Should the user interface be created with ASP.NET or Flash?

[staeri]

Until today I've developed my application with ASP.NET 2.0 and SQL
Server 2005.

I need to incorporate a lot of maps with drill down functionality
(from a city, to a street, to a building) and I wonder if this should
be done in ASP.NET or in Flash?

I've had a meeting today with some Flash developers and they happened
to think it should be done in Flash or something called Adobe Air.
According to them a lot of the future application development will be
done in Flash and not with ASP, php etc. I'm confused because I'm not
very familiar with anything else than ASP.NET.

Can someone please give me some wise words?

Best regards,

S

 

[sloan]

Don't forget about Silverlight (2).

The Olympics will be streamed with it.

...........................

Silverlight is about putting some power on the client, including some cool
graphics/media ability.
Plus, with Silverlight 2, you can write a majority (if not all) code in
C#...AND THE C# CODE RUNS IN THE BROWSER.
No, I did not mistype.


www.silverlight.net

 

[Peter]

Did you expect anything else from Flash developers? And if you would ask
Java developers they will tell you JavaFx is the best and will take over
everything and PHP developers will tell you PHP is the way to go. And Ford
will tell you Ford are the best cars and GM will tell you GM cars are the
best.

You'll have to look at your own infrastructure, is it all or mostly
Microsoft - if it is take a look at Silverlight, then you have to look at
your own developers strengths - are you mostly Microsoft shop? If so I would
strongly recommend looking at Silverlight, contrary to what the Flash
developers say ASP.NET is not going anywhere as long as Microsoft is in
business and I don't see them loosing any business in foreseeable future.
Silverlight, Flash, JavaFX are all good tools, but if your developers are
..NET programmers Silverlight will be very easy to learn, if your developers
are Java programmers then JavaFx will be very easy to learn. Flash is very
good, but it's not a tool for everything. If you running Linux and Apache
as your web platform then Flash and JavaFx would be my primary choices.

The statement "lot of the future application development will be done in
Flash and not with ASP, php etc." is ridicules just as I would say every
body will be developing in ASP.NET instead of PHP. I bet you Silverlight
will outpace Flash in couple of years specially when Silverlight 3.0 comes
out. Microsoft seems to get the development tool just right by version 3.0.
The jury is still out on JavaFx, but I think JavaFx will outpace Flash in a
few years - I might be wrong on this.

Also you can Google for 'Flash + Silverlight' or 'Silverlight vs. Flash',
there are many opinions both ways.
here's one promoting Silverlight
http://weblogs.asp.net/jezell/archive/2007/05/03/silverlight-vs-flash-the-developer-story.aspx
Everybody has a bias one way or the other so you'll have to make up your own
mind. For unknown reason people tread computer platforms as a religion and
there is no way to convice them otherwise regardless what it is.

If you have Flash developers than I would stick with Flash otherwise I would
compare other solutions.


Peter