RSSAdobe Delivers Flash Player 9, Flex 2
By Nate Mook | Published June 28, 2006, 1:30 PM
Adobe on Wednesday released the final version of Flash Player 9, which the company says offers ten times better performance through ActionScript 3.0 and a new ActionScript Virtual Machine. The update provides the backbone for Flex 2.0, Adobe's new line of development tools.
The new releases are intended to promote the use of Flash in next-generation Web applications. While AJAX is garnering much of the spotlight, Flash is finding its way into a number of services, including Yahoo! Maps, Google Finance and Goowy Web mail.
According to Bill McCoy, General Manager of the ePublishing Business at Adobe, Flash has struggled to find acceptance among the Web development community because its scripting language, ActionScript, offered no real advantages over JavaScript.
"Well, now Flash app development is even more compelling and a lot easier," McCoy explained. "Flash Player 9's new ActionScript 3, compatible with proposed next-level of ECMAScript, is a powerful language that supports direct XML processing (ECMAScript for XML, aka E4X), strong types, inheritance and mix-in interfaces, exceptions, and other robust software-engineering capabilities."
Flex 2.0 will also break down the development barriers. Adobe is offering the Flex 2 SDK free of charge, while Flex Data Services 2 provides real-time data synchronization and collaboration capabilities. Based upon the Eclipse open source IDE, Flex Builder 2.0 features a library of built-in controls and services for easing application and user interface development.
"I'm a useless manager, and even I have been able to whip up cool things with Flex Builder. With 10x less code than, say, a Swing or SWT Java application, and 100x less time than it would take me to debug an unmanaged-memory C++ app or the JavaScript spaghetti of an AJAX web app," said McCoy.
Adobe is additionally working on a new eBook product based upon Flash 9 and Flex 2. The idea is to expand on the standard digital paper concept and build fully interactive eBook experiences, McCoy notes. "Microsoft's WPF has a great "spec sheet" of capabilties but a Windows-lock-as the industry-wide cross-platform solution is repugnant."
Flash Player 9 is available for both Internet Explorer and Firefox from FileForum. A PowerPC Mac version is available, but Intel-based Mac users will need to wait for a future update. A shareware version of Flex Builder 2.0 is also available.
While I applaud Adobe for releasing a new version of Flash Player, I must express my extreme dissapointment with them for not releasing a version which works with Internet Explorer (64-bit) as I don't like having to switch between browser versions just to view the few sites which actually use Flash.
I also feel rather disappointed in Adobe, as they also have not released a Windows XP x64 compatible patch for Acrobat in order to use the PDF printer functionality.
While I realize that the 64-bit segment is still small at current, more people will be starting to move to 64-bit computing come January/February when Vista is released. Due to this, I find it very difficult to accept that with XP x64 having been open to beta testing for 8-12 months prior to release, and now having been out in RTM for ~6 months, that we still don't have support from some of the major players.
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|Having seen some of what ActionScript 3.0 and Flex can do, I'm interested in where this will go. I already saw a WinVNC client written using it, which shows that Flash has come a long way in its abilities. With Flash 9 it would also be easy to build say a small yet powerful IRC client in Flash. No more need for Java IRC clients embeded on webpages.
I'm hopeful they will develop a player for the major platforms (linux included, etc), then it may seem worthwhile for applications. If they actually take this the right way, I'm actually thinking this could be a great step forward.
Can I see it as a cross-platform solution? Yes actually, I can. Taking the WinVNC client idea, you could code it in Flash and there you have it. It would work on every other system the flash player is available for. I hope, and expect, to see a lot more things from it in future.
As for it being used for ads, JavaScript is equally annoying. Java is sucky when enabled for browsers, as it can dump a trojan on your PC as if by magic. All technologies are open for abusing sadly. But that asides, there is a lot of positive to be found :)
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|"Microsoft's WPF has a great "spec sheet" of capabilties but a Windows-lock-as the industry-wide cross-platform solution is repugnant."
And a Adobe/Flash-lock-as the industry-wide cross-platform solution is just as repugnant McCoy.
Sorry, but Flash is still in the relm of "toys" for the Web. I do not see it as an Enterprise class tool anytime in the near future.
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|The technology is cool, but annoying. Just look at those websites that use flash ads, it's annoying and take up the whole screen when they pop open. It will actually drive customer away.
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|Same goes for html and every other language out there.
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|Ok, so now they just need an Intel Mac version, a Windows XP/Vista x64 version, and a Linux x86 and x64 version.
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