This was the result of a little playing with XMLSocket along with PHP to create a multi-client socket server for Flex to interact with.

Initially I only wanted to test the simplicity of Flex’s ability to make simple socket connections and pass data, however one can easily see how much fun you could have here. *scratches brain*

Left side is simply telnet’ing to the socket server on the remote host.

Right side is the Flex application which connects to the same remote socket server.

Then demonstrating basic Reflection using getDefinitionByName with ClassFactory to dynamically instantiate display objects and move them about the stage.

~moses

@umAndy (Andy Powell) dropped a tweet a few weeks ago with my name selected as the winner for a free ticket to Flash Camp Atlanta 2009.

Flash Camp Atlanta is a one day event focusing on the Flash platform, Flex and Actionscript. The camp provides tracks for both beginners and experienced developers.

Flash Camp Atlanta 2009 – Speakers and Sessions

Flash Camp Atlanta 2009 – Tickets

These surprises are always nice, and I do very much appreciate it. I hadn’t planned on attending, due only to my schedule being so full for the end of the month, however I’ll give moving things around a shot and see if I can’t get away for the day.

For those who might not know who Andy is (you should), drop by his blog and get familiar.

http://www.infoaccelerator.net/blog/

Thanks again for the ticket!

~moses

This is not surprisingly quite a hot topic for both Flash and Flex developers. Flash developers who regularly use Flex Builder to create ActionScript projects think it only makes sense to call it Flash Builder, while Flex developers who use Flex Builder to create Flex projects don’t see the name change as making much sense, or possibly even a mistake.

I’ve browsed about the blogs of a large portion of Adobe technology evangelists and although my opinion is not quite the same, I completely understand their point of view. Quickly glancing through a few dozen comments revealed that the renaming issue runs the full spectrum from strong like to intense dislike and of course general indifference.

From my perspective as an existing developer using Flex, Adobe could rename Flex Builder to “Flexity Flashomator 5000″ or “Flash Master Flex” and it wouldn’t affect my views and usage of the tool and framework the slightest.

As a developer who is already exposed to the technology, well versed in it’s functionality and understands it’s place in the market I’m not concerned about the name change influencing my current use of Flex at all.

However, I do recall my conversion to Flex and I do believe that had it been called “Flash Builder” I would have been much more hesitant to take a look. I, like many others who do not come from a Flash background, but a strong development background had quite a few misconceptions about Flash in general and would have wanted nothing to do with another Flash tool.

I understood from my initial exposure that Flex Builder was an IDE for building Flash content using the Flex framework, however had it another name or been named “Flash Builder” I more than likely wouldn’t have been interested or been so quick to investigate.

My only concern about the name change, would be that new potential developers interested in Flex technology may be quite hesitant with a name like Flash Builder. After all, Flex is a technology that is creating a bridge to bring additional developers into Adobe’s fold.

If I had to complain, it would be that I’ve read several posts that suggest that because the builder compiles SWF files, it makes total sense to call it Flash Builder. However, think of EXE files and try that same logic — it doesn’t work. Possibly a name referring to ActionScript would be a better fit.

Of course, from my spectator seat far from Adobe internals — I would trust they have a great marketing and communication campaign that will clearly send a message to would-be developers that Flash Builder is the way Flex / AIR applications are built. Adobe evangelists have always done an excellent job educating all of us. Let us hope this makes their work easier as well as increases the adoption rate of Flex all around.

With all of that aside, I look forward to the new version of the builder and it’s new features, regardless of the name.

~moses

A few evangelist blog posts on the topic of renaming:

Mihai Corlan

Ryan Stewart

Lee Brimelow

Duane Nickull

We all understand how selecting a viewstack by index can be a problem later on down the road when you decide to add new stacks or reorganize them. Doing so causes a chain reaction of refactoring MXML and AS to match your new stack order.

The following little snippet can help alleviate this:

[code lang="actionscript"]viewstack1.selectedIndex = viewstack1.getChildIndex(viewstack1.getChildByName("one"));[/code]

This selects the viewstack canvas by the matching id property of “one”, assuming your viewstack is named “viewstack1″.

Enjoy.