Live Blogging The Future of Web Apps
part VI
Andrew Shorten
adobe.com
Andrew is talking about Flex, an alternative to AJAX. Must admit that upfront, this presentation feels a tad bit like a product placement. Told the guy next to me that if this were Google search result, there would be some kind of disclaimer.
Don't get me wrong ... The web would be a mighty boring place without Flash. I like it and have used it before. I'm just saying that it is a hard sell. To his credit, he prefaced his talk by saying that this is a pre-release conversation designed to involve the dev community in the process. On the other hand, he came down pretty hard on Firefox at one point, and I've got to think that this is not the right crowd to get people to say, "more Macromedia, less Firefox."
Quote from Macromedia Flex site:
The Flex product line delivers a standards-based programming methodology and runtime services for developing and deploying the presentation tier of applications that combine the richness of the desktop with the reach of the web: Rich Internet Applications.
Flex uses AJAX standards, so people can move back and forth. - AJAX is limited by the browser
- Not designed for high-performance UI rendering
- Limited UI controls
- True write once, cross-browser/cross platform delivery is still a dream
- Lack of integrated audio/video applications
- No bi-directional real-time messaging support
- Data connectivity limited to XML over HTTP
- No local data storage for online/offline browsing
- Difficult to make accessible ( screen reader support)
Now, Andrew is telling the audience how great Flash is.
Flex enables developers to build applications that deploy to the Flash player.
Andrew has gone into code mode, and as you know, I don't comment on code.
Beyond AJAX: When to use Flex
Guided Service
Media Rich Applications
Data Management/Composite Applications
Data Visualization/Collaboration
Free of charge client-side player (Flash player)
Free of charge SDK
(Optional) free of charge Flex Enterprise Services server
Charge for Flex builder
Final plug: Flex ... AJAX on steroids and Vista on a diet.
Note: I'd love to hear what people have to say about Flex. I'm no developer, but over on TechCrunch, Michael Arrington writes about the new AJAX functionality being rolled into Live.com. Sure seems to contradict some of the limitations that Andrew mentions above, doesn' t it? Got something to say? Email me at george(at)i-boy(dot)com.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
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