Anyhoo, they're looking for those wishing to publish their wares as part of their launch preparations - so if you want your stuff highlighted now's the chance. Email them at team@andspot.com. ]]> Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:04:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=535 dj http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=534 Ruboss that makes it easy to bridge the two together. InfoQ just posted an interview with the creator, Peter Armstrong (author of Flexible Rails and Hello Flex 4), that's worth a read.

Read the article ]]> Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:47:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=534 flex http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=533 "The theme for the latest episode of the SitePoint Podcast was the pros and cons of web application development and deployment on rich media platforms like Flash and Silverlight. ... Last week on Hacker News someone posed an interesting hypothetical. If Silverlight had the same install base as Flash, which would you use? We?d love to hear your responses, so vote in our poll and let us know in the comments why you voted the way you did." Go Vote. ]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:37:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=533 flex http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=532 RadView have released an update to their popular RIA load testing tool, WebLoad 8.3.

Version 8.3 introduces a new analysis and reporting tool, together with major usability and functionality enhancements to the IDE and Console.

• Key IDE (Integrated Development Environment) enhancements:
  The IDE now incorporates performance testing methodologies and best practices into the tool?s workflow. These new capabilities guide the user through the steps required to build a full-scale load test.
  Key new features:
  a. Workflow Wizard - A step by step guide for building scripts
  b. AJAX Support - WebLOAD has improved it?s AJAX support by adding concurrency capabilities to emulate real browser behavior
  c. Kerberos support
   
• Key Console Enhancements:
  The Console includes new and enhanced on-line monitoring capabilities which support easy result analysis and manipulation throughout the live load session. These new capabilities assist in pinpointing and identifying bottlenecks during execution of the load session.
  Key new features:
  a. Profile wizard - This feature helps users create realistic load testing scenarios
  b. New real time graphical/dashboards enable the user to analyze load test results in real time during load session execution
   
• New! WebLOAD Analytics
  WebLOAD Analytics is a new analytics module which features the following capabilities:
  a. Enhanced diagnostics and analysis capabilities
  b. Ability to set up thresholds and Service Level Agreements (SLA) - This ensures your performance testing will meet your business requirements
  c. Standardization - New and pre-defined reports and templates enable consistent reporting across your entire project set.

Unlike HP's cost-you-an-arm-and-a-leg Quick Test Pro, RIATest is reasonably priced at $500 and helps you automate the process of functional testing with Adobe Flex/Flash RIAs.

New Stuff

• Regular expressions
• Complex Properties
• Location of GUI Object via dynamic properties
• Programmatic control of browser windows.
• Tabular data queryable in they're native format
• Ability to run adhoc selections of scripts and groups of scripts.
• Scripts can be paused and edited without needing to resume the test session.
• Advanced breakpoints.
• New XML output feature allows you to hook in other tools.
• New Objects: Date, Math, RegExp, UIDUtil, Switch Operator.

Hook it up at RIATest.com. ]]> Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:04:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=530 flex http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=529 Alchemy
I?m not sure if Alchemy is the name of Adobe?s advanced research team or is the name of a new product, but under the Development focus on the fight against the evil agency Status Quo, Agent B (Tim Buntel) and Agent F (Ben Forta) proceeded to talk to a guy from Alchemy and the cool stuff going on there.

Problem statement: C/C++ have been around for more than 30 years. Talking about a huge base of production code out there that isn?t going to be rewritten anytime soon. At the same time, it?s hard to justify rewriting a lot of it just to satisfy one particular platform.

The Alchemy solution: Create a C/C++ to ActionScript converter. With the new powers of Flash Player 10 and AIR 1.5, this now becomes a feasible solution. Some practical examples include using popular encryption libraries.

On the media side of things, Flash does have its built in codecs, but with C++ codec libraries available you can make media players that are cable of leveraging these algorithms. Similarly leveraging libPNG for PNG manipulation, and Adobe?s own C API?s for Acrobat PDFs. Taking this to the extreme they produced a Quake Flash port from the C code, and a Nintendo emulator that ran Mario Bros.

Bolt ? New ColdFusion Editor

• Eclipse based Plugin
• Includes a server awareness monitor
• Lots of autoprompting. CFINCLUDEs will automatically popup a window for the file to include, the datasource property of a CFQUERY will have an autoprompt of the datasources your CF Server are configured with, CFOUTPUT?s query property will autoprompt from previously run CFQUERY?s.
• Knows about your Components, so that it can autoprompt/hint on properties and methods.
• ORM generation (Object Relational Mapping).
• From the ORM you can then quickly generate an AJAX client to work with the data (good for proof of concepting, or giving you a head start on an AJAX UI).

Flex Builder 4 (Gumbo)

• Ability to import the new FXP format (which Flash Catalyst supports)
• Flex Builder and ColdFusion will have some tighter flows now.
• Lots of improvements on the FB->CF through new data services abilities.
  • You can point to a CFC and generate a services layer to work with it.
  • Drag and Drop functions from the CFC into Flex Builder.
  • Autogenerate placeholder Event handlers needed to work with the Operations supported by the CFC. You fill in any necessary business logic, but the shell of the function is done saving you a ton of time)
• Network traffic monitor (similar to ServiceCapture).
• Way easier ability to preview, switch, and apply themes.
• FlexBuilder Plugin for Visual Studio in the works.
• .NET AMF bridge in the works. ]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:45:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=529 flex http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=528 Fc is positioned as a design tool for the rapid creation of interactive user interfaces with little to no coding. It?s a tool that bridges the gap between the designers and developers by leveraging design assets (PSDs, Illustrator files, etc?) from tools designers use (the CS4 suite) to a format that Flex developers could use.

  Fc addresses a lot of problems in the Design to Developer workflow, and a lot of those are pretty obvious. For example taking static design compositions from Designers, as a Developer you then burn a lot of time trying to slice it apart into a format you can use ? and heavy forbid the design changes. Even small changes can involved redoing it all over again. CS3 and FB3 did improve some of that with easier to skin controls, but how far you could go was still fairly limited. To make Fc truly successful, the whole platform needed to be evolved. Quite a monumental effort because we?re talking about many of the CS4 products, Flex, and Flash. So getting CS4 and Flash Player 10 was the first step to that, and following up will be Flex Builder 4 (Gumbo) and Catalyst.

  Part Fc?s success will come from this workflow round trip capability of being able to open an asset in it?s native tool (e.g. Illustrator), copying it to the clipboard, and then in Catalyst pasting it in. But, if you need to make modifications using that object?s natural tooling you just right on it, select edit, make the changes in the appropriate tool and you?re good to go. What makes this possible is this new common interchange file format called FXG.

  Catalyst uses the same theme as the rest of the CS4 products, so as a Designer you?ll be used to common elements such as layers and what not. You simple import assets from whatever tool, and literally convert any graphical asset on a layer into any kind of object.

  And when you?re done, you export it into this FXP format (Flex 4 Project), that Flex Builder will completely recognize. As a developer, you can then focus on hooking in remaining business logic, data access, etc? They imply that it?s possible for the Designer to update their Design without impacting the Developer, though that part I?m not quite sure how that would work.

  So all that solves some of the gaps between Designers and Developers, but here?s the clincher. Designers could only model static compositions and then bounce those over as jpegs/pngs to the developers. But they couldn?t model the actual interaction (the transitions from one page to another, and how things hide and become visible, etc?). Catalyst gives Designers the ability to do this too.

  Previously, it?d be up to the Developer to hook in the transitions, effects, and interactions. With Catalyst, it allows the Designer to focus on the experience side of things, and frees up the Developer to focus on the logic.

  Good stuff. ]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:54:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=528 flex http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=527 To fight Status Quo they?ll need improvements on Design, Development, and Deployment. They demoed a home automation system that is driven by an AIR 1.5 application.

  Flash CS4

  • Interchangeable XFL format introduced to work with files across applications. For example importing an InDesign project into Flash, and have all the properties editable.
  • Made the process of animating something way easier for novices. Right click on an object, select animate, move where you want it to go and done. You can then manipulate the path to give it a custom motion.
  • Flash CS4 adds a bone structure feature so that you can wire how an object is constructed, allowing you to give it really refined animation and movement. E.g. they used it to make a Surf board dance.
  • Flash CS4 you can publish to an AIR app.
  Photoshop CS4
  • Adds context aware scrolling.
  • Knows what can be stretched (like the background) while preserving important objects (like people). You can go further and lasso what you define as important.
  • Autoblend layers features will automask all the soft areas.
  • 3D painting allows you to draw on a 3D object while allow you to rotate and reposition. You can merge 2D drawings onto a 3D object.

  Next posting will be on Flash Catalyst (under the Design category of the Key Note). ]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:15:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=527 flex http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=526 But like with any change, you can?t just go from 0% to 100% in one day. At my current position when I first started I knew a lot of change had to occur. The organization was used to do doing massive amounts of requirements planning, to long development cycles with little involvement of the end user, and the result was users felt they didn?t get what they wanted.

  Borrowing on some of the philosophies of Agile methodologies, I focused on changing the Systems Development Life Cycle to use very short iterative development cycles where the project was broken down into small phases where the code could be released on a phase by phase basis.

  And that proved to be very successful as we involved the customer/end-user during the development of these phases, allowing them to steer things in the right direction. At the same time it?s easier for people to adapt to a small series of changes vs. one massive change, teams are able to digest and estimate more accurately on smaller sets of requirements, and you?re able to mitigate the risk of change on an incremental level.

  Recently I was fortunate enough to review an up and coming book entitled Becoming Agile, which is part of the MEAP program (Manning?s Early Access Program where you can download the book while it?s being written).

  The book totally inspired me. A lot of my readings on Agile from back in the day were very theoretical and high level at the same time. But Becoming Agile helps take you to the next level by going beyond the theory and into the nitty gritty practicality of employing the Agile approach. So it was very energizing having the game plan laid out in front of you, as well as the hurdles you?ll encounter and how to overcome them.

  It?s one thing for developers to believe in being Agile, but you need managers, product managers, and project managers to buy into it as well. This book does a great job of giving you that foundation and knowledge to sell the concepts and changes needed.

  I really like the writing approach as well ? they go into storytelling narratives to setup examples and cases which are interesting to read, and at the same time very relatable. The book helps you evaluate where you?re at today, helps you identify things that you?re already doing that are good, and the areas that will need to change.

  Developing is not just about writing code. Becoming Agile teaches you that in order to be successful you?ll need changes in process, team structure, and other elements such as executive sponsorship and a plan that factors in change as a reality of development.

  This book is a great asset to not only Developers, but technology Managers, Project Managers, and Product Managers. ]]> Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:43:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=526 coldfusion http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=525 O'Reilly recently sent me a copy of their recent book on Flex titled Learning Flex 3 - Getting up to speed with rich internet applications.

  The first thing that stood out is that it's in color! I love color, especially for technical material it adds a whole extra dimension to the medium and another vehicle by which to communicate. Obviously in code listings it makes the code easier to visually digest and mentally break down what you're seeing, and with screen caps color is so much more appealing.

  The dimension of the book is wider that normal, which gives the book an extra wide gutter that the publisher is able to leverage. And leverage they do by making use of it for an assortment of side bars, notes, tips, and blurbs.

  So aside from the aesthetics, content of course is the key. The book is aimed at beginners who don't necessarily have any sort of programming background - so the audience that this book would appeal to includes anyone interested in learning more about Flex and if it's the right fit for them; as a quick read (only 304 pages) you can blast through this book in a short amount of time.

  Who might those people be? Developers wanting to test the waters with Flex because they had heard good things about it, Flash or Web media designers thinking about getting into the development side of things with Flex, and management level folks looking to explore new opportunities and want to get a barometer reading on what it would take to get into Flex, etc...

  The writing style is fairly casual, and you feel like the author is talking to you (as opposed to the feeling of a manual). I think the author does a pretty good job at keeping things high level with enough meat to make the reader feel they're actually being productive as they work through the examples.

  So I'd recommend this book to someone who wants to get their feet wet with Flex - someone who may not be fully committed to Flex at this point in time and doesn't want to invest a ton of time yet.

  • Difficulty Level: Beginner
  • Range of topics: Moderate
  • Depth of topics: Light
  • Development experience needed: None
  • Reading Speed: Fast
  • Writing Style: Casual
  • Pages: 304
  • Price: $26.39 on Amazon
  ]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:46:00 PST http://www.dopejam.com/shownewsitem.cfm?NewsID=525 flex