Carlos said:
[talking about the risks regarding Flash changes]
A risk, yes, but not much of one.
I have to agree, and I admit that my problems with Flash come down to
two small issues:
-- It's too glitzy
Yes, it may be a problem for people used to
design apps the old way. It's funny to note that Windows apps are not
much different from old text apps, as far as the structure of the
dialogs and windows is concerned. Everything is a rectangle. Flash
frees you of this kind of limitation. This kind of freedom can be
frightening for old timers (such as me).
By any measure, I'm an old-timer as well. Maybe it helps that I have
a graphics background, but then Peter doesn't and he seems open to the
idea (see his "Flython" thread). But for those frightened by the
non-rectangular nature of Flash
, there are many drag-and drop
component libraries available which let you create what look like, for
all intents and purposes, Windoze applications. The latest version of
the Flash authoring environment supports this explicitly, with extensive
libraries of powerful UI components, many of which incorporate automatic
data validation. Macromedia's big push right now is what they call rich
Internet applications. They (finally) see the potential of Flash as a
very effective cross-platform client.
-- Philosophically thinking, it's not free so it should not be used.
This a Stalmanish position, but it does have some power in the context
of a decision to use only free tools.
Well, I'm not here to argue philosophical or moral issues, but I do
believe in using the right tool for the right job. I do *not* believe
that CSS+HTML+JavaScript is the right tool for /any/ job, actually.
Currently, Flash is one of the only viable alternatives if one is
writing a web-based application.
Btw, "it's not free so it should not be used" wouldn't get you very far
outside the IT world...
BTW, if the Flash format is already open, and if Shockwave can't just
change it, why do they don't just dedicate it to the public domain as
proof of their good intentions? The fact is that there are a lot of
stuff that they want to keep for themselves -- the power to steer the
development of the Flash standard, and possibly a few patented
processes to generate or render some of its features.
Of /course/ they want control over their own format. They are a
business, after all. (No... step away... from the controversy... must...
resist...).
Anyway, I do not work for, nor have I ever worked for Macromedia. I just
see the potential in a technology that to date has been vastly mis-used
and misunderstood. I think the combination of Python on the back-end and
Flash on the client is an excellent approach for web applications.
Dan
