Adobe Flex
Adobe Flex
Create rich internet applications with MXML and Actionscript 3.
Based on the Adobe Flash platform, Adobe Flex is a collection of technologies dispensed by Adobe Systems for the enhancement and distribution of cross platform rich Internet applications. Macromedia released the first version of this software in 2004. That version came with an IDE, a software development kit, and Flex Data Services, which is a J2EE integration application. When Macromedia was acquired by Adobe in 2005, the later versions of Flex did not need a license for Flex Data Services anymore, which has turned into a separate product and has been renamed as Live Cycle Data Services. Adobe Flex improves the interactivity of the web. Applications that are created using Adobe Flex turn out to be more expressive, of high quality, and work well with all web browsers and operating systems.
Flex is a radically reworked Flash that is built around two major languages. These languages include the MXML, which stands for Macromedia eXtensible Markup Language and is a declarative language that is used for describing application interfaces that are based on Flash. The other language is the ActionScript 3. It is a reworked version of the scripting language of Flash, which is enhanced to be at par with today's higher programming standards.
Adobe wants more people to use Flex, which is why the company decided to make the Adobe Flex software development kit open source. This means that users can create their own Flex apps for free using any code editor to try the software out. Most serious users, however, will certainly be happy to buy something that will give them a dedicated solution. For these users, there's the Flex Builder, which provides a dedicated IDE so that individuals can work with ActionScript 3 and MXML.
Instead of creating a whole new platform for Flex, Adobe works with already existing open standards, which is why the Adobe Flex Builder is based on the cross-platform, open source Eclipse IDE. This kind of environment has one central application window, which allow users to switch between Source and Design view for coding or designing. This window is surrounded by different panels that act as tools for navigation in case users want to set properties, view errors, and do other tasks.
