Flex Builder without Flex Builder
One nice feature of Flex Builder is the design view mode where you can visually create your UI’s dragging and dropping UI components onto a canvas. If your Flex workflow doesn’t include Flex Builder (ie. you work from the command line) you should check out FLEXible. It is a sweet Flex application by John Grden that lets you visually create your MXML for use in your Flex projects. Check out the screencast to see how cool this is.
it’s about time flexbuilder had some competiton. compared to some other IDE’s, the thing is barely adequate and buggy. and part of that is because it’s on the eclipse platform. I tolerate it because it’s better than notepad.
it really smacks of something thrown together quickly - even the earlier Dreamweaver-variation worked better in parts.
Why two companies who’s core business is creating tools would allow Flexbuilder to be released as it is is beyond me. And the adobe fanboys who sing Flexbuilder’s praises really should get out more and see what else exists as a level of quality for developer tools.
I look forward to trying out FLEXible.
No disrespect to John - but I’ve found FLEXible to be less then a workable solution. Sure it’s a cool novelty to play with a bit but when it comes to serious Flex development it’s just not there yet. Can it be? Yes - I think eventually it can. But it needs some serious resources thrown behind it before it gets there.
That’s the great thing about the Flex framework. You aren’t tied to using Flex Builder if you don’t want to. No matter what your opinions are on Builder itself, you do have to give Adobe credit for allowing devs to set their own development workflow. That being said, as a full-time Flex developer ,I can’t imagine developing my RIA’s outside of the Eclipse (Flex Builder) environment. This IDE gives me access to most of the language development plugins and utilities I need: Flex, Java, Velocity, Ruby on Rails, XHTML/JavaScript, SVN, etc…, all in one place.
It also really pays to invest some time to learn how to properly install, optimize, and work with Eclipse (Flex Builder). Eclipse can be somewhat of a resource hog - so depending on how you’re working in it, and the box you are developing on, you may run into some trouble (keep up-to-date with your updates as well). Eclipse is much more powerful than Dreamweaver, so the learning curve is a bit steeper, but the payoff though is well worth it.
No offense Nathaneal, but developers shouldn’t have to learn the ins and outs of the Eclipse platform just to use the Flex Builder IDE. It was Adobe’s choice to go with Eclipse. As such, the onus is upon *Adobe* to make sure it Just Works. I felt cheated having to drop $500 on Flex Builder, in the current state it is in. But if you want to develop in Flex, it’s unfortunately the best thing going right now. The thing is slow, doesn’t have the tools other IDEs like Visual Studio has, and hell, you can’t even customize your code coloring without getting in and hand-editing files deep in the bowels of Eclipse. All I can say is, Adobe better have a significant price discount on Flex Builder 3 for owners of FB2.
* developers shouldn’t have to learn the ins and outs of the Eclipse platform just to use the Flex Builder IDE*
Many web developers are already familiar with eclipse and use it in some capacity in their development routine, especially if they work with java. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not easy to learn, and it’s probably overkill for someone who wants to use a drag-and-drop workflow, or straight mxml. However, for complex aspects of fx application development, especially if you are developing in tandum with other language frameworks, you need an ide that will support you.
* the onus is upon *Adobe* to make sure it Just Works*
The onus is on individual developers to know something about the tools they are working with. If it is slow, do some reseach, find out why, find other people online who are experiencing the same issues. Is there a solution? If yes, then implement, if no then contact Adobe support - part of the $500 you paid them includes support so make sure you take advantage of it. For example, if you drop $15,000 on a corolla and it runs slow - it’s not enough to make a general statement like “toyota makes crappy cars” without spending the time necessary to investigate the problem. The logical reaction would be to take the car back to the dealership to find out what the problem is and how to fix it - is it a problem with the model, is it an isolated problem that can be fixed, or is it human error (not pressing the gas pedal far enough).
*I felt cheated having to drop $500 on Flex Builder*
Adobe offers a 30-day free, uncrippled trial of FB. Running the trial should give developers a reasonably good idea as to what FB’s performance and the feature set is before they purchase FB.
*Adobe better have a significant price discount on Flex Builder 3 for owners of FB2*
I believe it’s called an “upgrade”.
Eric,
If I was using Eclipse in its default, open source format, then sure, I would expect to have to tinker around with it, just as one has to tinker around with Linux. But you see, I expect that when I pay $500 for an IDE, it should be professional, well-oiled, and solid, because I paid someone to develop and fine-tune that software. The basic functionality of FB should be fast and intuitive, not like you’re stuck in stop-and-go traffic. This is a completely different point than whether the IDE is extendable and “deep” — I would certainly expect non-standard uses to require tinkering.
When I said I felt cheated, I did not mean that I was tricked into buying FB — I did use the trial and knew full-well what I was getting into. What I meant was, this is the only real product available for creating Flex projects. Yes, you can write MXML and AS3 files in your favorite text editor, but nothing comes close to the integration with the Flex workflow like FB does. So I felt forced into buying and using it, even though I don’t think it is worth $500. Hopefully with the open sourcing of the Flex compiler, we’ll see better IDEs become available. But that doesn’t change the fact that Adobe put out a substandard product.
And when I said “significant price discount”, I meant upgrade as in 50 bucks, not $299. I expect some goodwill for funding their beta program.
[...] Flex Builder without Flex Builder - If your Flex workflow doesn?t include Flex Builder (ie. you work from the command line) you should check out FLEXible. It is a sweet Flex application by John Grden that lets you visually create your MXML for use in your Flex projects [...]
No offense Nathaneal, but developers shouldn’t have to learn the ins and outs of the Eclipse platform just to use the Flex Builder IDE. It was Adobe’s choice to go with Eclipse. As such, the onus is upon *Adobe* to make sure it Just Works. I felt cheated having to drop $500 on Flex Builder, in the current state it is in. But if you want to develop in Flex, it’s unfortunately the best thing going right now. The thing is slow, doesn’t have the tools other IDEs like Visual Studio has, and hell, you can’t even customize your code coloring without getting in and hand-editing files deep in the bowels of Eclipse. All I can say is, Adobe better have a significant price discount on Flex Builder 3 for owners of FB2.
Adobe makes it sound like you can either buy Flex Builder OR download a Flex plugin for Eclipse, but its a lie. You must either install Flex Builder (which is Eclipse packaged with their plugin) and then buy a registration code for it OR install Eclipse yourself and then install their plugin and buy a registration code for it. They ought to make that more obvious on their download site. I was under the impression that they offered a free version of the IDE. I’m glad FLEXible exists….I just wish I knew where to get the Flash9 Standalone player so I could use it.