AIR Tidbits You May Have Missed
By now you’ve heard that Adobe has launched the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), formerly Apollo. You probably heard about Flex 3, too. If you’re an HTML developer however, there are a few announcements that may have gotten past you. HTML/CSS/JS is a first-class citizen for developing AIR applications, and to that end there’s a some new developments that assist in that workflow. There’s also some updates and a new addition to the HTML-based sample applications.
One of my favorite announcements doesn’t even come from Adobe, yet it’s all about AIR. At just about the same time that the news about AIR crossed the wire, Aptana announced the availability of a plug-in for AIR development. I’ve been using Aptana for AIR (Apollo) development almost exclusively, and I must say that I don’t know how I lived without that level of JavaScript code intelligence and debugging. The debugging in particular is just amazing! When I wanted to test or package my AIR application however, I had to head to the command line.
The new Aptana plug-in adds a comprehensive means to manage AIR projects, test those projects, and package your assets for deployment. The code-hinting you would expect for the rest of JavaScript is also there for all the AIR API’s. Aptana will even manage different versions of the AIR SDK for you! When you build an AIR project, all the additional prompts for the application manifest are presented and the corresponding XML file is also created. The support for AIR goes on and on, so if you’re an HTML developer I highly encourage you to check it out.
Most developers who’ve looked at the Apollo Alpha sample applications are probably familiar with Fresh. In case you’re not, Fresh is an RSS reader application, that includes support for offline reading, and is built on the Ext framework. This application was made available before Ext 1.0 was available, so it has been updated to the latest Ext bits, and includes some subtle additional functionality to that end. With the AIR Beta there’s a new addition to the samples called, Signet. Signet is a bookmark manager for del.icio.us and it too is built on Ext. I can’t say enough about Brian and Jack over at Ext, and am looking forward to working with them more in the future.
While Aptana is great for when you’re using an Ajax framework, trying to track down that pesky last bug, or just getting into the code, there’s probably some of you out there that may also want to design your HTML and CSS. Of course there’s no better tool on the market (personal preference) than Dreamweaver CS3 for getting up close and personal with your CSS. Of course Dreamweaver CS3 has great support for Adobe’s Ajax framework, Spry, but there’s also now an extension for AIR development too!
The AIR Extension for Dreamweaver CS3 adds AIR documentation, code-hinting, previewing and packaging. The code hinting works whenever you’re writing JavaScript inside an HTML SCRIPT block that makes use of the AIR API’s. To preview an application you’re writing, you select to “Preview in Adobe AIR” which conveniently sits right below the browser preview options. Ready to package your application? You’ll find “Package as Adobe AIR Application” on the site menu. This option brings up a dialog that allows you to select what resources are included in the application.
These are all great resources for the HTML developer. Documentation, code intelligence, testing, packaging, wizards and more. If you prefer a code-centric environment based on Eclipse, and common Ajax frameworks, then Aptana is a great resource. If you find yourself needing pixel precise control and CSS visualization for your AIR development, then you can’t go wrong with Dreamweaver CS3. Of course Ext is LGPL which means the source for both Fresh and Signet are available as part of the sample application distribution.