Designing Software Is Fun Again

I know this may come as a shock but I don't like .NET. I never have and never will. Perhaps, one day they will see the light and go open source but I doubt it. I won't get into a technical debate as to why because it doesn't matter. It's my preference and that's it. That's not to say that .NET is bad because it's not. In fact, I've been messing around with Blend and I've been very impressed. More on this later. I prefer Flex & FileMaker simply because it's easy. If there is a weakness of Flex is its ability to connect with DataSources. Basically, you only have two choices out of the box. They are Web Services and HTTP. Now, that would probably serve most needs unless you're connecting to a SQL compliant database. Doh! If so, you'll have to wrap some web services around it to make it work. Adobe does offer choices but they're not cheap. Flex Data Services allows you to connect to back end systems via remote objects. Of Course, there is Cold Fusion which can also work. Unless you're using ColdFusion for your Intranet and/or website, it's probably not the choice here. There other companies that provide middle ware connectivity. The best seems to be WebOrb. If you haven't checked them out you should. It's powerful stuff. If you're needing a highly scalable application then you'll need one of these tools.

So, why do I like Flex and FileMaker? Glad you asked. Okay, maybe you didn't ask and maybe you don't care. If so, then why are you here? Go home, leave, vamoose. Okay, for the rest of the two readers of my blog - here you go. I like Flex & FileMaker because they both begin with the letter "F". You know what else begins with the letter "F"? Get your mind out of the gutter. It's (F)un! Sorry had to go there. Anyway, back to the story. It's like FileMaker and Flex were meant to be together. Why? FileMaker has a built in Data Services API that can be utilized using Flex's two out of the box choices. Perhaps, this is FileMaker's most underrated feature that seems to get lost in haze. Using Flex, you can connect and write to FileMaker's database in 3-4 lines of code. FileMaker's API has all the CRUD operations built into the API. Let me also clarify for you geeks that I do understand that FileMaker's API is not really data services in the truest sense. I know that. However, its still easy.

You can also use FileMaker's layout capabilities to build forms in Flex. Here's how. Design a layout in FileMaker. Put some fields in the layout and you're basically done. Use FileMaker's FMPLAYOUT grammar to get the definition. Voila! Here's the down side -- you'll have to write Flex code to interpret. Here's an idea. Use a FileMaker custom function to build the MXML code for you. Write a script to call the function and then to publish the MXML to a directory and have some code in Flex to load modules on the Fly. Okay, now you're probably thinking I'm on some 1960 drug trip. You're also probably wanting to see some sample code like most sites would do. If you're interested, just leave a comment and I'll be happy to send you some code and/or show you via my Adobe connect account. Just let me know.

Finally, the title of the post is "Designing Software is Fun Again". I didn't really explain that -- huh? Programs like FileMaker, Axure, and Flex make designing software fun. As I mentioned, it's a preference. It's what works for me. I believe that companies should focus more on making the process fun in lieu of getting bogged down in places that can halt or stifle the creative process. I need a canvas not a document. I want to draw rectangles not write x and y coordinates. I want collaboration not acceptance documents. I'm having a blast.