Archive for September, 2009
Thanks to Yezzer and Matt I managed to get hold of a video of my 3 minute “Elevator Pitch” at Flash on the Beach last week. Here it is!
The point I was trying to get across in my 3 minutes was that the differences between OOP programming languages such as ActionScript 3 and Objective-C really just boil down to syntax variants and not too much else really (memory handling aside which is a nightmare on the iPhone!). Flash runs in the browser (or desktop or mobile etc etc), Objective-C runs on the iPhone. Both languages contain classes, methods, static methods, constants, components etc etc.
The iPhone SDK has an MVC framework built in. MVC is a programmatic design pattern, it’s not unique to the iPhone and it’s not unique to PureMVC, Cairngorm or the other ActionScript Frameworks that Flash/Flex Developers often now use to build Apps.
ActionScript has matured so much since I started out as a Flash Dev 10 years ago. With it’s similarities to Java and other languages that have traditionally been considered more *hardcore* good OOP AS3 ActionScripters should no longer see themselves as just developers of Flash content – we now have skills that enable us to jump into other OOP languages quickly and easily (well not always!).
From a personal perspective I welcome Flex Builder and kiss goodbye to the timeline!
I guess the subject matter of my presentation – ActionScript to Objective-C (and everything in between!) was never going to appeal to all the 1000+ attendees of Flash on the Beach but it sounds like my point was taken by a few at least 
On Tuesday night I’m going to be talking about Flex at the next Flash Brighton event at the Werks in Hove. It’s an informal event and most of us usually end up in the pub for a few beers afterwards. So, if you’re interested in Adobe Flex SDK and want to know what all the fuss is about then why not come along and see if I can convince you to have a go! Sign up at upcoming here.
In the presentation I’m going to look at my favorite 10 Flex features, try a little Flex Builder coding, link up to a few cool Flex RIAs and give away a demo Flex app I’ve build that brings together some of the features I’ll cover.