Flex Development Gets Bigger And Better - Flash Builder 4 Review

By Author: Jonny Tekar
Total Articles: 3
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After nearly a year since Adobe released the public beta versions of Flash Builder 4 and Flex SDK 4, the software giant has officially released its Flex development tools. Flash Builder 4 supports open source RIA development and helps the Flex developer community in faster RIA development using the next-gen Eclipse-based IDE for constructing data-driven apps on its open source Flex framework. Clearly Adobe makes a huge jump in the transition of the predecessor Flex Builder 3 to the Flash Builder 4 in terms of more than just the name change.

Among the improvements Adobe has added to the Flash Builder 4 IDE, Adobe has significantly simplified the data and services synchronization through a remodeled system that quickly exposes methods and tables. Additionally the IDE brings efficiency even in handling large data through excellent client-side management and paging features. Furthermore, Adobe eases Flex development for the Flex developers by implementing the much popular code hinting and code generation feature that is automated via a wizard-driven engine under the ...
... hood. Thus now a Flex developer can write better code with fewer errors and even monitor the debug cycle on the IDE itself. This fastens the testing and debugging phases by numerous knots.

The Flash Builder 4 has been released hand in hand with the Flex SDK 4 that improves the Spark architecture of the Flex platform. The latest version update boasts a support for HTML5 and CSS3 technologies. Surely Adobe is putting in tooth and nail in its fight against Microsoft for the RIA development platform. Microsoft Silverlight 4 sees a new found rival with a released Adobe Flex 4 version. The competition seems to heat up, and the Flex developers are enjoying it as they are getting newer toys to play with. Flex 4 truly is a big step forward in Flex development from the stables of Adobe.

Flash Builder 4 contains all of the tools necessary to get started with the Flex 4 SDK languages (MXML, ActionScript), component library, compiler, and debugger. Flex even supports rapid application development regardless of the server-side technology used - whether PHP, .Net, Ruby, ColdFusion, or Perl. The data synchronization is streamlined with Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES.

The Flex developer gets a robust debugging tool that helps by providing anticipated trace elements, as well as conditional breakpoints and complex expression evaluation for faster isolation of trouble points. Even the testing module adds unit testing support that lets the Flex developers build cases into the test suite, then run directly from within Builder or automated.

Other improvements include a more flexible runtime layout for rendering faster animations and multimedia playback. This is aimed to get the Flex development up to the mobile phone development standards. Thus to conclude, Flash Builder 4 rightly deserves a slap on Adobe's back as it brings in a terrific IDE for Flex development and is a must have for all Flex developers who intend to build superior enterprise applications on the Flex platform. The IDE will demonstrably shorten the development cycle by exposing data, streamlining workflow, and simplifying change management so that your Flex apps will remain nimble.