Flex

There are a number of Internet application development platforms available today but Flex offers something truly unique. Flex creates browser-delivered applications that have been complied into Adobe Flash files. This has huge advantages. The installed base of Flash player is 98%, higher than any other plug-in and higher than any operating system. Flash is also more compatible with all browsers than any other “platform” available today.

Applications that are delivered in Flash also have the advantage of being exceedingly media rich. Most web programming languages use simple HTML and CSS page formatting to deliver information. Flex provides a blank canvas and all the visual presentation capabilities of Flash. For example, the video feeds that can be found at Google Video and YouTube are Flash files. Because of the small file size, high quality, and near-streaming distribution speed, Flash has become the universal standard for delivering web video. Flash has edged out long time players RealPlayer, Windows Media, and QuickTime as the new video format of choice. By using Flash, we also have the ability to create high speed, low overhead connections to web-based data sources. These connections can be tied to audio feeds, video feeds, or any type of data imaginable including real-time output of equipment monitoring systems. The powerful programming afforded by Flex means that information can not only be displayed but manipulated and controlled. Applications can be made that not only observe data but can send back commands to control it.
                          
Flex's powerful object-oriented programming language can be used to create robust, more traditional "installed" forms of software as well. If you had a need to build a word processor or spreadsheet in Flex, it could be done. Flex is a true Rich Internet Application (RIA) development platform.

We're very excited about the future of Flex. There was a good deal of hype about JAVA in the mid 1990s. JAVA promised universally compatible software that could be run on any type of computer and distributed online—even through a web browser. A decade later, Flex is making good on the promises made by JAVA. The difference with Flex is that the Flash platform has already been distributed to more than 90% of all Internet users. Flex also has far more media controls (via Flash), better connectivity and a significantly smaller footprint (deployed file size).

Flex is a relatively new technology, but we've already used it to create our own CRM system as well as an eLearning management system, WebEx-like video conferencing software and an online file resource library.

Because Eclectic Studios has been developing both web applications and Flash presentations for a long time we are uniquely prepared to use Flex to its fullest. If you're looking to develop even a small web-based application or dashboard, Flex is worth looking into.