Should I use the Flex or Air SDK to develop an Air application?

Question

I want to develop an application for working with Adobe. What is the difference between using an Air SDK or Flex SDK and what are the advantages / disadvantages? My application will use the SQLlite database, and PHP may be involved later if I turn it all into a web application.

thanks

Answer 1

“If you want to develop an Air application, you must use the Air SDK. If you want to develop a Flex application that works on the air, you need to use both.” - @joshtnjala

I believe that @joshtnjala will be partially correct, but I wanted to add to it. If you use the Flex 3.3 SDK, you no longer need the AIR SDK, as these tools are available for the Flex 3.3 SDK. It is important to note, because I see a lot of confusion or misuse of the term, Flex is actually three things.

• Flex SDK (currently 3.3)

  allows developers without Flash and / or Flex IDE to develop and compile / publish ActionScript3 and MXML code for flash content (SWF). For example, you can use FlashDevelop for the IDE and compile the code using the Flex 3.3 SDK.

• Flex framework

  (From adobe [ http://www.adobe.com/products/flex/overview/†[1] ). Flex is a free, open-source environment for creating highly interactive, expressive web applications that are deployed sequentially across all major browsers, desktop computers and operating systems. It provides a modern, standards-based programming and language model that supports common design patterns. MXML, an XML-based declarative language, is used to describe the layout and behavior of the user interface, and ActionScript ™ 3, a powerful object-oriented programming language, is used to create client logic. Flex also includes a rich library of components with over 100 proven extensible user interface components for rich Internet applications (RIAs), as well as an interactive Flex application debugger.

• Flex Builder 3

  Flex Builder is simply a development environment that helps you develop Flash (SWF) or AIR content. This builder uses the SDK above to compile. The frame may or may not be used depending on the needs of the developers. Many developers left the FLASH IDE (THAT NASTY TIMELINE!) And began to write scripts for their AS3 exclusively in the Flex Builder IDE, as it provides many useful features for an "advanced" programmer; Not to mention its very clean interface and is built on an eclipse, so it has many plugins and a solid community behind its architecture.

Speaking of this, in order to expand on what Jostnal said, the difference between using AIR SKD and the Flex 3.3 SDK is that if you just want to create an AIR application consisting of Actiosncript3 code, the AIR SDK is all you need (33mb unpacked). If you intend to use MXML and any part of the "Flex Framework", then you should use the Flex 3.3 SDK (without unpacking 190mb). This will allow you to use the many available components such as Datagrids, Accordions, etc. In your AIR application. Thus, in the end, both will develop an AIR application since the Flex 3.3 SDK includes AIR 1.5 development tools. Select your project, find out what you need if the component works for this or if you need a special implementation, etc., and then select your toolkit.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

These frames are combined. If you want your application to be both on the Internet and on the desktop, do it using the Flex SDK, and then wrap the desktop version of it using Air.

Answer 3

If you plan to deploy on the Internet and communicate with the server server and all this jazz, then flexibility is the way to go. If your goal is desktop users, then AIR.

Answer 4

If you want to develop an Air application, you must use the Air SDK. If you want to develop a Flex application that works in the air, you need to use both.