Friday, August 19, 2011

Flex for Rich Internet Applications

Developers are building custom web applications with Flex technology

Aug. 19, 2011

Adobe® Flex is a software development kit (SDK) used in developing cross-platform Rich Internet Applications (RIAs). There are other frameworks used for developing RIAs like Microsoft Silverlight, .Net Framework and the Ajax platform. However, Flex has become the most popular.

The Flex framework has three main components: Adobe® ActionScript, MXML and Flex SDK, as well as Adobe® Flash Builder. ActionScript is used to run client side scripts whereas MXML is used to manage the interface application's objects, along with Class Library, to develop custom components. The Flex SDK is used as a coding framework for developing Flex applications.

Flex technology has given rise to the development of interactive websites that are gaining huge popularity among people of different interest groups and preferences. Here are few reasons for its high popularity over others:
  • Applications developed using Flex technology run on any browser using Flash player. However, they need Adobe® AIR to run on the desktop
  • Use of Flex allows you to enjoy multimedia effects on the website as it supports 3D animation
  • Flex supports CSS3 and HTML5 and can be easily integrated with technologies like ASP.NET, Java and PHP.
  • Flex has an automated bug-testing feature to eliminate all bugs at an early stage of web development application
  • ActionScript (core language of the Flex application) provides interactivity to the applications
  • Helps in creating online dashboards for webmasters with its rich library
  • Easy to present data through interactive charts and graphs
  • Custom-built components like content rollover and drill-down capabilities can be created for excellent data visualization 
The above are just a few reasons to make it a popular platform to create rich internet applications. Flex developers are utilizing this technology to build customized web applications and successfully creating User Interface controls, charts, formatters, data grids and validators.

There are many web development companies offering flex development services at attractive rates. You can ask for the pricing quotes from a few companies and compare their prices to make it a cost-effective investment for your business. However, quality should not be ignored while making it cost-effective for your business. Hence, you can ask for some sample work to know more about their capabilities before hiring their services. Once you finalize the company for your RIA development, keep in touch with them and ask for the work updates regularly. This way you can see whether your application is being developed as per your requirements.

Adapted from Using Flex Development... , Mark Stylan, Aug. 18, 2011. 

For Free consultation on Flex Development, Flex Experts, Hire your Flex Programmers, Flex Developers visit DCKAP 


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