Generation Flex

We are imminently approaching the launch of our first RIA E-Commerce application utilizing the power of Flex 2. We’ve built a dynamic front end product browser and shopping cart that is managed by a complete set of store administration tools integrated into i3SiteTools, DP’s site management system. I’d like to take the time to relate a few of the finer points and pitfalls we’ve encountered during our setup and development process.

One of the first hurdles we had was with active content, which was addressed here: IE Update: To Use Flash, Click Here to Click Here. We basically used best practices (via Macromedia/Adobe and Microsoft) to dynamically load active content. For those that don’t feel like getting their hands too dirty, tools such as Dreamweaver and Flex Builder 2 can generate the code for you (and even incorporate Flash Player version detection to boot).

Our development environment utilizes ColdFusion for our database connectivity. So during the Flex 2 GMC era we started integrating CFEclipse and the ColdFusion Flex Builder Extension for Eclipse. Of these tools, I most often use the RDS Service Browser to investigate argument requirements for Remote Object calls. One relatively undocumented setting that is worth investigating is the configuration file ([Coldfusion]\webroot\WEB-INF\Flex\services-config.xml). Changes to the destination node support such things as remote access, CFC mappings, and case management - as in lower vs. upper (a real plus since ActionScript is case sensitive).

Another big concern in a multi-developer environment is version control. We have chosen SVN, specifically Tortoise SVN, for our version management. Lo and Behold! There is an Eclipse plug-in, Subclipse, from Tigris that integrates perfectly. At least it did until Subversion 1.1.4, now we just need Flex Builder to adopt Eclipse 3.2.

At one point, we had a scare. For various reasons, not all which are technical, our developers generally test using Mozilla Firefox. This led to a big surprise when we had our client remotely load the site for the first time in IE!

"Channel.Connect.Failed error NetConnection.Call.Failed: HTTP: Status 200"

I was back and forth on this one with Adobe for several weeks (props to Matt Chotin and Bill Sahlas for holding my hand). After much poking and prodding (in log files and with ServiceCapture), it seems the issue is related to the fact that caching is treated differently with IE. I stumbled upon this blog entry about Flex and SSL, and thought I’d give it a try:

“<add-no-cache-headers>false</add-no-cache-headers>”

Woot! Don’t ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies.

What I’d like to leave you with is the knowledge that, aside from learning MXML and ActionScript 3, there are a number of other things to think about when developing with Flex. I expect to see many applications hit the web in the near future, and I will follow up with a discussion of our first public app once we launch.