[lordofduct]

So I just wanted to kick of a little discussion because I've noticed the Flash forum here pretty much houses everything Flash related. Yet the Flash community consists of several tools that each of us use different parts of.

I've kept it simple in the poll, but in your post expand from there.




I voted 'AS3 in class files'. Doing most my flash development in Linux makes it pretty arduous to run the Flash authoring tool so I just wrote my code in Eclipse and compiled using the free Flex SDK. Though this technically isn't flex because I didn't really ever use the Flex framework of components or the mxml files.

In recent time I have bumped up to writing more Flex specific stuff and using the mxml and the sort, but just can't get into it to much. With out a proper authoring tool it ends up being pretty time consuming to write the stuff. It ends up being easier for me to just code layouts than write the corresponding mxml, and I never really liked the look and feel of the Flex graphical components.

[chinchang]

My vote for 'AS 3.0 in class files'.

Thats what I think is best. Helps to modulate and manage the code well when its distributed as classes. Though I work majorly on windows, I like to do it all through AS 3.0 code without using any authoring tool like Flash Professional for graphics and animation...Its kinda cool to do it all with AS 3.0 code using the drawing API for gfx. And for that I use FlashDevelop - simply awesome editor.

I have recently started some projects in Flex too. So little bit of my time is spent in creating MXML files. But even there I prefer doing much of the stuff through AS 3.0 as long as I don't need super cool interfaces in less time.

[lordofduct]

I mostly avoid the flash authoring tool because I suck at drawing and have NO graphic art skills what so ever. I always just had the artists make a fla of crap, and usually I'd compile that into some swf library of graphics, its like my code from the get go is ready for 'skinning' with out even intending to.

[Creecher]

With what little experience I've had with Actionscript so far, I've been using 3.0, it's not bad and I like the syntax.

[BetaWar]

I typically lean towards using class files, though there are times when it is just easier to throw things together in the timeline. At this point I don't use AS2 anymore, it is all AS3 (though, I don't really program in flash very often anymore either).

[macosxnerd101]

I've used Flash 8 a while back (years ago) on the design end. This was before I was exposed to coding. With me not being a designer, I'm wasn't thrilled with it. We recently got CS5 at school, and I just haven't had time to pick up AS3. I wish I had made some time, though.

[lordofduct]

It's not all that bad really. When I picked up AS3 I had never wrote AS2 before and researching around the internet returned with a lot of criticism about how Actionscript isn't a real language and that it's a 'script kiddy' language... blah blah blah.

But after writing AS3 it's a very powerful little language with many features like you'd find in other languages. I picked up C# and Java AFTER AS3 and actually was able to bring a lot of my knowledge from it with me and made learning those languages a breeze.

The timeline really hides the power of AS3 though. Hence why I avoid the timeline.

[macosxnerd101]

I agree. This was during my pre-coding days, though, at a one week summer camp for web design. I've seen a little of the AS3 syntax, and it looks very Java-like in nature. I don't imagine it would be too difficult a transition.

[Prototypical]

AS3 is deceptively powerful language. Having script in the name of the language can give people first impressions that don't help. Also, the changes from AS1 to AS2 to AS3 have been rather large. So someone seeing AS1 or AS2 , might lump AS3 into the same pile unless they really explored AS3.

I use the flash IDE only when I need to set linkage or help an artist set a movieclip up in a certain way to achieve something in the code and to export to a .swc

Luckily , the artist I work with now is getting better at handling these things on his own now, he sets linkage and exports the .swc himself.

I compile with flex and use flashDevelop and sometimes flash builder, but I don't use the flex framework.

I do mostly games though, and a web application here and there nowadays.

This post has been edited by Prototypical: 22 May 2011 - 02:43 PM

[jase81]

MXML with some AS3 for me. I suspect with FlashBuilder 4.5 being able to deploy to Blackberry, Apple and Android mobile devices there could well be some more people moving into the mxml/as space.

[brandon_v]

Actionscript 3 in classes: after I used Flex for the first time, I never went back to using Flash for programming. Looking back on it, I am very glad to be rid of the time line and, especially, adding code to MovieClips themselves.
Having such a powerful IDE really showed me that AS3 is a viable programming language.

[AnotherShadow]

I have only done two class files, working on them now and they do not like me. I do like the idea of using them off the timeline though.