Moving towards AS3/Flex Development
While tired of choosing which PHP framework is better, or even asking stupid question such as is RoR is better than PHP, I decided to move my focus away from PHP and back to Flash platform.
This is a big step for me, as moving focus from server side to the client side. However, it seems like this is what currently happens in the WWW since some bastard started the hype of web2.0.
The merging of Adobe and Macromedia together with Microsoft announced .net framework 3.0 and their own competitive tools against flash & acrobat platform brought the new generation to Internet application. We can foresee the future is belong to cross platform and open standard. Those who think they can ignore open source world is going to be ignored.
However, this doesn't mean that staying alone as an open source project without collaborating with commercial world can remain competitive, or the other way round. These extreme will not work in future, as the world is gray and with the following example:
- Zend and Microsoft is working hard to make php run better on IIS
- Adobe and Mozilla is working hard to make Tamarin runs better for flash player 9 and mozilla 2 engine
- Lih-Hern is working in new phoenix team (John Gould Game?? shit, i not good in memorizing name) to build better game engine that going to release to open source. :P
So, after 4 years of loyalty to PHP programming, I decided to move my focus away from server side towards client side, and I have made my choice to Flex and Apollo. I believe both of them are great platforms that will bridge the future devices-web-desktop barrier. As a result, we developers should be able to create real software/game that write-once, run everywhere.
This transforming too means I will be putting more time back in research more than development, at least, 30% more of time spend.
However, this doesn't means i am putting all my current project or career into the end. What i learn in flex will be helping me to improve my current projects, with better features, performance and faster development time.
Is this mean i am sure that all web application will be written in flash in near future? Definitely nop, it is still a long way to go as macromedia had tried hard in past 7 years to make it works but people still have the perceptions that as long as not 100% browser in world supporting flash player, Javascript and HTML still rules! It is weired that people don't apply this to Adobe Acrobat format. At least, nobody said: I wont use Acrobat format as long as not 100% of the computer are not installed with Acrobat reader, thus i will continue writing in plain text.
I was uncertain with Adobe and Macromedia merging, but with the recent Free Flex2 SDK, Adobe open source projects, Adobe lab... I am confidence that Adobe merge well with Macromedia. For sure, Mr Bill will get lots of headache for the next few years.
Mobile technology is another strategic point in future that I would love to explore. Afterall, in country like Malaysia and China, web gave people the perceptions that it is FREE while mobile means PAID!
Year 2007 sound like a tech breaking years. What works in the past might not work after this breaking point. It will also means a great opportunity for new comers. Thus, learning new skills is a must, in order to stay competitive.
It is not a switching, as i believe i can find the nice balance to put flash and php working together. I will like to use it in near future, and would love to explore how i can build game and app more faster and easier with it.
People used to have a wrong impression that I am a web developer, and again, I would like to position myself as a Multimedia Developers which like to explore new possibility. There should have no diff between web and desktop, or even programming and art.
