Flash Point: Macromedia MX Tool Packs Quite a Punch

Flash's core graphical functionality has been in place since its inception. Development and programming tasks are tough to learn, however, because of the software's non-linear nature. Flash's user interface (UI) paradigm is alien to programmers that are used to interacting with event-based APIs that incorporate complex graphics functions and execute at the operating-system layer. Solution providers can resell Flash or use it to develop custom software applications. The difficulty for integrators will be in locating customers who need this kind of rich functionality.

Panes in Flash are time-driven graphical layers that execute on a frame-by-frame basis. Within a frame, developers can add events based on many programmatic factors, including user response and time. Each timeline contains a series of frames that execute based on user-defined frame speed. When these timelines are combined into a movie clip, developers can generate stunning UIs with rich functionality.

Flash's UI technology is far superior to HTML, Java's native UI API and other Java APIs that work in conjunction with HTML. However, Flash's incredible graphical freedom is not conducive to large-scale projects unless developers use its native scripting language, ActionScript. MX 2004 incorporates the latest version of ActionScript, version 2.0, which adheres to ECMAScript's 4.0 standard, although it is not yet fully compliant. ActionScript 2.0 now has key features such as object creation using classes, inheritance and abstract data types. While previous versions of ActionScript are still supported, they are not recommended because procedural code structures are difficult to maintain, especially when working in a team environment. ActionScript 2.0 will help developers move away from long, complicated strings of "spaghetti code" by monitoring code more closely during development and debugging.

For security reasons, Flash applications cannot perform local file I/O in a user's PC. Instead, objects are stored in a local cache file. This storage file can hold any generic object and acts as a miniature database. The cache can also be used to exchange data between movies at runtime on the same PC. Macromedia also offers Macromedia Central, a desktop runtime environment for Flash that does not require a browser to run Flash applications. Macromedia Central also allows applications to pass information to clients through its runtime environment to distribute updates.

To attract traditional corporate developers, Macromedia provides a structured server-based Java application called Flex that acts as a development framework. Developers can use Flex to combine Flash with Markup XML (MXML) and create Web front ends. XML tags act as the glue to piece together application components using a visual layout mechanism. While Flex follows stricter and simpler UI design and coding routines than Flash, developers can still use ActionScript to add interaction between client-side graphical fields and enterprise systems.

The concept of forms, long used in Visual Basic to represent states of an application, is now part of ActionScript and is referred to as screens. Developers can instantiate forms and assign classes that bind together when the application compiles.

Flash MX 2004 Professional costs $699. Although Macromedia does not have a formal channel program, there are a number of tools and support for integrators and developers using MX 2004. Macromedia's Web site offers a number of sample applications and explanations of best coding practices. The company also has a code-exchange site for developers who wish to share components. These tools can help solution providers that want to set themselves up as ISVs or that create and integrate Flash applications on behalf of customers. Macromedia also provides MX 2004 updates on its developer site. CHANNEL PROGRAM SNAPSHOTS
>Flash MX 2004 Professional

COMPANY: Macromedia, Inc.
San Francisco, Calif.
(415) 252-2000
www.macromedia.com
DISTRIBUTORS: Direct from vendor
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