The release includes a new Eclipse-based tool and an updated player, targeted at software developers who want to build rich Internet applications with the Flash platform.Macromedia Inc. announced Thursday the availability of a new Eclipse-based tool and an updated player, targeted at software developers who want to build rich Internet applications with the Flash platform.
Alpha versions of the Macromedia Flex 2 product line and Flash Player 8.5, both available for download from the company's Web site beginning Oct. 17, are designed to be used as a foundation for building applications that bring together the responsiveness of desktop software and the cross-platform reach of the Web. They also take full advantage of the Macromedia Flash platform, according to the company.
Included in the product line are the Flex Framework 2, which is the core programming model and component library for Flex, as well as Flex Builder 2, a new Eclipse-based environment for developing applications within the framework. Previously code-named Zorn, Flex Builder 2 can incorporate rich media content from recently released authoring tool Macromedia Flash Professional 8.
Macromedia has been working on Zorn since June, when the company joined the Eclipse Foundation, a non-profit industry organization focused on developing the open-source Eclipse universal development platform.
Also in the product line are Flex Enterprise Services 2, providing data services and automated testing support, and Flex Charting Components 2, which has extensible components for advanced data visualization.
Flash Player 8.5 has a few significant upgrades over its predecessor, with the inclusion of a new virtual machine that promises faster runtime performance, improved debugging and ActionScript3.
Click here to read about more new tools for Flash.
The introduction of the tools comes at a time when applications that are deployed by enterprises must increasingly meet divergent requirements across a number of scenarios, noted Gartner Group analyst Ray Valdes.
"[Applications] must offer a rich user experience on the front end, while implementing, on the back end a secure, maintainable connection to enterprise data and services," said Valdes.
Especially notable in Macromedia's release is a glimpse at a new tiered licensing model, meant to bring Flex to a greater breadth of developers, including those at budget-minded, smaller development houses.
Flex Builder 2 will be sold for less than $1,000 per developer, Macromedia noted, and will include the ability to develop, compile, and deploy Flex applications that connect to XML and SOAP Web services, without additional charges or server licensing fees. Flex Enterprise Services 2 will be licensed on a per-CPU, per-project, and enterprise license basis, although Macromedia did not give pricing details.
In announcing the products, Macromedia also noted that the alpha version of Flex Enterprise Services 2 will be available within the next few months, with all products expected to be commercially available in the first half of next year.
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