Chapter 1. Some Flex with your Java?
This chapter covers
- A brief history of Java and Flex
- A whirlwind tour of Flex
- MXML and ActionScript
In 1995, Sun introduced the first Java platform and gave birth to the applet which allowed Java applications to run inside the browser with rich functionality and all the benefits of the Java framework, including connecting to the server side. The applet became hugely popular for a couple of years before its popularity waned mainly because of problems surrounding the browser plugin.
Macromedia embraced the idea of having a dedicated runtime environment for the browser, like the Java applet, and in 1997 released the Flash Player. Adobe has since taken over the rights to the Macromedia suite of products and helped to evolve what is now the Flex framework and development API.
Building features in an applet from scratch or even with other rich implementations can be expensive compared to the simplicity of using the Flex framework. Figure 1.1 displays a simple Java applet data grid next to a Flex data grid. The Flex data grid right out of the box not only looks better than the applet, it’s much more functional with much less code overhead. The Flex DataGrid and AdvancedDataGrid components provide built-in support for tasks such as sorting, dragging columns, row highlighting, data nesting, and styling.
