit of a hodgepodge. If you use FlexBuilder, then it probably seems alot like VB, right?
If you are building a new app, for data visualization, for example, then you most likely build it like a VB app, and don't use Flash at all, except maybe by incorporating some of the animation classes? Again, much like a VB app, but web based. Am I correct? One of the weaknesses of VB was that it was difficult to seperate the appearance of the UI from the logic behind it, because the GUI controls were defined in the same file as the event handlers (by default). Is this also true with Flex? If I want an interface file that the designers can "prettify" without stepping on the developers toes and visa versa, is Flex going to do that for me? If not, do you know of a product that will? Thanks, - Gardner On Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 2:34 PM, valdhor <[email protected]>wrote: > > > Basically (And someone, please correct me if I'm wrong), Flex is just a > framework of ActionScript classes to create user interface components. They > handle much of the groundwork for you so you don't have to. > > MXML is a markup language that allows you to write an application using an > XML like language. When you compile the application, MXML code is converted > to ActionScript and then the ActionScript code is compiled into a SWF that > runs in the virtual machine of the Flash Plug-In. If you don't want to use > MXML, you don't have to - you can write the entire application in > ActionScript. > > So, this is the way I think of it: Flash is for designers who want to > create graphics and move them around on screen. It still has the underlying > Actionscript available to program different user interface events but the > timeline is key. Flex is for programmers who want to design user interfaces > for data centric applications. User interface events are key. Animation is > available from various classes. > > HTH > > Steve > > > --- In [email protected] <flexcoders%40yahoogroups.com>, > "gardnerpomper" <gard...@...> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I have been reading web posts (starting with Bruce Eckels a while ago) > about Flex and the more I read the more confused I get. Let me summarize > what I think I have learned and then maybe the more knowledgeable here can > correct me and point me to a write up that makes more sense. > > > > It sounds like Flex is really just Actionscript 3 wrapped in XML, which > uses MXML for layout. All the examples I have looked at in the Tour de FLEX > seem to be just a scripting language that runs in the Adobe Flash web plugin > (yes, I have heard of Adobe Air, but just to keep it simple, lets stay with > the browser). > > > > I am not sure how all this actually relates to Flash. I have never done > Flash development (I am a server side guy, mostly, with some VB and C# on > windows), but my impression is that Flash is an animation package, with > timelines and layers and stuff. What does that have to do with Flex, other > than having the Flex VM in the Flash player? > > > > I appreciate whatever overview you can point to. All the docs I find > describe the bits and pieces; I can't find how they fit together so that I > can get a better feeling on what it is good for. > > > > Thanks, > > - Gardner Pomper > > > > >
