Flex

The Flex Framework RSLs (Runtime Shared Libraries) are a great way to reduce download time for your Flex application. But they have an unfortunate side effect… They break the ability to monkey patch Flex framework classes. The reason for this is the way that the Flex compiler structures a SWF file. Every Flex application has two frames. You can think of a “frame” as a container for compiled ActionScript classes. The Flex compiler puts as few things into the first frame as possible. This is so that the loading progress bar can come up quickly (as soon as the first frame has loaded). If you put too much on the first frame then you wouldn’t see anything happening until the whole first frame is loaded. When you monkey patch a Flex Framework class it usually will go into the second frame. The problem with monkey patching and the framework RSLs is that the RSLs get loaded in the first frame. The Flash Player’s class loader won’t overwrite classes so when the preloader finishes loading and then starts loading frame two (where the monkey patched class is) it will not overwrite the class loaded from the RSL.

Development of the next version of Flex, codenamed Gumbo, is well underway. I’d really encourage everyone to go grab a build and give it a whirl. I did because I wanted to see how I could take a sample I built with Flex 3, Degrafa, and AnimateColor and build the same thing with Flex Gumbo. Here’s that version:

And here is the new version built with Gumbo and FXG (requires Flash Player 10):

Next week I begin a Java User Group tour where I’ll be talking about integrating Flex with Java, Spring, and Hibernate. First stop is the Phoenix JUG on Wednesday March 11. Then I’ll be at the Orange County JUG on Thursday March 12.

I’ll be at a number of other JUGs over the next few months. I hope to see you along the way!

This is a talk from Devoxx 2008 where Matt Chotin, Chet Haase, and I talk about the new and exciting things coming with Flex.

Let us know what you think!

The Flex team has created a survey about Flex so that we can better understand how people are using it. It takes about 20 minutes but I really encourage everyone using Flex to go take the survey. This will help the Flex team decide what things to focus on in the future.

Take the survey now!

This is the last of the RIA Cowboy Videos from Dreamforce 2008. In this one I interview Model Metrics about some of the things they are doing with Flex and Salesforce. Cool stuff!

On Saturday, March 28th, 2009 there will be a huge gathering of Flex gurus to quash some of the open source Flex SDK bugs! You can participate either in person (currently only in Seattle but there’s no reason why we can’t add more locations!) or over the Internet. More information is available at: www.bugquash.com

Here’s another video from Dreamforce 2008. In this one I talk with Infowelders about their custom data visualizations built with Flex and the Force.com platform. Very cool stuff!

I was recently able to be a guest on The Startup Success Podcast. I talked with Bob and Patrick about my usual topics: Rich Internet Applications, Flex, Adobe AIR, etc. It was a very enjoyable chat. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

In this video from Dreamforce 2008, Cloud9 Analytics shows me their Flex-based Pipeline Management Suite for Salesforce.com.