Macromedia today announced its future plans for the Flash platform, which includes Flex 2 and Flash Player 8.5. Most noteworthy is no doubt their plans with the Zorn project which will now be named Flex Builder 2 and replace Flex Builder as we know it today. You can apparently use Flex Builder 2 to compile MXML and regular ActionScript to an SWF without the need to deploy it to a Flex server and it will be priced as a tool (< $1000 USD).
The Flex server will continue to exist and offer additional features to large enterprises. This is a really great move, decoupling MXML from the server is what many developers including myself were waiting for! Flash Player 8.5 will have a new virtual machine, ActionScript 3.0 with support for runtime error reporting, enhanced debugging, even better performance and further ECMAScript compliance.
Macromedia will be releasing a public alpha version of Flex Builder 2 and Flash Player 8.5 on October 17th in time for the MAX 2005 conference.
http://www.macromedia.com/go/flex2intro
[update] almost forgot to mention that Flash Player 8.5 will have support for E4X, Regular Expressions and Binary Sockets
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- Using type checked arrays in MXML
- Macromedia likes mondays …
- MXML custom effects
- Adobe Flex goes Open Source
> You can apparently use Flex Builder 2 to compile MXML and regular ActionScript to an SWF without the need to deploy it to a Flex server and it will be priced as a too
Yes. That is correct.
mike chambers
mesh@macromedia.com
Great stuff, thanks for confirming that Mike!
Well, I spent many months keeping up to-date with both Macromedia and Microsoft Avalon/ Longhorn/Vista developments
As a web designer I am keep to move forward and build richer web experiences. To-date I had avoided Flex, too expensive and too limited.
The Microsoft developments will be good for existing Windows developers who want to develop desktop applications they can roll-out to the web, but its not really suited to me as I only develop for the web and as much as possible I want standards and platform independance.
Now with Flex 2, Flash 8.5 and Actionscript3 I can see Macromedia have sat up an listened. I eagerly await next weeks announcments, but if Macromedia address their previous Flash IDE weaknesses and ensures everyrhing will be fast for the user and use standards, there is no question flash developes (any many others)will follow.
Pricing looks promising (There are 1000′s of us small web design companies doing lower cost client work) and once users start to see proper RIA’s they will want to dump their old eCommerce, configurator and forms solutions to take advanatge.
I feel were are finally entering phase two of web developments from 2006 with RIA’s. All I ask is that we keep to open standards as much as possible, after all, we have W3C to thank to CSS support and XML