Why I'm Learning Flex 2

 
May 19, 2006

by Ryan Hartwich

Unless you have been living in a cave, or in the far hinter world of HTML 3.2 and Framesets, you have no doubt heard about Flex recently. As a ColdFusion developer, should you care about Flex and why?

Two years ago: No -- Flex 1 and 1.5 was/is an over priced monstrosity. Created for the uber geek at large corporations who coded fancy web services in an object oriented fashion and who had a need for a $15K (U.S.) per CPU application server, most typical ColdFusion developers had no need and little interest.

Now: Marginally -- Flex 1.5 is still impractical for most people and projects; version 2 hasn't even been released. Just as importantly, the user base of people with the required Flash Player 9 installed is approximately zero. Implementing a solution now isn't practical.

In the future (6+ months) - YES!

...and here is why:

  1. Ubiquity -- Approximately a year from now, a large percentage of users will have Flash Player 9 installed (thereby enabling Flex 2 compatible applications/websites).

  2. Changing expectations -- Just as HTML 3.2 with framesets has been relegated to the past and replaced with HTML 4 and now CSS, more and more employers, customers, and website visitors will expect to see prettier and more functional websites, intranets, and customer facing applications.

  3. Changing technology and competition -- A certain percentage of the CF developer base can and will continue to work with simple HTML based sites. It is currently easier to do, more compatible with the end users, inexpensive, and more importantly for many, what we know and what our employers and customers are happy with. However, unless you as a developer want to be relegated to the obsolete junk heap, you better upgrade your CF 4.51 installation soon. A select few will continue to make a living or get their work done on old systems, but this is getting progressively more difficult. After all, how many of you are using DOS, Windows 3.11, or COBOL on a VAX Mainframe?

  4. It is the direction Adobe and the industry is moving -- ColdFusion isn't going away. Learning the basics of Flex 2 development does not mean altering the course of humanity forever. Thankfully, ColdFusion is currently growing, well supported by Adobe, and best of all, intentionally upgraded to work well with Flex 2 applications. We will continue to be able to use ColdFusion exclusively in a large number of applications. However, just like we have been encouraged (I know, many of us have not changed fully yet) to drop the use of table tags in much of our layout code, replacing it with CSS, we will be encouraged to drop much of the HTML from our code and replace it with Flex-based front ends.

Let us use the disliked (rightfully so) cfgrid tag as an example of how the expectations for user interface have been changing. Up until CFMX 7, the grid was Java-based and was, by Allaire/Macromedia's own admission, slow and limited in features. Little was done over the years to enhance the tag, until finally in CFMX 7, when support for Flash was added in addition to Java.

After six major versions of the cfgrid tag in ColdFusion, when was the last time you coded a cfgrid tag? Have you EVER seen it used on a public facing website?

Flex 2/ColdFusion 7 and Scorpio - The Flash Player (9) has been rewritten to finally handle the loads and complexity that grids require. Flex Builder 2 will make designing the grid (resizing, skinning, populating) easier. ColdFusion will be able to use the data submitted and using the new Mystic update (now in beta) will enhance the Flash Remoting capabilities.

The advent of Flex 2 can and probably will be a major turning point in the life of ColdFusion applications and websites as a whole. Websites will no longer be tied into a straight HTML interface. AJAX functionality is being released that will allow developers to make HTML pages that react directly with Flex based objects in the browser.

Should ColdFusion developers be worried about their jobs?

Yes and no.

Yes, because their jobs will change. Their HTML skills will slowly become obsolete. The expectations for websites will change and developers will be forced to learn new skills (Actionscript 3, MXML, Flex 2 development, Asynchronous calls to the server).

No, because their ColdFusion skills are complementary to the new trend. The server side skills will still be applicable and the learning curve to use the new Flex 2 feature sets will be much less extreme than Flex 1 and Flash Remoting (in many cases). The financial and time investment to begin teaching yourself the new technologies shouldn't be too large and Adobe is trying to make this easy.

Steps you can follow to begin the transition from HTML/CSS/CF centric development to CF/Flex 2:
  1. Read the blog entry by Damon Cooper and watch the following 11 minute Dean Harmon demo. (Please try not to drool on your keyboard... Notice the use of the grid?)

    http://www.dcooper.org/blog//client/index.cfm?mode=entry&entry=3A035639-4E22-1671-53EDEEE1CAA496A4

    http://www.dcooper.org/gallery/ColdFusionFlexApplicationWizard.htm

  2. Visit Adobe's website and read up on the new Flex 2 features, in particular the Flex Builder 2 and ColdFusion/Flex Application Wizard.

  3. Download Flex betas from http://labs.adobe.com and install the applications. (The new wizard was included in the ColdFusion/Flex Connectivity Beta 3.)

  4. Play around with the new software, and watch/try the demos.

  5. Read blogs and open your mind to new possibilities.
Ryan Hartwich is a Kansas City based Mechanical Engineer with 7 years of ColdFusion experience. He specializes in technical sites for large businesses and technical employers. He is ColdFusion MX certified and an active leader in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Toastmasters (a public speaking organization). In his spare time, he manages the Kansas City ColdFusion User Group.

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