David,
Thank you so much for yor positive spin on this. After only reading the
negative responses it was very easy to agree with them. But you point out
some great positives about this situation. (Not that there aren't some
obvious negatives, but there ARE some stiking positives)
I am a long-time CF developer that was just in the process of tackling
Spectra and was originally discouraged from doing so. But you've made some
points that make believe it is still worth my time.
Thanks
Jeff Zubeck
PrimeDNA
>
> I'm glad the basic data is out as I've had to stifle my excitement for the
> last week and a half since we first learned about the new initiative and
> direction -- it was particularily hard to keep quiet while following the
> "spectra going away?" thread.
>
> I believe this is an exciting development. Ever since we started working
> with Spectra at about Beta 5, the core of all the work we've done has been
> centered around the Content Object API (COAPI). That was the key shift of
> view for us that changed the way we thought about and built web sites.
It's
> great to now know that it is continuing AND is being improved. (Truth be
> told, we first got excited about what became the COAPI when Charles
visited
> the DC CFUG to demonstrate the new Allaire web site about a year before
> Spectra was even code named Tempest. He wanted feedback on the look and
feel
> of the new site and all we were interested in was the cool backend admin
> technology he was using to build pages by invoking methods.)
>
> I think Spectra has been (and will continue to be) a good implementation
of
> the COAPI. But I also think it can evolve.
>
> The prospect of working with a COAPI that is tightly integrated with the
CF
> Server, runs with the performance of Java and opens the door to the entire
> world of J2EE is very appealing. I just wish it was here NOW! :-)
>
> Over the last week we evaluated our current projects and briefed our
current
> customers on this evolution and in the course of that, a couple of things
> became clear:
>
> 1) None of our projects were waiting for additional functionality that we
> hoped might get included in a future version of Spectra. With 1.5, pretty
> much all the key features we wanted were included (notably versioning). Of
> course, we wanted bugs fixed and incremental improvements. But we haven't
> been waiting for new, fundamental functionality. I think the Community
> Source program -- especially with Ray at the helm -- will ensure the
Spectra
> code does move forward, that bugs are fixed and that we do get our
> incremental improvements.
>
> In connection with this we realized that our current (and upcoming)
> customers are not going to HAVE to move to the new code if they don't want
> to -- they will be able to stay with Spectra for the expected life of
their
> apps if they choose. Or they can move if they want to or if they see
> advantages to it for their particular app.
>
> 2) We realized that our current skill sets are NOT going to expire. Moving
> from build web sites the old fashion way to using the COAPI was a leap.
> Moving from the Spectra implementation of the COAPI to a Java-based
> implementation of the COAPI will (likely) just be a step.
>
> 3) We found our customers shared our excitement about the prospects for a
> future J2EE COAPI. In at least one case, the customer suggested to us
> advantages of the J2EE future we didn't know about -- other projects they
> are working on that will likely be helped by the new environment.
>
> 4) It appears that many of the Macromedia people we've worked with as
> Spectra developers are going to continue to be involved in the forward
> motion of both Spectra and its new incarnation (Charles, Libby and Ray in
> particular come to mind). I think this bodes well for the future.
>
> No doubt there will be issues to work through, but it seems to me that the
> evolution of the core of what made Spectra so appealing is a good thing.
> And, so far, our developers and clients seem to share that view.
>
> David Aden
> Webworld Studios
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Charles Teague [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Monday, April 23, 2001 5:20 PM
> To: Spectra-Talk
> Subject: The Future of Spectra
>
>
> Hi everyone. We really appreciate everyone's patience over the last few
> weeks. There has been a lot of discussion and concern over the future of
> Spectra, and I think that the time is right to shed some light on what we
> are thinking.
>
> As you know, Spectra provides developers with a broad set of functionality
> and technology. Enough so, sometimes its breadth proves daunting.
> Fundamental to the entire product, however, is its foundation - the
content
> object API. In 1996, when I first started working on Allaire's website,
the
> foundational change that I went through was around thinking about the site
> as composed of 'content objects.' Over the last 5 years, this core concept
> has been revised, revolutionized, improved, and expanded. Spectra has been
> the product that carried this concept forward. This concept, and the
content
> object API, have been the most compelling pieces of Spectra since its
> inception.
>
> Macromedia's goal is to make dynamic content technology like the content
> object API pervasive, approachable, and cost effective for our developers.
> To help us better achieve this, we plan to incorporate key components of
> Spectra technology - a Java-based version of the COAPI architecture and
> other services directly related to dynamic content - into the application
> server, as well as delivering next generation dynamic content technologies
> such as end-user content contribution and team production through a series
> of new product initiatives. This means that version 1.5 will be Spectra's
> last feature additive release - we'll invest our resources in making the
> core technology that we move into our application server and visual tools
> faster, easier, and better.
>
> Macromedia will continue to support Spectra via a community source model,
> on-going technical support, training, and consulting, as well as having a
> team of engineers working on bug fixes and quality assurance for community
> source submissions. Spectra will continue to be offered for sale, using
our
> partners as the primary sales channel. We also will do our best to give
you
> early access to technology previews, alphas, and betas of the new
> technologies already under development.
>
> In the world we live and work in, technology changes constantly, we've all
> thrived because of our ability to adapt to change. This is no different -
a
> change for the Spectra Product Group, and for every developer, customer
and
> partner out there who has invested their valuable time and mind share into
> Spectra. While I understand the challenge that a change like this can
pose,
> I am extremely optimistic. The core vision of the Spectra technology is
> compelling - the opportunity to make this technology available to more
> developers, cheaper, and better, is a chance that I relish. I hope you
> share my optimism through this time of change.
>
> You can direct questions and comments to a couple of places:
> 1) Via Phone at:
> 866-236-1146 (North America Toll Free)
> 800-25524731, (International Toll Free)
> 617-219-3010 (Direct Dial Long Distance)
> 2) Via Email:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> I can speak for the Spectra Product Group and Macromedia when I say how
much
> we value the community of developers that use our products. Spectra is no
> exception. We have an incredible community, and one that we want to
> continue.
>
> -c
>
> -------------------------------------------
> Charles Teague
> Director, Engineering
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> -------------------------------------------
>
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