Will you "Flex" or "Sparkle"?

So, Flex 2.0 is out! I've always been a big fan of Macromedia..ahem..Adobe. Would Flex really change the RIA world? And..why is everyone really going GA-GA over it?

As tradition goes, new products carry a lot of new features and spruce-ups - Eclipse based environment, new classes to play with, the look and feel factor, AS 3 and quite a few others. Ok, let me say that again. I did mention AS 3.0! All of us have been hanging out in the Labs to get the sneak peak and tried our hands at making something really kewl with AS 3.0. I dont know many developers (around here) who wanted to try Flex for Flex! We all talked about the new classes of AS 3.0! We all imagined what "Blaze" would be like and what we can do with it. True! that people did talk about Flex itself, but, they werent in the majority, as far as my eye could see around me. By the time Beta 2 came out, there were a lot of converts. Lots of people waited around for Flex and made sure they got good at it.

Now that Flash Professional 9 Preview has released, I wonder how many people will be downloading Flex for what it is?

One beast is out and we await the other one! Eventhough the release is quite far away. Many of us, in the community, have started discussions about "Sparkle" and Flex and where the world is going..besides..who will win the World Cup.

The early CTP (think it was Jan or Feb CTP..not sure!) of Sparkle was fantastic. I had a few performance issues, but, that didnt hamper my experience with it. Microsoft's beast did feel a lot more powerful..well..yuh..it has to be! You have the .NET engine behind it. For people like me, who dont use the .NET *.NET*, but, just hang around it, its awesome! I didnt have much time to hang around with it and try all its features..so I cant be the perfect judge of things. Anyhow, the May CTP is out and I've installed it on Vista and gave it a whirl.

The performance seems to have improved. Its a lot faster on my laptop now. Previously, I had to wait for quite a while after hitting F5 (Test project). Here are my first views:
1. Flex weighs about 140MB (approx); Expressions Interactive Designer weighs a mere 7MB (approx). The weight difference maybe because Flex carries the whole thing. To work EID, you will need to install the WinFX, which weighs 43MB.

2. Both use XML based markups to layout the interface. Its MXML for Flex and XAML for EID. Both are very similar.

3. To give it a whole lot more power - Use Flex with ColdFusion or .NET. So that's additional installation. EID has the power of the .NET Framework behind it. You've already installed WinFX (or .NET 3 as they call it!).

4. Getting around doing things is a bit more complicated in EID. They could have made it as easy as using VS.NET, but, its a lot different and seems like a mixture between VS.NET and..umm..something else.. Flex is a whole lot easier with its Eclipse based IDE.

5. Flex works on the Web. Now, thats a biggie. MS says that Future versions could be supporting the web and mobile. We'll have to wait and see. If MS does get it on the web..well..thats HUUUGEEE!

6. Working with Data : I just tried XML on EID and Flex. Its quite similar. Will only know better when I really use it and get to compare. Right now..I am not commenting on it right now.

7. Adding interactivity : Maybe I find it a bit wierd the way things are done on EID, since, I've been always with Flash. For a EID beginner, its a bit tough finding your way around creating buttons. Once you get the hang of it, its a whole lot easier..as is the case always. What I really loved and appreciated was that you can also create a DISABLED state for the button. Doing simpler things need to be kept a lot simpler on EID.

Its just the 7 of them for now. I need to really get down to comparitive studies of both to write out a better review. This is not a review, so, I'm coming back to the point now.

Flex will be a major release for Adobe till EID finally shows face. Now, that Flex 2 is out, MS can take advantage by really paying close attention to details and look at shortfalls and provide for them in EID.

As a developer and tech enthusiast, I am not going to lay down the gauntlet and say this is better than that. I love .NET and anything that provides the power of .NET would certainly make it to the top of my list. But, then again, I love Flash and dont really use Flex..so its here nor there right now! Confusing eh? Ok, I'll say it with a straight face - "When EID is out, I'll be using EID most certainly and I'll never give up Flash (atleast, I dont think I will for the moment). ITS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!"