What is the best Client Side development tool?

XML, Perl, Python, and other languages can be discussed here, even if it isn't PHP (We might forgive you).

Moderator: General Moderators

rhosk
Forum Commoner
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Maine, USA

Post by rhosk »

Had to jump in here.

Flash is not only used for eye candy. You'd be surprized at what Flash can do these days. You guys need to lose your paradigm. And the compression is such that a full fledged website doesn't have to be more than 50K at best. I can show you files less than 1K that will perform as well, if not better than any other client-side script. True, some don't know how to optimize a swf file and go beyond a dial-up modem capability (which is fading fast as well btw) (Modems will be the 10 pound cell phones of the 80's real soon). If done right, flash is perfect for client-side application. AND, it performs extremely well with PHP I might add. I can show examples if interested. I have a basic slide show that parses a php file and is less than 5k. Flash is pretty much a de-facto standard on the web lately and is growing day by day. It's integrated in many software and can be run from almost anywhere. Try that with php.

Not knocking PHP either. I've been playing around with it for a few months now and love the power. And I agree with whomever said that a plain ol' text editor is the way to go to learn and apply php. I do like the Crimson (color coded) editor. Helps me identify errors and the like.

Now quit reading this post and help me in my post here so I may continue to streamline my app :mrgreen:

Great board!
User avatar
andre_c
Forum Contributor
Posts: 412
Joined: Sun Feb 29, 2004 6:49 pm
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Post by andre_c »

I know that you can do lots of stuff with flash but if you don't need eye candy, why would you use it?
If you want a good looking website, it can be accomplished easily without flash.
If you want the cool flash look, of course you'll need flash.
I think flash is simply another tool (I certainly don't think it's the future of the internet).
At least I hope not. (I hope XUL will be the future, but that's just my hope)
kettle_drum
DevNet Resident
Posts: 1150
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2003 9:25 pm
Location: West Yorkshire, England

Post by kettle_drum »

Well i think it would be interesting to set up two test sites to see how more people view the situation. Both sites should be identical in content and design and then would be rated on a series of benchmarks like speed, cost, usabilty,development time etc.
User avatar
andre_c
Forum Contributor
Posts: 412
Joined: Sun Feb 29, 2004 6:49 pm
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Post by andre_c »

I think that it really depends on the purpose of the site.
In some situations javascript will be the right tool and in some situations flash will be the right tool.
If cool flash effects are not needed and only a good looking site is required, I think most times javascript will be the right tool.
rhosk
Forum Commoner
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Maine, USA

Post by rhosk »

Hmm, well I have to say that opinions do fly no matter where you go and opinions are usually a welcomed asset to great conversation. I looked at your profiles and they mention "film & music" (no particular order). Hmm, do either of you two (andre_c, kettle_drum - love the underscores!) peruse music or video on the Internet?

I remember the days (giving away my age a bit) when text based web pages was all we had. Then alas, graphics were starting to appear! "Oh My God, he has graphics on his website; this will go nowhere" was exclaimed. Then, sound was introduced - albeit an Internet hog as far as bandwidth is concerned, but a nice addition and something we could experiment with and enjoy (I listen to music every day on the Net).

Do you guys just peruse websites to read text-based content only? How boring. I can do that with a good book...the monitor gives me a headache after a while. I just assume that, because of the constant "eye candy" comments. I personally am NOT a designer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do appreciate a well designed site, whether it's flash based, JS, php, dhtml, blah, blah, a mixture of many or whatever. It really all depends on the content, the intention of the site (as was all mentioned) and your audience base. But, for [someone] to say that "flash" or any other solution is not the way to go, is strictly a bias comment and really not an objective opinion. I can quote, but too lazy right now. To each their own, eh?

We have only begun to see the power of the interent. It all depends on what you want to accomplish OR what you want the intended user to utilize/benefit from. If it's online animation you need, flash is the way to go. If it's a text tutorial you want to promote, then html is probably your best bet. If it's a database of music....you get the idea. It all depends on the final outcome of what you want to achieve.

I know, I sound like a Macromedia employee. Not the case. I know a little about many scripting languages and flash is one of my favorites (ActionScript). I digress....

My 4 cents.
User avatar
andre_c
Forum Contributor
Posts: 412
Joined: Sun Feb 29, 2004 6:49 pm
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Post by andre_c »

I do think that depending on the situation one tool is better than another.
In some cases, flash is not *the best* way to go and in some cases it is.
I think that is an objective opinion not a biased one, because there are real reasons to choose one over the other.
rhosk
Forum Commoner
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 12:00 pm
Location: Maine, USA

Post by rhosk »

andre_c wrote:I do think that depending on the situation one tool is better than another.
In some cases, flash is not *the best* way to go and in some cases it is.
I think that is an objective opinion not a biased one, because there are real reasons to choose one over the other.
Touché, I agree!
Post Reply