Now that Macromedia is gone, it’s all Adobe now but this is really a Macromedia creation. I am learning a new development technology at work now. It’s called Flex. It’s best summed up as a scripting language for Flash. It gets rid of the Flash timeline (great for the non-artist types) and everything is tag-based, standardizing the user-interface (great for both the non-developer and non-designer types). That means you don’t have to worry about javascript, screen refreshes, etc.

For example, usually building a tabbed navigation involves the design of the tabs (images or css), the tab’s behavior (css and/or javascript), the desired result and passing data to the next screen (code of choice). In Flex you use a “tab” tag, define the options, and it’s behavior and you’re done. Another good example is regarding web forms. Usually once a from is created you have to add a ton of javascript to validate that certain fields are filled in with the correct type of data. And if you want a fancy form, you have to add a ton more javascript to let the user know what fields they missed and why. In Flex, it’s just a matter of defining a “field” tag, defining its validation requirements within the tag, and you’re done. Everything else happens automatically.

Data charts are automatically sortable. Information changes in real-time on the screen with no refresh. It makes the pains of everyday web-application design a breeze, giving you more time to focus on the cooler stuff it can do — like drag-and-drop data, motion transitions, customizing other Flash elements, etc.

Check out these examples of an online store (view products in the main navigation) and a business data scoreboard. (Sorry, Flash 9 is required.)