Flex Template
Flash IDE Vs Flex Builder 3 - Why Use Flex?
By Eric Rowell
For those of you hearing about Flex for the first time, you may be asking "what's so special about Flex, and why should I use it instead of the Flash IDE?" Well I can help with that.
So what's Flex anyways?
Flex is a framework developed by Adobe that enables developers to more easily develop RIA's (Rich Internet Applications). The Flash IDE is great for creating animations and spiffy visual effects for web applications, but often times it is very tedious to create simple web forms and charts. The world is beginning to realize that web users want more and more flashy web interfaces, which has caused a lot of web developers to spend a ton of time in the Flash IDE (hence the creation of Flex).
When should you use Flex?
If you are creating web applications that use heavy flash, and you also want to use form components like text boxes and radio buttons, or you want to use other advanced web elements like data grids or charting, you definitely need to try out Flex. The Flex SDK is free to download, but you have to pay for Flex Builder 3 ($249 for the Standard edition and $699 for the professional edition). If you are serious about Flash development, I highly recommend purchasing at least the Standard edition. The Professional edition comes with alot of extra graphing and charting components. You can download the Flex Builder 3 free trial here:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=flexbuilder3
Good Luck!
Eric Rowell (cofounder of http://www.adollo.com )
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