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Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

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Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#11

Post by woot »

danw wrote: post #7
ryantmulligan wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hype is because you can possibly simplify rich websites by fitting your web content into the standardized widgets that Flex provides you, thus speeding up development a lot.

I think flex will be the perfect platform for mobile devices where the offline/online is needed more.

Not really. Basically Flex is swf itself. ie., flash content. Currently Flash content is playable on devices that come with Flash Lite player from Adobe. As of now,in Flash Lite,data can be temporarily stored on devices using shared objects.

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#12

Post by juwo »

fauxto wrote: post #3
juwo wrote: post #2

Even Bruce Eckel who wrote the popular Java books, "Thinking in Java", has switched sides and is backing Flex. Qs: Can your application if written in Flex; 1) can it open/close files, in Flex? 2) FTP stuff across, open network connections? 3) can it work offline? If ActionScript is simply a scripting language in the browser, then I doubt it can do the above. So why the hype? - Anil

http://flexblog.faratasystems.com/?p=115 The answer to the initial question, "Is Actionscript 3 a 'real' programming language?" depends entirely on who you're asking. 1) Flex application run in a sandbox, much as Java applets do. Locally, and currently, Flex applications can open files for parsing, but can not write to them. This is remedied with Apollo which is in alpha. Apollo is essentially a Flex application wrap…

My interest was - juwo has no users apart from myself. I was wondering about rewriting it in flex.

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#13

Post by juwo »

jaggederest wrote: post #9

Why would you want to compare it to java? Ye gods man, java/c/c++/c# aren't exactly the kind of languages I'd want a new language to compare with. Python, Ruby, Haskell98, ocaml, etc. Consider those your languages that set the bar right now. Java is 'the new' C.

Never heard of them. (heard of ruby only here, in YC).

old wine in new bottles.

if-then-else by any other name... is just as tedious.

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#14

Post by jaggederest »

juwo wrote: post #13
jaggederest wrote: post #9

Why would you want to compare it to java? Ye gods man, java/c/c++/c# aren't exactly the kind of languages I'd want a new language to compare with. Python, Ruby, Haskell98, ocaml, etc. Consider those your languages that set the bar right now. Java is 'the new' C.

Never heard of them. (heard of ruby only here, in YC). old wine in new bottles. if-then-else by any other name... is just as tedious.

heh, that's what you think. Try building anything substantial in one of the languages I named and then going back to java.

Ruby programs are maybe a tenth the size, give or take,

Python similarly small.

Haskell will blow your mind because you basically never use control structures or type declarations.

Continuation-passing scheme, smalltalk, erlang...

Any of these things will change the way you develop, probably immensely for the better.

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#15

Post by danielha »

juwo wrote: post #12
fauxto wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://flexblog.faratasystems.com/?p=115 The answer to the initial question, "Is Actionscript 3 a 'real' programming language?" depends entirely on who you're asking. 1) Flex application run in a sandbox, much as Java applets do. Locally, and currently, Flex applications can open files for parsing, but can not write to them. This is remedied with Apollo which is in alpha. Apollo is essentially a Flex application wrap…

My interest was - juwo has no users apart from myself. I was wondering about rewriting it in flex.

Do you think rewriting it in Flex will provide you new users?

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#16

Post by juwo »

danielha wrote: post #15
juwo wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My interest was - juwo has no users apart from myself. I was wondering about rewriting it in flex.

Do you think rewriting it in Flex will provide you new users?

Have you downloaded and run juwo?

Why not? Please tell us frankly.

The answer can be revealing.

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#17

Post by juwo »

jaggederest wrote: post #14
juwo wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never heard of them. (heard of ruby only here, in YC). old wine in new bottles. if-then-else by any other name... is just as tedious.

heh, that's what you think. Try building anything substantial in one of the languages I named and then going back to java. Ruby programs are maybe a tenth the size, give or take, Python similarly small. Haskell will blow your mind because you basically never use control structures or type declarations. Continuation-passing scheme, smalltalk, erlang... Any of these things will change the way you develop, probably imme…

can I write a standalone desktop program in Ruby? (I dont know).

BTW my feedback on your work http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=17871

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#18

Post by omouse »

juwo wrote: post #17
jaggederest wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

heh, that's what you think. Try building anything substantial in one of the languages I named and then going back to java. Ruby programs are maybe a tenth the size, give or take, Python similarly small. Haskell will blow your mind because you basically never use control structures or type declarations. Continuation-passing scheme, smalltalk, erlang... Any of these things will change the way you develop, probably imme…

can I write a standalone desktop program in Ruby? (I dont know). BTW my feedback on your work http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=17871

Yes: http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/rubyscript2exe/index.html

Next time just Google for "Ruby standalone". Saves me the trouble of doing it for you ;)

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#19

Post by juwo »

omouse wrote: post #18
juwo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can I write a standalone desktop program in Ruby? (I dont know). BTW my feedback on your work http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=17871

Yes: http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/rubyscript2exe/index.html Next time just Google for "Ruby standalone". Saves me the trouble of doing it for you ;)

You proved my point - for me - better than I could have done so myself :)

If I have to google for it and come up with a 3rd party tool, then it isnt part of the language!

And FYI, I wasnt writing my comment in complete ignorance nor laziness. I did go to the ror site when I first heard of it here on YC. When I realized it seemed to be a scripting language with a web server, I lost interest. Offline is very important for me/juwo.

Re: Is Flex/Actionscript a real programming language? Can it do what Java does? (work offline, write files, networking etc.)

#20

Post by jaggederest »

juwo wrote: post #19
omouse wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes: http://www.erikveen.dds.nl/rubyscript2exe/index.html Next time just Google for "Ruby standalone". Saves me the trouble of doing it for you ;)

You proved my point - for me - better than I could have done so myself :) If I have to google for it and come up with a 3rd party tool, then it isnt part of the language! And FYI, I wasnt writing my comment in complete ignorance nor laziness. I did go to the ror site when I first heard of it here on YC. When I realized it seemed to be a scripting language with a web server, I lost interest. Offline is very important…

try python. well supported windowing toolkits. and it doesn't suck.
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