Embrace the timeline….

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[UPDATE 9 Oct]: links now resolve to the updated MXP package on the AMF-PHP site itself.

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I have dived into the new Data Architecture lately, and one weblog that has helped me a lot with information on the ‘old’ architecture ( aka Flash Remoting ) versus the new Architecture is Flash-Remoting. Basically, it’s a website about a new book by O’Reilly called “Flash Remoting: The Definitive Guide” written by Tom Muck, but it also features a blog. It’s definitely a must-visit if you are working with external data, loads of tips and tricks and nice feedback on the workflow with the Remoting products.

I’ve been involved in a Flash-Remoting project, and one of the issues we had was that on the Javaside we had a double, while on the clientside, in Flash, somehow that double showed a different value. Each product has it’s quirks, and my experience with previous Definitive Guides is that they really go into these quirks and explain where they come from. I have no doubt this book will definitely be worth it’s money and when it’s available ( i haven’t seen it in my local bookstore ) i will post a review here.

Anyway, today i saw an interesting post up on Flash-Remoting about a new DataComponent, for Flash Remoting. Justin Watkins rewrote the components to AS2 classes and built a RemotingConnector that sports the same workflow as the XML and WebservicesConnector. When i downloaded the files, i noticed the awkward installation procedure. Basically you had to copy everything manually into the right folders.

I made an MXP package for Window users, so you can just doubleclick that file and the Extension Manager will copy everything for you. I noticed that not many people and companies are using the MXP format, for instance, also the new Unity2 components have to be installed manually. This really reminds me that i need to fix one of my other tools in the MX Traveller toolset, a Distribution packager. More info on that later. I mailed Justin so he can include the MXP package instead whenever he updates the files.

Now, if you are using Windows and have the latest version of the Extension Manager installed:

- Flash MX 2004 Pro Remoting Connector ( *.MXP )

or download the MXI file:

- Flash MX 2004 Pro Remoting Connector ( *.MXI )

As promised, here is the first beta-utility in the MX Traveller Toolset: JSFLCreator!

This is a commandline tool, that creates a buildfile that can be launched by doubleclicking on it. Basically, it’s like FLADig, but now for the windows platform. I will post it’s litte brother, FLPCreator, next week, including the sourcecode ( C# ), but for now you need to download the installer. Please note that this is beta software, and has had limited testing. Don’t use it on production machines. It’s just a simple commandline program, nothing fancy, but you never know.

For more information, read the README file, or follow this link.

Download JSFLCreator setup ( 337 kb )

I’ve been working on some new tools, mainly to migrate and test projects that were done in Flash MX. The tools are JSFLCreator, which you can see at work above, and FLPCreator, which does the same but for Flash Project files. Basically what these tools do, they are going through a specified directory recursively, find all the files that match a certain pattern ( let’s say we use [ "*.fla" ] to find all the Flash source files ) and create a so-called “build” file that can be launched by double-clicking on it. Then Flash MX 2004 will happily publish all these files, so you don’t have to do that manually.

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This blog is called MX Traveller, travelling in the MX world. Question is, what exactly does that world look like? I am currently trying to visualize that world, which technologies come into play, and what is the relation between them.

This is how it looks like now ( click image for a total view ):

i put in only the Macromedia related products and technologies, just for a start. I know there are a lot of homegrown tools and commercial alternatives and i am writing them down so in a future version i can put them in. If you know about software or tools that definitely should be on this image, please let me know!

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I updated the Debugging behavior to version 1.1 because of some minor issues. Here are the release notes:

1.1, 14-09-2003.

- Minor glitch that prevented the behavior from switching on and off between screens.
- Updated description in MXP package
- Updated type in MXP package

For more information and to download the updated package, go here.

If you are working with the new Data Architecture, you will often find it handy when you have some sort of live debugging available, to see what data is send and received. With Flash Remoting, you had the NetConnection debugger, which gave you detailed information on the requests send and received. In Flash MX 2004, you now have a new method available which sort of will do the same. In the documentation you will find how to enable this method by inserting this line of code:

_global.__dataLogger = new mx.data.binding.Log();

I created this behavior, so that you can continue working on your application and switching debugging on and of by simply inserting this behavior through the Behaviors panel. You will need the new Extension Manager that supports the MX 2004 Studio.

Download the Data Debugging behavior ( *.mxp )

If you want to find out how i created this behavior, read on.

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The next following weeks will be very interesting. I’ll be flying to London next Friday, to do a presentation at the MMUG Relaunch meeting. That is gonna be an awesome event, with speakers like Peter Hall, Ayo, Martin Wood, Peter Elst, Aral Balkan and yours truly ofcourse. Did i mention it is free if you register on the website? The next day i am flying back to the Netherlands, because i have tickets for Bazar Curieux, a festival in Rotterdam with 2 Many DJ’s, Peaches and Quannum. I’ll be swinging my hips for sure that night!

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Ted has been working on an interesting project called “FLOW” which is based on the PowerSDK framework. I like the idea and concepts behind PowerSDK, although i must admit i haven’t had the time to play with it.

PowerSDK is based on a (runtime) component model, where Flash MX uses an authortime component model. The main difference between the two is that in a runtime environment you are loading the components when you need them, where in an authortime model, you are using including them in your code and compile them. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and this is actually a topic that has spawned religous wars across discussionboards. Note that Flash supported the runtime component model through LoadMovie since Flash 3. I have mailed back and forth with Ted about his ideas, and we came to the conclusion that we worked with the same concepts, except his focus is more on application development, while mine is more focused on a technical background.

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