• Flex =>The Fast Lexical Analyzer.
• Flex is a fast lexical analyzer generator. It is a tool for generating programs that perform pattern-matching on text. Flex is a non-GNU free implementation of the well known Lex program.
• Adobe Flex is a collection of Technologies released by adobe system for the development and deployment of cross platform.
• The initial released in March 2004 by Macromedia included a:
Software Development Kit,
On IDE and J2EE integration known as Flex data services
• In April 2007, Adobe announced plans to open source the Flex 3 SDK
• Flex to create:
expressive, high-performance applications that run identically on all major browsers and OS.

Flex Versions:

The initial Flex versions are

Flex Version 1.0,

Flex Version 1.5.

Required for deployment, the J2EE application server compiled MXML and Action Script on-the-fly into Flash applications (binary SWF files).

Licensing Model:

Adobe Felx2 and 3.

• Adobe Flex2 is a cross platform development for create a RIA(Rich Internet Applications).

• This public prerelease version continues our

New,

More transparent product development process,

Providing frequent,

Regular access to early builds and greater insight into the feature roadmap and planning process.

Framework:

 Data Services:

These enable efficient transfer of information for seamless integration with preexisting applications that run from a common environment.

Application Framework: 

It consists of the following components:

1. Action Script

2. MXML

3. Class Library

Why Use Flex: 

• Rich User Experience

• Quick Response

• High Performance

• Advanced Client-Server Interactivity

• Diverse Modes

• Common Model

• Strong Development Model

Limitations

Flex applications are Flash applications, and are limited by what the Flash player can do.

• The Flash Player is not a web browser. So producing rich documentation is challenging.

• Flash/Flex popup windows are limited to being displayed within the dimensions of the instance of the player that created it.

• Drag and Drop from Desktop to Player is not supported.

• Because Flex applications are thin clients, and not web pages they’re not suitable for where you want to use a web page

History  

• Flex 3.0: Currently in public beta, aka “Moxie”. Can be trialed at labs.adobe.com.

• Flex 2.01: The current production version.

• Flex 1.5 (obsolete): The first prime time version.

Tags: Flex Application