Sid Ferreira wrote:
I know this isn't actually an Adobe Flex / Adobe Flash Builder list
(actually, if you know a good one, forward me),
I don't know how anyone on a flashcoders list could possibly miss
flexcoders, or the adobe flex forums.. ;-)
but today a client sent a
briefing asking the website to be done in Adobe Flex.
Once it will need CEO and it isn't for small audiences, we plan to deny it,
but then I got the doubt: Are there good websites made in flex?
Here is a link of a website made for us using flash technology, and it's
what we would like to do: http://www.florense.com
Very nice site.
I can see that you've had a fair number of responses, though in my
opinion they mostly miss the point of using Flex completely. I would
agree that the flex IDE is better than the Flash one, but that doesn't
make Flex a replacement for Flash.
In a simplistic comparison of the Flex and Flash IDE, the Flash IDE
supports a way of working with graphical assets presented using a
timeline and layer metaphor with good support for the production of
bespoke graphics for animation. In comparison the FlexBuilder (cough,
Flash Builder) IDE does not offer good support for the production of
such graphical assets, but is oriented towards the creation of software
interfaces using inbuilt and bespoke components without the use of a
timeline.
On that basis,for most of the tasks Flash is used for, Flex would appear
to be quite inferior, but in practice the FlexBuilder IDE has a far
superior debugger and development environment for actionscript projects
or component based interfaces.
Flash is complimetary to flex rather than a direct competitor for it
since it is strong on animation, the timeline metaphor and the
production of sophisticated graphical assets via the IDE. Flash
developed assets are often incorporated into Flex projects.
So why bother with Flex? The answer is that is far easier to produce
software interfaces using it than with Flash. The reasons are below.
Flex offers sophisticated layout managers that are missing from Flash,
so that the display of multiple assets in a table or grid is a matter of
adding a component rather than rolling your own. There is a
sophisticated table (datagrid) component and charting options. The ide
supports the use of state-based interface development and the
development of interfaces can be achieved via the designer interface,
mxml (a tagged representation of components, rather like xhtml), or
actionscript. As well as this, Flex supports binding between components
allowing data changes to be propagated between components. Flex also
excels at transitions and effects. You can build quite sophisticated
things in Flex with very little actionscript, just by assembling
components and binding them to data providers.
So a broad brush comparison sees Flex as suitable for applications that
do "real work and data manipulation" rather than the eye candy often
associated with Flash, though there is a huge crossover - Flash can be
used for sophisticated application and indeed Flex can provide the eye
candy.
The provision of layout managers and interface components in Flex means
that if you use them, the swf size is generally much larger than swf
produced by the Flash IDE - it's simply that the components themselves
have a lot of code in them that become part of the resultant swf. If
your client is looking for a 100K swf for their website, you won't be
using Flex with the layout managers or datagrid.
I would also venture that the ethos of Flex is towards enterprise
development in teams.
I hope my bad description is helpful. I think Adobe messed up with the
production of Flash Builder, which must be really confusing to many
people who haven't used Flash and Flex already.
Paul
Thanks in advance!
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