Adobe Flex for Web Applications

Posted by TJ Downes at 9:39 AM
0 comments - Categories: Technical Articles | Cool Stuff

In a few of our articles we have discussed Rich Internet Applications and Adobe Flex. In this post we will get more in-depth with Flex and give you a better idea of what Flex is, how it works, and why we feel it is an excellent solution to build your web applications.

Simply put, Flex allows developers to create applications that offer a rich user interface and a host of multimedia capabilities on the Adobe Flash platform. Most internet users are used to Flash as the pretty intro movies to websites, or flashy sites that offer smooth animations and sound. For example, if you have Flash installed and browse to Adobe's website homepage you will notice a very nicely done header with clean animations, video, audio or a combination of all three. This is an example of using the Flash platform to create rich multimedia experiences that run on any operating system and browser supported by Flash. Since Flash is installed on over 90% of desktop computers worldwide it has become a widely accepted format for delivering content.

Now, leveraging the Flash platform, developers can also build applications which allow us to create very user friendly interfaces that are fast and visually appealing. Additionally, displaying multimedia assets such as video and audio are quick and easy and the developer no longer has to worry about plugins and platform support.

A good example of this are the backend tools we built for the Roxie Cinema. The Roxie Cinema had a need to have a tool to manage the data which published movie information and showtimes to the site.


Additionally, they wanted to be able to publish multimedia assets such as audio, video and images without the worry of plugin support. As part of the requirement editors had to be able to preview these assets after uploading them. Utilizing Flex and Flash we would build an integrated solution without the need for expensive third-party tools and develop these tools quickly and at a relatively low cost to the client. The result has been a tool that allows management of all the website data via a single attractive user interface that is very responsive.

Additionally Flex easily integrates with many back-end technologies including ColdFusion, PHP, Java and .NET. Because of this it has become rapidly adopted by developers of many disciplines.

One of the most exciting capabilities of the Flex platform is the ability to push data to the user with LiveCycle Data Services. A good example of this might be an application which allows remote users to collaborate in real time on a document.

Let's say Kyle and Stan are working on a document that outlines a fundraiser event for Kenny's family, who's home was destroyed by Mecha-Streisand. Kyle has been grounded by his parents and is not allowed to leave the house, but he can access the internet. Using his super-secret password he gains access to Stan's website and loads the fundraiser document into his web browser. As he works on the document Stan will see Kyle's changes in real time. Stan notices that Kyle has a few typographical errors and decides to edit Kyle's work. While he is editing Kyle's document is updated in real time to reflect the changes. This can occur because the server realizes that the document has been changed and pushes those changes to all users who are working on that document.

There are many applications that this can prove invaluable for, such as providing real-time updates to news and information widgets without the need to refresh the page, or providing timed requests to the server. Real-time collaboration between you and your clients and vendors becomes an affordable and realistic application, even through your website.

Hopefully we have perked your interested in Flex. If you would like more information about Flex please give us a shout. If you are interested in seeing some Flex applications in use take a look at the showcase examples on Flex.org or contact us for a demo of applications we have developed.