Open Source Flash Development

My Mac is in the shop and my Vista PC is inoperable. So I’ve wiped all of my drives clean and installed Linux for home projects.

Since I’m a Flash developer, I’ve stuck with Mac and PC mainly for the Flash IDE (which crashes constantly).  But now, SWF compilers are open and free. For graphics, I’ll be using Inkscape to export SVG.

A minimalist at heart, I’m not a fan of bloated IDEs. I think the fastest way to edit code is with Vi (invented in 1976.) Or emacs if you prefer.

Here are some software links for open source Flash development:

Flex SDK – A cross-platform Command-line swf compiler written in Java

HaXe – An ECMAscript language and compiler that compiles to the Flash player and other languages

Vim AS3 and MXML Syntax File – Sweet

Free AS2 compiler - If you’re still stuck in AS2, this compiler can give even better performance than Adobe’s compiler

Apache Ant – A command-line build tool that can replace the flash project panel

Inkscape - Open alternative to Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Refresh Conference

I went to the Adobe Refresh conference in Sydney. There is some crazy stuff in the pipeline.

The theme was Flash as a platform in the browser, on the desktop, and on devices such as phones, game consoles, toasters, etc. I think they are making Flash what Java promised to be in the late 90’s: write once run anywhere. Java never really fulfilled that promise, and became bloated and complex in the process. In contrast, the Flash Player is light and the API much smaller.

The other major theme was improved workflow. They opened a magazine layout in InDesign, and with one click, exported the whole thing as a SWF. You could even turn the pages. My wife is a journalist, so she knows how hard the publishing industry has been hit. You could export the whole thing into Flash, and add shopping carts to the ad sections. You could publish as an Air file and make a desktop magazine.

PDF now supports embedded Flash files, video, 3D, and interactivity. So you can also leverage flash inside PDF and use that as an application deployment platform.

They demoed an alpha of a new product called Flash Catalyst. This tool will allow designers to create applications without any code. While I doubt it will put me out of a job, it will allow designers to do much more without my help. And since it generates Flex code, it will allow me to perform certain functions faster.

There was a lot to take in. I need to organize my notes and write another post. It’s an exciting time to be a developer; the tools and deployment options available to us at this point are insane.

We’re the next big thing!

Smart Company has named us one of the Digital Dozen in a recent article. Check out the article here — we’re the next big thing online, so look out!

We’ve also launched the Salt documentary site, which premieres this month at the Adelaide Film Festival. Make sure you check out the trailer and Murray’s timelapse shots, they’re absolutely stunning.