Tools Enhancing the Development Experience of Flex Developers

Flex developers use the technology which is now in the hands of Apache Software Foundation to build Rich Internet Applications. The Flex Builder is the tool used by all Flex programmers which is used to build Flex applications. The following points explain the work flow to ease the process of application development.

Flex consists of a large foundation of tools which enables Flex developers to develop. These tools are extensive and powerful which enhances the Flex developer’s process of developing an application.

Languages in Flex

Flex developers use multiple languages for developing applications using the Flex technology. The two basic languages being used are Action Script, which is the scripting language and MXML which is the Mark-up language. MXML is very similar to HTML and Flex developers with HTML experience find it very simple to use the MXML language and develop using it.

The Framework of Flex

The Flex Software Development Kit or the Flex Framework is a set of User Interface entities such as lists, buttons, and charts which help the Flex programmers to build Rich Internet Applications. Most part of the Flex Software Development Kit is Open Source which helps many Flex developers from all over the world to use the technology without spending much for their projects.

Flex platform provides its Flex Programmers with an additional view to the Source mode which is the Design Mode. This mode enables the Flex developers to view the Flex application’s design after it is completed and made to run. This helps largely as even minute errors or bugs in the application may be prominently evident in the Design Mode. 

Flex developers can easily toggle between the Source mode and the Design mode clicking on the Tabs which are available in the upper left toolbar. The options present in the Design mode are also extremely user friendly as basic actions such as dragging and dropping objects, hovering the pointer over objects etc are made use of, and this saves a lot of time for the Flex developers. These basic actions enable the Flex programmers to add or remove objects from and to a form.

The Flex Builder in an all-in-one tool for the Flex programmers which helps the Flex developers to Run, Write and debug a script within itself. Whenever a Flex programmer builds a project it is that the compiler has to get invoked, this is done to compile the code and check it for errors. And if the Flex developer finds an error or a bug then the project has to be re-built and then compiled again.

These are some of the numerous tools present in the Flex technology which enables the Flex programmer to develop Rich Internet Applications in a very rapid pace.

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Efficient Extensions for PHP Developers

One of the most widely used open source server side coding languages used today is PHP. Major website such as Facebook, Digg, WordPress etc use this technology as it has been a wide spread one with over 20 million indexed domains. One of the main aspects which makes PHP a much sought after technology are the various extensions available for a PHP programmer to choose from.

PHP developers build faster using the technology and it is the most preferred language for scripting practically. The documentation it consists is detailed; it has a very broad community for PHP programmers to interact for help and development, PHP developers can access the numerous lines of already present scripts which are ready to use. More than all these aspects it is very simple and effortless for even PHP developers beginning to start using the technology to develop sites using it.

About PHP Tools

One of the tools implemented by DCKAP and its team of PHP programmers is Xdebug. It is one of the most widely used debugging extensions used by PHP programmers to find bugs in their source code. Provision of numerous data for PHP developers helps them find bugs in their source code. Almost all popular PHP applications accept to plug in Xdebug. Some such applications are PHP Eclipse and PHP Designer.

PHP developers use a tool called Gubed PHP Debugger which is an extension to the PHP platform. The main function of this extension is to locate and identify exclusively the logical errors present in the code written by the PHP developer. For remote and local PHP debugging, PHP developers use an extension called DBG which is a very robust extension for PHP development.

PHP_Debug is an open source extension which enables PHP developers to get necessary details about their PHP code which helps them in various ways to debug the errors in the code. This extension efficiently analyzes the performance of the code written, displays a graphical representation of variable dumps in the code. If the PHP programmers need more than one graphical output than the one provided by print_r() then this is the best extension the PHP developers can avail.

One other highly efficient debugging tool which is present in the form of an open source extension is the PHP_Dyn extension. PHP developers, by using this extension, can trace the process of execution of the code they have written. By doing this the PHP developers can also return the values back to the functions by getting the output of the arguments.

Tool for Mac OS

There is another extension also available exclusively for PHP programmers building PHP projects using the MAC Platform as their Operating System. This extension is called MacGDBp which is a live application for PHP. All features expected by a PHP programmer can be found in this extension but the only drawback is that it is exclusively for Mac OS. This extension searches every line of the whole block of code, which might even be of a thousand or more lines; it also sets break points in the code to split it into modules for further testing to be done in a more efficient way.

With all these efficient tools it becomes an almost effortless task for the PHP programmer to develop a site for their clients when compared with other technologies used by other programmers.

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Most Reasonable Speculations for iPhone 5 App Programmers

Though Apple has announce that the next version of its mobile platform’s Operating System iOS 6 will hit the markets this fall, to iPhone app developers disappointment it has been uncannily silent about the release of its next revolutionary  version of iPhone. There a million speculations rising each and every day, there are some so called assumptions which do have credibility even though there is a thick cloud of uncertainty surrounding them. 

Security Enhancements

The deal has not been done yet but this has been one of the most credible speculations till date. It is that for security enhancements in the iPhone and for iPhone app programmers, Apple is planning to buy AuthenTec. It is a security provider for both mobile platform and its network.

This move could prove to be a very vital one for every iPhone app developer as Authentec provides intense security such as finger print recognition, content security for iPhone app programmers etc. The intriguing fact for iPhone app developers from all over the world has been the one that AuthenTec has been selling this feature for Apple’s Rival company Samsung till date.

Near-Field Communication

Passbook is a new feature that has been added to the new iOS 6. Initially it has been touted to be used as a guide to store passes for travelling, other coupons and receipts, loyalty cards etc. Analyzing this some iPhone app programmers and other analysts have speculated that this application could be used in the new iPhone as an elite program for payments using the near-field communication which is in built in Passbook.

Even in this feature AuthenTec’s name has been tagged along and speculated as the company has sufficient developments for Apple to couple and bolt any Near-Field Communication technology into the next generation iPhone.

Dock Connector 19-pin

 Reuters recently claimed that the new iPhone 5 has been developed with a very significant change that is the already existing 32 pin dock connector has been replaced with a 19 pin dock connector. iPhone app programmers have indeed taken a note of it as there will be changes in the developer’s end too. This speculation also leads to another earlier one which mentioned that Apple was working on a micro-dock for all of its devices, not just iPhone 5.

iPhone app programmers have to change many fundamental aspects of their applications which are related to power, data transfer etc. Thus iPhone app developers from all over the world have been keenly looking forward to hearing officially from Apple about these speculations so that they can make the required changes and be prepared for the release of the phone. 

Screen with Different Aspects

Latest alleged photos of phone have shown a very different screen for the iPhone 5 from its successor models of iPhone 4 and 4S. This is also another aspect which has been toiling with iPhone app developers heads for a very long time as this is not just an aspect of the application they might built but the whole application’s User Interface itself depends on it.

 Certainty of Speculations

Though there are speculations about iPhone in every corner of the web only a very few set of them are reasonably believable. And even if these speculations are not completely trusted by the iPhone app developers, it is better to have ideas of the upcoming next generation phone.

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New Advancements of Android

Android app developers do not expect the users to think that the application developed by them is the most useful aspect of their phone. Keeping this in mind all Android app programmers must understand and consider their user’s environment before they developed applications to fulfill their requirements.

Scope of an Android App Developer’s Vision

 Android’s Multitasking Capabilities

Android has expanded itself extensively as a mobile phone platform and has gone beyond that establishing that it is more than that albeit, smart phones and tablets take up a large percentage of Android based devices being used by users from all over the world. The classification of priority in which smart phones/tablets are preferred is as a phone, an SMS and email sender/receiver, a camera and as a music device. After all these preferences only a user looks at a phone’s application built by an Android app programmer and it comes under the category of “other useful stuff”.

Android App Developer’s Understanding of the User

Though this makes the application developed by an Android app developer insignificant it should be noted by them that all top applications which have made millions if not billions were considered in the last category until they revolutionized the market. Android app developers have to be aware that not all users use their Android devices in the same way, some use it just as a phone and may never use it as a device to use music and such. Thus when an Android application programmer is designing an application this inherent multitasking aspect has to be considered as an indispensable feature.

Characteristics Expected of an Android Application

Predictability and Necessary Idleness 

When the application is not running in the foreground of the platform it is expected of the Android app developer to have developed an application which does not continue with its UI updates and network lookups in the background. Android by default closes event handlers once the application which runs the activities is paused and is sent to the background, this cannot be controlled by the Android app programmers but can be overridden. The Android app developers also realize that there is no point in updating their User Interface while no one is looking at.

Smooth Revoking of Idle Applications

One of the major advantages of the Android platform is its multitasking capabilities. With such swiftness of the platform it is a known fact that the application developed by Android app developers will often go to the background and be recalled in foreground. The attribute which is much expected from the application to have instilled into it by the Android app programmer is that it comes back to the foreground in a flash and should be effortless. This can be enabled by the Android app programmers by having an option to save the last state of the applications and queuing up updates for the applications until it is revoked to the front screen.

Control over the Application for User Only

When an application decides for itself when to come back to the active state when a user is using another application, the chances of the user finding the application built by the Android app programmer to be very irritating and this might lead to most users abandoning the application. Instead the Android app developers can adopt other methods of informing about the current activity in the application to the user in other subtler ways.

These are some aspects of Android applications and the platform that may be considered by the Android app developers before they started designing and implementing the application for the platform.

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Joomla 3: A Paradigm Shift

Joomla 3 the latest version of Joomla is releasing in three months and the Joomla team has come out with official news for Joomla developers and Joomla programmers about the new version. Before Joomla developers upgraded from the older version to Joomla 3.0, it is advised for them to read about the update.

Joomla 3 Basics

Joomla programmers have been eagerly waiting for the release of Joomla 3 but the latest news from the Joomla developer’s side is that the programmers can continue working with Joomla 2.5 until 2013/2014. This is because of the fact that Joomla has been targeted for Joomla developers and early adopters of Joomla.

The Joomla developer’s team advised the Joomla programmers to stay with Joomla 2.5 as it will be definitely supported until 2013 or 2014 maximum. Joomla developers are excited as version 3.0 of Joomla has been developed predominantly for speeding up its adoptability with the mobile revolution that has been taking over the world.

The process of upgrading has also been simplified where the Joomla programmer can update from Joomla 2.5 to 3.0 from their site’s administrator end itself.  Joomla developers need not re-install by downloading the setup file again from the internet separately.

 Joomla Developers Called for Action

Joomla User Experience (JUX) team has started calling Joomla developers from all over the world for enhancing its already paved path for its visionary move to capture the mobile platform. The user experience for the mobile platform has to be tweaked to the optimal level so that users find it simple and sophisticated to navigate and use the Joomla program.

There are many modules and extensions present in the mobile module of the Joomla function and the Joomla User Interface thus the Joomla User Experience team has called upon all Joomla programmers and Joomla developers to come forward for testing the already built module, give feedback and provide better solutions for the augmentation of the modules.

This invitation from Joomla has been a welcome gesture for all Joomla developer from all over the world as this gives an opportunity for various Joomla programmers to come up with versatile issues faced by them during their experiences while using the Beta version of the mobile version of Joomla.

Expectations from Joomla Developers

The Joomla programmers volunteering for the Joomla User Experience Team’s call are expected to have certain ideas before they start working on the project for its development.

The admin and site templates of the platform have been entirely altered but the Joomla developers can still do usability testing and provide their feedback.  Joomla 3.0 is expected to consist of Bootsrap. Not just the Bootstrap the entire Joomla User Interface itself is not just an admin template or a frontend template. As Bootstrap has to be integrated in the function some core frontend and admin outputs, and some layouts may change more substantially. This is a process towards standardizing the template into a genuine frontend as well as a backend User Interface element which can be used for developments on both sides.

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Development Tools and their Functions of Adobe Flex

Adobe Flex development environment typically provides Flex developers similar tools and asset types that the Flex developers work with to create Flex applications. 

Files for Configuration

Flex developers should be familiar with the type of configuration they need for developing the environment they are planning to develop. Adobe Flex Software Development Kit (SDK) provides the files for the settings so that the Flex developer can use in XML format.

The default compiler options for the compiler are defined by the lex-config.xml file and this need not be separately done by the Flex programmer developing the environment.

The messaging and data management settings, Adobe Flash player settings, the heap size of JVM, and logging and cache settings too can be altered by the Flex programmers in addition to the alterable configurations of server and compiler.

Functionalities of Compilers 

A Flex programmer developing an environment is provided with both application compilers and component compilers by Adobe Flex. The application compiler can be used by Flex developers to compile SWF files from MXML and other source files. From the component files the Flex programmers can compile the SWC files using the component compiler. According to each Flex developer’s needs the SWC files can be used either as dynamic or static libraries with the Flex applications used by the Flex programmer.

Forms of Application Compiler

The application compiler is present in the below forms which the Flex developers can use:

• Adobe Flex builder project compiler. The Flex Builder Project compiler is opened for Flex programmers by Flex Builder for library projects in Flex.
• mxmlc command-line compiler. Flex developers can open the mxmlc command-line compiler from the command to create a SWF file that can be deployed to a website by the Flex programmers.
• Web-Tier Compiler. The Flex module for Apache and IIS compiler provides web-tier compilation of MXML files on Apache and IIS web servers for the Flex developers. This enables the Flex programmers to effortlessly and quickly compile, deploy and test your applications. Flex developers can simply refresh the MXML files in their browsers instead of compiling the MXML file into a SWF file and then deploying it and its wrapper files directly to the web servers.

Forms of Component Compilers

The component complier is also present in different forms from which the Flex programmers can choose and use:

• Flex Builder library project compiler. The Flex Builder component compiler is opened by Flex Builder for Flex library projects.
• compc command-line compiler. You open the compc compiler from the command line to create SWC files. You can use these SWC files as static component libraries, themes, or runtime shared libraries (RSLs).

Types of Debugger

Flex developers run the application SWF files in a web browser or the stand-alone Flash Player to test the application for bugs and/or errors. If a Flex developer finds errors in the application debugging tools can be used to set and manage breakpoints in the code written for the application.

Flex developers can avail the following debugging tools from Flex:

• Flex Builder Debugger – This aspect of debugging from Flex provide the Flex programmers all the efficient tools expected from a robust and a competent development tool.
• The fdb command-line debugger – The fdb uses the technique of command-line debugging where the Flex developers and Flex programmers can step into the code, and analyze and debug the application.
• AIR Debug Launcher (ADL) - ADL is a command line debugger for Adobe® AIR™ applications that you can use outside of Flex Builder.
• These are tools should be analyzed and understood by all Flex programmers before they start developing any kind of environment using Flex.

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