With Adobe announcing the abandonment of all mobile Flash Player efforts, developers who formerly specialized in this platform are branching out a bit more and taking up both new and old technologies in exploration of other opportunities. This article is not meant to be comprehensive rundown in any way. I’m simply working through a number of thoughts in regard to certain avenues which I’ve considered approaching.

One of the excellent problems Flash has, is that it is good for such a variety of things. With such a tool (especially if you know it well enough) at your disposal, this makes it difficult to look beyond to other technologies. With that said, most Flash developers do already have a grasp on a variety of other tech simply because Flash is so great at working alongside other platforms. This is good for developers who are expanding their investigations into these technologies; considering what may be, at the least, a passive familiarity with a number of other avenues.

As an author and video trainer heavily invested in the Flash Platform, I fortunately don’t feel the bite as badly as some others in this industry. Since the announcements of November the 9th 2011, I’ve actually signed a number of new contracts focused upon Flash content (though I’m under contract for non-Flash subjects as well, now). With that said, I’m also a consultant and full time software engineer… so I do need to stay ahead of where things are moving so that I can advise others and make intelligent choices for any active projects.

HTML/CSS/JS

This seems to be where most developers are moving. It makes sense in a way since this is often where these developers working in Flash actually began their careers. This is certainly true for myself. In fact, I was championing standards based web design and table-less layouts before it was popular to do so… back in Mozilla Phoenix times… so I am no stranger to this stuff.

While I never completely left the HTML/CSS side of things- JavaScript is something I’ve avoided simply because there was historically very little that could be done with it. Differences across browsers compounded this problem to the point where I just didn’t bother – if it could be avoided. This isn’t the case now, of course; as JavaScript engines have become much more capable, differences across browsers have diminished, and a number of very useful frameworks are beginning to emerge.
http://www.html5rocks.com/

jQuery/jQuery Mobile

For some years now, I’ve used jQuery to take some of the pain points away from any JavaScript work I’ve had to undertake. jQuery provides what I have thought of a nice cushion to the difficulties one would normally experience in using this language – though, in truth… it provides a whole lot more that I’ve yet to take advantage of. With the proliferation of mobile devices, jQuery Mobile has emerged as a complimentary set of libraries when dealing with mobile websites, or even HTML-based applications.
http://jquerymobile.com/

PhoneGap

PhoneGap (Apache Cordova) provides developers with the ability to write a mobile app using web standards and then bundle everything up for distribution to a wide number of mobile platforms… a much greater number than AIR. This is a pretty big draw, and the PhoneGap Build service allows cloud-based bundling of an app to any of the supported platforms. Very convenient all around.

I’ve had terrible luck with all of my PhoneGap experiments so far. I keep telling myself this is because I’m unfamiliar with the technology. Not sure if this is the case or not. Everything just “looks/feels” so much crappier in HTML than it does in Flash. I attempted to port a mobile app I created as an experiment back when mobile Flex became possible for Android and just gave up. I’m hoping that it’s just a reflection of my inexperience in this area since I know people have had great success with it.
http://phonegap.com/

Dart

Dart is a new language being offered by Google. They pretty much want this to take the place of JavaScript due to that languages shortcomings. I haven’t done anything substantial in Dart yet aside from downloading the editor and running through their tutorials and samples. It does seem much closer to ActionScript 3 than JavaScript does… and the editor is based on Eclipse so even that aspect is familiar if coming from Flash Builder or FDT. I’m hoping Dart catches on and that it does become an alternative to JavaScript. In the meanwhile though… it will compile to JavaScript… so that’s something.
http://www.dartlang.org/

HaXe

If I remember correctly, HaXe emerged from the ScreenWeaver project… someone please correct me if I’m wrong. I used ScreenWeaver quite a bit (back before Adobe AIR was a possibility) for specialized projection software systems. It basically created enhanced projectors for Flash content similar to what applications such as MDM Zinc are now doing. HaXe has been on my radar for years – though I’ve never gotten around to actually using it.

The HaXe platform is very interesting because it allows us to develop in one common language… and output to whatever supported platform we wish. Target platforms include; JavaScript, Flash, Neko, PHP, C++, with C# and Java in the works. There is this gnawing in my brain telling me that, in the near future, this is going to be the preferred model of programming. It’s almost like “run once deploy anywhere” – except where that phrase was used to target a single runtime, this newer model targets multiple runtimes, VMs, and environments by adopting them and their standards. Very different way of doing things, but something I feel we are going to see more and more.
http://haxe.org/

Adobe Edge

Adobe Edge is a new motion and interactivity tool from Adobe which can output rich, interactive compositions using standard web technologies like HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript – basically Flash Professional 4 for HTML output. I don’t say this to put down Edge – this is actually a really nice thing. One absolutely great thing about Flash when it was focused on animation and basic activity, was how fun it was to push things, experiment, and see what the technology could do. I get the same feeling from Edge. Is it basic nostalgia or something more substantial? To see HTML do the things only Flash could do even a few years ago – and to do it with such ease and control… is a wonderful thing.

I’m doing a lot with Edge right now. It’s a major focus of mine for 2012.
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/edge/

“Alternative” ActionScript/Flex IDEs

I like Flash Builder a lot and am quite comfortable in it. I now have a number of reservations around this IDE though (thanks, Adobe!)… I mean, what if they decide they just don’t want to make dev tools at all anymore? On that note; I’m actually floored that they’re trashing design view from Flash Builder. Having always found design view to be very useful in layng out components and configuring item renderers. This affects my workflow and makes Flash Builder less useful to me. For a “creative” and design-focused company, I cannot imagine the internal justification for this.

Anyhow… I’ve installed both FDT5 (free version) and FlashDevelop on my laptop. Even if one of these does not become my primary dev environment for Flash-based work, at least I may be comfortable enough in something else for when Adobe finally does pull a coup de grâce on Flash Builder. as I mentioned above – I’m not leaving Flash and need a dependable environment to work in. Not so sure if Flash Builder will be that environment in the future.
http://fdt.powerflasher.com/ / http://www.flashdevelop.org/

Moving Forward

I fully expected by now to have done some real work in these alternate technologies… but have been far too busy with Flash, Flex, and AIR work to really get involved and commit to anything new. Like all things, it just takes time I suppose.

I remain a huge champion of the Flash Platform and will continue as such in 2012 while looking into other things. I believe one of the best ways of getting some footing with any new tech is to survey what others in the community are up to. transitioning.to is a great example of this sort of effort, but simply speaking to others that are going through these pains as well will go a long way to understanding what might be the smart choices to make. I expect to see a lot of conference talks in the coming year focused on these very topics.

Aside from changes in programming, I’m hoping to swing back into the design side of things a bit more as well. I’ve been in strict development mode for far too long and recent events are a good excuse to strengthen my skills in other areas. Back in graduate school, I began my studies strictly as a designer thinking Photoshop and Illustrator would be the applications that defined my career. It wasn’t until I was introduced to Lingo, ActionScript, and ASP (of all things…) that I shifted to a career in software development. Moving back into design a bit would be good for me.

I believe it is also important to step out of the sphere of creating software for balance and release. In the coming months, I plan to resume recording through my aural project “An Early Morning Letter, Displaced” with a new collection of work. This will be difficult with the rigorous authoring schedule I have committed to for the first few months of the year, but it’s a necessary creative outlet and one that I am very excited about. I encourage anyone so involved in programming, engineering, or anything similar to do something raw and free on the side. I often joke about leaving this field of work to become a gardener or a baker… maybe I’m not joking so much about that any longer.

Happy travels.

ActionScript is an object-oriented programming language that has a wide reach on the web, the desktop, mobile devices, and beyond. If you want to be able to hit many targets with one code base, ActionScript is a great way to do so; it also lets you build a variety of application types, from 2D and 3D games to enterprise applications, video players, and more. In this workshop, expert software engineer Joseph Labrecque teaches you the very fundamentals of programming in ActionScript 3 using both Flash Professional and Flash Builder. You will learn how to use core constructs and object types such as variables, arrays, and functions, as well as more advanced types like video, sound, XML, and JSON.

Access the full workshop.

Grab the detailed release [PDF].

The following three sample movies are public:

• AS3 Language Fundamentals
• Compiling and Debugging
• TextField and TextFormat

Unfortunately, the recording was problematic and we only have the first 20 minutes – but it still contains some good information and discussions.

The recording…
Rmaug_12/6/11 by realeyes media

The books are currently only available in digital format (ePub, Mobi, PDF) and can actually be acquired for FREE*! They will soon also be available from Amazon.com (Kindle), Barnes and Nobel, Safari Books Online, and other online retailers.

Details of both books are below, along with links to the publisher’s website which includes download of all source code and project assets. I do hope that many people do get access to these and build great stuff using Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 – so please spread the word!!!

What’s New in Flash Player 11

Quickstart Guide for Browser-Based Experiences

What's New in Flash Player 11

Author: Joseph Labrecque
Publisher: O’Reilly Media (December, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1-4493-1109-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-4493-1109-4
Pages: 78

This book will detail the various enhancements, new functionalities, and general improvements available in this new version of Adobe Flash Player. Each item is explained in detail and when possible, a series of screen captures and a full code examples will be provided, enabling you to both grasp the new feature in a visual way, and integrate the feature into your own code quickly, based upon example.

What’s New in Adobe AIR 3

Quickstart Guide for Desktop and Mobile Development

What's New in Adobe AIR 3

Author: Joseph Labrecque
Publisher: O’Reilly Media (December, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1-4493-1107-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-4493-1107-0
Pages: 104

This book will detail the various enhancements, new functionalities, and general improvements available in this new version of Adobe AIR. Each item is explained in detail and when possible, a series of screen captures and a full code examples will be provided, enabling you to both grasp the new feature in a visual way, and integrate the feature into your own code quickly, based upon example.

I have always used Flash when appropriate, to do things which were either impossible with HTML or at least would be a major pain. I’ve developed many applications which use Flash technology – they do so in a modular way. Will this change in the near future? Not at all. For functionality that requires technology beyond what HTML can provide, I am going to use Flash. Build a website? Use HTML. Will HTML continue to improve? Sure it will… and if Adobe can provide some killer tools and frameworks around HTML in the future – that would be pretty cool too.

Is Flex Dead?

So what changed? This evening, the Flex team updated their article from last week with a slew of excellent new details on exactly what is going on. I suggest anyone who is even remotely interested in Flex have a look over at Your Questions About Flex. Some of the hi-lights that caught my eye include the following bits and pieces…

Not only the Flex SDK is being open sourced, but also BlazeDS(!), the new Falcon compiler, testing tools, new Spark components, and…

Falcon JS, an experimental cross-compiler from MXML and ActionScript to HTML and JavaScript.

Whoa! Write AS3 and compile to HTML/JS – getting around the need for Flash Player for certain applications? Sure!

Adobe will also have a team of Flex SDK engineers contributing to those new Apache projects as their full-time responsibility.

Similar to their commitments to jQuery – this is really good news as Adobe ought to keep contributing to Flex. They have a lot to contribute!

The Apache model has proven to foster a vibrant community, drive development forward, and allow for continuous commits from active developers.

Having all of these projects (including PhoneGap) under Apache is a good move. The Apache Foundation is respected and established. Flex will not shrivel and die there – Adobe has now made some truly AWESOME contributions to the open source community!

The previous statement of HTML being the “long-term solution for enterprise applications” was also clarified:

Flex has now, and for many years will continue to have, advantages over HTML5 for enterprise application development

What about the roadmap shown at Adobe MAX this year?

Previously communicated road map features, such as enhanced code editing, real-time error highlighting and compile-as-you-type support will be available to both ActionScript and Flex developers.

So there we have it! Flash Builder also gets some mention with Adobe remaining committed to the tool – also a deep commitment for Flash Player on the desktop and the AIR runtime for desktop and mobile. There is a bunch of more info in the article, so be sure to give it a read.

I’d also recommend reading over Brian Rinaldi’s post, as it provides some additional perspective: Moving Forward with Flex and Flash.

And honestly, if you haven’t read Mike Chambers post yet… you really should.

In happy addition: I’ve gotten some rather heartening news from the Adobe Community and Education teams which will wait until another day ;)

It’s been an uphill battle since “Thoughts on Flash” and this year things were finally leveling off. I was getting buy-in from important pockets of my organization and now Adobe’s message has utterly annihilated all the work I’ve done putting mobile Flash in a positive light. I’m not wasting any more time convincing people if Adobe itself isn’t standing behind the technology.

We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.

Now, instead of saying “Sure! We can do that in Flash!” – I’ll have to say “Well, HTML cannot do what you want, sorry… maybe we can just take expectations for this web app down a few notches?” Really, really sad state of affairs – especially when considering that mobile Flash Player works really well on the devices I use regularly.

I’ve never targeted mobile Flash Player for application development – have always done desktop Flash Player and AIR desktop or AIR mobile. However, being able to reassure clients that their desktop web project was accessible on mobile phones and tablets over certain platforms was often enough to convince them to go with Flash Player for certain advanced website functionality. Personally, I LOVE being able to view browser-based Flash content on my mobile devices.

Most all of my books, videos, and whatnot over the past year or so have revolved around AIR and mobile… so while it definitely does excite me to think that more resources can be placed into furthering AIR on mobile, as a user of mobile Flash and a strong advocate of mobile Flash across Android, QNX, and beyond… this decision absolutely weakens the perception people have for the rest of the platform.

The way in which Adobe just dropped the news on loyal customers after years of gathering pretty strong support from the Open Screen Project and other partners is probably the worst part in all of this. I’ve written a lot on mobile and Flash on this weblog. I’ve written how Steve Jobs is wrong, how Flash on mobile works well, et cetera… I stand by my previous statements.

I love what Adobe is doing with Flash Player 11 and AIR 3. I have 2 eBooks scheduled for publication by O’Reilly next week on both these topics. I’m also doing work with Adobe Edge and various elements of the “open web stack” – so I get that it’s important to support all of these solutions… it just feels so much like an ill-informed blood-sacrifice to dismiss mobile Flash Player in this manner. I think Peter Elst put it best with his analogy of removing a limb. Seems very unnecessary and Adobe has done great harm to many core supporters in the community and with outside perceptions.

I’m really floored by this decision. I hope I am wrong in my analysis. Thibault Imbert and Lee Brimelow seem to think that this is a good move. They are the ones that know for sure… or at least they are better informed than I…

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Some additional articles on the subject (both positive and negative):

Flash to Focus on PC Browsing and Mobile Apps; Adobe to More Aggressively Contribute to HTML5

Flash to Focus on Apps for Mobile

Focusing

Et tu, Adobe? Flash Player homicide

Flash Player Mobile, a Post Mortem.

Adobe abandons mobile Flash development

Without mobile, Adobe Flash is irrelevant

Adobe’s November 9th Case Study in Message Failure

OccupyAdobe

Clarifications on Flash Player for Mobile Browsers, the Flash Platform, and the Future of Flash

My Thoughts on Flash and HTML (as Expressed in an Email to “Tech News Today”)

Adobe LiveMotion will *destroy* Macromedia Flash! (tweets from 2002)

AJAX will *destroy* Adobe Flash! (tweets from 2005) ...though this could go for 'Macromedia Flash' too.

Microsoft Silverlight will *destroy* Adobe Flash! (tweets from 2007)

Sun Microsystems JavaFX will *destroy* Adobe Flash! (tweets from 2007)

HTML5 will *destroy* Adobe Flash! (tweets from 2009)

Adobe AIR will *destroy* Adobe Flash! (tweets from 2011)

Guess what? Not dead yet. Not by a long shot.

Stay tuned to happenings around Adobe MAX next week for more insights :)

What’s New in Flash Player 11

Comprehensive Quickstarts for Browser-Based Experiences

Author: Joseph Labrecque
Publisher: O’Reilly Media (October, 2011)
ISBN-13: 9781449311094
Pages: 60 (estimated)

This book will detail the various enhancements, new functionalities, and general improvements available in this new version of Adobe Flash Player. Each item is explained in detail and when possible, a series of screen captures and a full code examples will be provided, enabling you to both grasp the new feature in a visual way, and integrate the feature into your own code quickly, based upon example.

What’s New in Adobe AIR 3

Comprehensive Quickstarts for Desktop and Mobile

Author: Joseph Labrecque
Publisher: O’Reilly Media (October, 2011)
ISBN-13: 9781449311070
Pages: 80 (estimated)

This book will detail the various enhancements, new functionalities, and general improvements available in this new version of Adobe AIR. Each item is explained in detail and when possible, a series of screen captures and a full code examples will be provided, enabling you to both grasp the new feature in a visual way, and integrate the feature into your own code quickly, based upon example.

More information will be provided once these books are in the hands of the editor!

Here is an image preview:

Custom Context Menus!

Here is the SWF:

And here be the code bits!

package  {
	import flash.display.Sprite;
	import flash.ui.ContextMenu;
	import flash.ui.ContextMenuItem;
	import flash.ui.ContextMenuBuiltInItems;
	import flash.net.URLRequest;
	import flash.net.navigateToURL;
	import flash.events.ContextMenuEvent;

	public class CustomMenu extends Sprite {
		private const MENUITEM_FVM:String = "©2011 Fractured Vision Media, LLC";
		private const MENUITEM_JOSEPH:String = "Joseph Labrecque";

		public function CustomMenu(){
			buildMenu();
		}

		private function buildMenu():void {
			var myMenu:ContextMenu = new ContextMenu();
			myMenu.hideBuiltInItems();

			var menuItem0:ContextMenuItem = new ContextMenuItem(MENUITEM_FVM);
			menuItem0.addEventListener(ContextMenuEvent.MENU_ITEM_SELECT, visitURL);

			var menuItem1:ContextMenuItem = new ContextMenuItem(MENUITEM_JOSEPH);
			menuItem1.addEventListener(ContextMenuEvent.MENU_ITEM_SELECT, visitURL);
			menuItem1.separatorBefore = true;

			myMenu.customItems.push(menuItem0);
			myMenu.customItems.push(menuItem1);

			this.contextMenu = myMenu;
		}

		private function visitURL(e:ContextMenuEvent):void {
			var site:String = "";
			switch(e.target.caption){
				case MENUITEM_FVM:
					site = "http://fracturedvisionmedia.com/";
					break;
				case MENUITEM_JOSEPH:
					site = "http://josephLabrecque.com/";
					break;
			}
			navigateToURL(new URLRequest(site), "_blank");
		}

	}

}

At this point, I’m nearly half-way through recording my video segments for the project and feel as though everything is coming together really nicely. I’m using Flash Professional for most of my segments, although the lessons Peter is working on will cover Flash Builder as well. While the Flash Professional code editor definitely leaves something to be desired after doing so much work with Flash Builder, I’m finding the focus on Flash Pro to be a rather welcome one for myself. I expect recording to be completed during the first week of June.

Anyhow- this makes two major publications so far this year- both of them on topics that I just cannot get enough of!

Note that I’ve set up a page to include information for all my publications over at http://josephlabrecque.com/books/.

Mobile Development with Flash Professional CS5.5 and Flash Builder 4.5 : Learn by Video

Authors: video2brain, Peter Elst, Joseph Labrecque
Publisher: Adobe Press; 1 edition (August 26, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0321788109
ISBN-13: 978-0321788108

Mobile Development with Flash Professional CS5.5

After an industry debate that made headlines for months, designers and developers can use their Adobe Flash Professional, Flex, and ActionScript skills to quickly begin developing applications for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, as well as for Android devices. In this in-depth course, you’ll learn from the ground up how to set up your system to become a mobile developer, create applications, and master each step of the publishing process.

Where to buy?

• Adobe Press
• Peachpit
• Amazon.com
• Amazon.co.uk