So, funny last couple of weeks for Flash devs, uh?
Since we are all mostly fed up with the subject, I'll take a look to a couple of projects that go precisely in the opposite direction of Flash. In
Joa Ebert's words:
we do not believe in write once run anywhere because that just does not make sense. [...] write platform-agnostic code using kickass-libraries and being able to reuse that
What I ask to any of these frameworks is
deep integration with the
host OS. That means that for example in Android I should be able to hook up with the native back button, menus, notifications, etc. I should be able to launch other apps in the system such as the browser, mail, camera, etc.
Ditto for whatever feels native on iOS.
If you don't achieve that, the applications are going to feel strange to the system. Like traditional Java or Flash apps for the desktop do. Like a blob in the user's space.
This is particularly important for the UI components: buttons, text fields, scroll bars... they need to look and behave like their native counterparts. As a matter of fact, they simply
should be the native versions. Obviously if you want a set of UI components that once compiled are translated to natives components then you need to settle for the lowest common API. Do you think that's too much of a trade off?
I think games could somehow get away with bespoke UI components, but definitely not enterprise apps.
Check out these:
HiddenwoodHiddenwood is a collection of libraries and tools specifically designed to support different devices and platforms. The core libraries are the “driver layer” and always platform-specific with a platform-independent interface.
On top of that we provide a basic layer of libraries like our UI system, animation framework or managed collections which guarantee 0% garbage collection activity and have been battle-tested in Audiotool.
So, write Java and compile to HTML + JS, Android and iOS in the making. I can see 2 very good points behind Hiddenwood straight away:
1) It's Java, so you have BAZILLION libs out there ready for you to plug and play.
2) It has Mr. Ebert and the whole Audiotool team behind, so almost guaranteed top quality.
haXeNMEWrite haXe using an almost identical to Flash API and compile to Android, iOS, HTML + JS, but also to native desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux.
As a Flash developer the Java syntax is not far off, but the haXe syntax is literally 2 steps ahead. IE, Flash + all you miss from the AS3 syntax: abstracts, macros, inlining...
With a Flash-like API, a Flash-like-but-better syntax and near-native speed, it looks like a no-brainer for Flash devs.
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So, if you are feeling gloomy as a Flash dev due to Adobe's latests news, just roll up your sleeves and get dirty with any of these bad boys.
J
PS: we are
looking for beta testers for the release of Whale Trail for Android.