Ajax provides one way to separate a Web 2.0 interface from the data source. Another approach is to use Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Flash or Flex. Both of these products generate SWF files that can be viewed with the Flash Player plug-in.
Macromedia first coined the phrase Rich Internet Applications in a white paper that it released in 2002. Since that time, the phrase has been applied to any Web 2.0 application that uses enhanced interface features, including Ajax style applications.
Flash and Flex include a range of interface components that mimic and extend the functionality available in XHTML and DHTML. In addition, applications created in Flash and Flex allow developers to include multimedia elements. Both can work with sound and video as well as various types of animations.
In this article, I want to introduce you to Flash and Flex as well as explaining the difference between the two products. I’ll show examples of Flash and Flex applications as well as looking at hybrid approaches with Flash/Flex and Ajax.
Let’s start by looking at Flash.
Hello. I'm the Principal of Anything Is Possible, an Australian web development business specialising in web applications development and training. I'm interested in using Flash with dynamic content and I've presented at a number of International conferences on topics relating to applications development, XML and scripting components. I have recently released my second print book Beginning XML with DOM and Ajax to match the first one - Foundation XML for Flash. I have a business