Flex 3, ActionScript , or Ajax - So Many Choices - Which is Best?
In the last few months, I have been working on 3 projects, using three different frameworks - Flex, Actionscript, and ExtJS ( Ajax). I must say that I am impressed with all three of these types of solutions for accessing remote data from an API service written in PHP, or AMFPHP.
Flex 3 is very impressive, and I have decided to try at least creating prototype applications with it, and including them as movie clips in my Flash projects. If this works, I’ll do nothing else, but in some cases, I may just take the idea I initiated with Flex 3 and follow through to create the final product with Actionscript and Flash objects.
As for ExtJS, this is a great solution if you’re dealing with a website that has no initial Flash capabilities, and none are desired by the client, yet still allow you to do remote communications through the Ajax library it provides, which is very similar in syntax as Prototype - only some minor differences.
As for deciding which is best - I would say that Flex provides a really quick way to get a project done, once you’ve overcome the learning curve of putting things together and arranging the layouts. If you have a project started in Flash, Flex might be an option you can use to get some aspects of it completed. ExtJS is a good framework to get some simple, quick and dirty DOM manipulation functions done, along with some nicely styled windows and widgets (i.e. the calendar widget), but if you’re not familiar with JavaScript, learning ExtJS can be daunting and take more time than you have available to meet a deadline.
Its really a tough call as to which is best - I would have to say neither. Use the one you’re more suited for. Honestly, my work with ExtJS for the past year helped me understand more completely the workings of ActionScript, which in turn helped me understand how to use Flex. I honestly believe that the designer of ExtJS was an ActionScript programmer who knew Java and JavaScript, and borrowed the best ideas from these languages to put together a strong, consistent JavaScript framework that just makes sense, if you are familiar with the other languages I’ve mentioned here.
If you don’t have a designer available and really stink at PhotoShop, ExtJS provides a great way of providing a stylish solution for your customer’s project minimal design work needed on the programmer’s part.
Armed with the information I’ve provided here, hopefully it will help someone who is at a loss as to what he or she should use to begin. Personally, I wish someone had left a post with some clues which contrasted and compared these three technologies when I was starting out with various projects. Good luck!
