Why not choose Ajax-Flex Newbie asks why Flex
A name mabrams_us netizens in the mailinglist flexcoders consult all the views on the use of flex (why one should invest in learning Flex as a career move opposed to focusing on other technologies.)
So there are two users made a wonderful answer, I think that a more classic, now picked out for everyone to share.
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Boy_trike:
Let me give you some of the reasons why I have decided to embrace FLEX as our featured
Development tool (notice I did not say RIA tool, but development tool.) I have been
Building custom data-centric solutions for about a zillion years (ok, over 30 anyway) and
Always am on the lookout for a new and better tool. My friends call me "database of the
Month club "since I keep trying, switching, and switching back from all of the latest and
Greatest solutions. (Tried AJAX, but did not find the right toolset yet.) The reasons are:
FLEX FEATURES
Flex's main advantage is the agility it adds to building a rich user interface with database
Connectivity.
O Allows a graphic artist to work on the UI
O Easy customization
O Better use of screen real-estate
O Can eliminate overlapping windows
O Users attention can be focused / directed
O PC
O Web
O Phone??
O Expect library of components to be released
O Can connect to other server objects
O Can connect to Web services
O Eclipse IDE is open and expandable
O Support / Training
O Inexpensive Toolkit
O Free Runtime
Good luck with whatever you decide to embrace, but DO embrace it. (As someone once
Asked me, how can a computer programmer drive a Porsche? I said its easy, just be the
Best at something!
Bruce
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Grant Davies:
I've done user interfaces in C, C + +, C #, Pascal, Java (its its 20 million gui frameworks). NET, VB etc .. etc ..
I started programming GUI's in flash about 3 or 4 years ago, and still doing my backend development in java,. Net or php. Flash gives me the user experience I'm after, the rich, cool looking user interface that allows me to create on line applications, instead of websites that are inferior to desktop apps when built in html.
AJAX is lipstick on the pig, its still ugly as hell under the covers, and hard to debug and doesn't run consistently across browsers. I personally dislike it with a vengeance, updating div tags on the fly is once of the lamest solutions to a rich UI I've ever seen.
Flex is flash with a strong architecture, a stronger language (as3), a traditional programming environment (similar to jsp or asp.net development) and a very rich suite of controls, and its aimed at programmers and its easier to learn than the flash IDE since is similar to other language development environments.
For graphics heavy apps I'll probably still use flash, for online data centric applications I'll use flex, and use flash for the fancier components that need fancy graphics or effects. I personally can't wait for the flex component explosion that happened to VB and will happen to flex ..
Flex will reduce my flash development cycle for real applications by about 30 percent since I won't have to keep building all my own components.
Cheers,
Grant
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