Mate Flex Framework

If you have not seen this framework yet then it is worth checking out. Though not a 1.0 release yet it has features that make it better as ADS Technology than some alternatives. (Well, that is a subjective statement so you judge for yourself and watch the presentation.) I have worked some with this application and it was a delight. There is more to learn but with a few screencasts like this added to the site they could have a great introduction to the framework.

Mate Framework Home Page

Note: I am also very interested in simpler use of Modules in Flex. Mate offers a very nice way to integrate modules with the event based way of the framework.

ADS Technology Ratings

This is a new standard that we at SOSensible are promoting. It is our creation and we find it very helpful. Let's get right into the explaination.

A - Accessible Technology

Technology should be used to make things more approachable. It's not just about what it can do but how it does it. I can remember growing up when we used to get out the slide projector or we would be in a public meeting and they would get out the movie projector and load in the media. This is nothing like today when we drop in a plastic disc to a player and hook a cable up to the projector or screen. We have taken many technology advances and wrapped them up into something that is clearly more approachable. Well, we should be doing the same thing in our code. Yes, there may be 'technical' arguments for why a complicated system may be a better solution. Yet, what often happens is the the common developer finds the code to difficult to follow and maintain. This can be because it has been written with spagghetti weaving of logic or because it has been written with design patterns that make sense technically but can not only make it less approachable but less sustainable if the correct tallent is not available. A good policy would be hire the technical superiour developer to come in and simplify the maintenance of the application.

D - DRY

This stands for "Don't Repeat Yourself". If we package up our logic that we use over and over then we can reuse it rather than rewrite or paste and edit it over and over. This is called encapsulation and it also has some other benefits. It allows for testing of the reused components and elements. Testing can make applications even more stable because it is tested. When updates are done regression testing will make sure none of the former tests are broken by bug fixes or enhancements. There is one more common advantage we have found. It often happens that because we eliminate redundant time consuming work and our code is packaged we find some common feature we would like to have but never get to can be added to this DRY package. This means because we develop DRY it often provides for extended features. (NOTE: jQuery, Prototype and other AJAX libraries are examples of programming DRY.)

S - Sustainable

It follows that normally just making things more approachable and DRY will make them more sustainable. Yet, that is not all that is needed. This could be an entire session or seminar for that matter. I will just say that (A) or (D) should never be done to the exclusion of being sustainable. All of these should be considered together and a decision made based on what implementation is being used.

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Well, I hope that gives people an idea of what DRY is. We do project consulting also if anyone needs any help. You can email us at ... info (-at symbol-) sosensible.com and we will see how we can help.

Ears and Eyes for AIR

There are a number of ways to watch what goes on between an AIR application and the server. Yes the built in debugging is nice, but that doesn't tell us about what the AIR application says to other HTTP servers and what they answer back. There are a number of solutions to make this easier.

1. Fiddler This is a free dotNet solution.

2. Service Capture Paid for Solution. 35 bucks.

Both of these solutions are nice. Sorry Mac friends, but you will have to let me know what the solutions are for a Mac. This should get you talking with the CF server or what ever server you might be using.