Quoting Roland Zwaga <rol...@stackandheap.com>:
Ok, I looked at this code, it looks like they use a socket bridge from
Eclipse to the browser to send actions/commands/messages.
The developer has created an AST API in ActionScript that looks like it
decorates metadata XML. I'm not sure if it's metadata or actually AST XML
sent over the socket bridge from Eclipse's AST model.
Anyway, this idea is golden for writing wrappers from each IDE. From the
looks of it we might actually be able to use that SWFBridge for a viewer. I
don't know this is after looking at the GIT code for about 5 minutes.
For those interested, I think it would be worth while to abstract this
project into 2 code sections, one that is not dependent on AIR APIs and the
actually designer just use Flash APIs no AIR.
This way if you needed different types of functionality, you still could
use a browser without loosing the design capability.
Honestly folks, I could see how a simple socket bridge could be used in
DND operations also. The DNBD is initiated in say Eclipse, the dnd info is
pushed to the designer over the socket, when the mouse then enters the SWF
it already knows what it is dragging.
The only problem is I am very rusty and don't know if the Flash Player
would get an event of some type when the mouse enters the browser with the
mouse already down.
This sounds even more doable looking at the code. Essentially the designer
app is purly in ActionScript so there is no IDE wars happening there.
We could set it up also down the road where the default, the properties
editors existed IN THE APP and if an IDE so choose, could turn them off and
then the properties panel would actually be implemented in the IDE natively
using the DND API we make.
Ok, sorry for being ignorant here ;) I'm getting a bit of an acronym
overdose hehe. What exactly is DND and DNBD? In any case, I'm glad that
this existing work looks promising, this way it might be possible to make a
running start. It would be hilarious if Apache Flex folks would actually be
able to create a Flashbuilder plugin that facilitates this, I've been
saying for years that FB should allow plugins to be developed in the
language its supporting. (Eclipse->Java, VIsual Studio->C#,etc) Yet somehow
Adobe didn't think this was a good idea apparently... (Them again, I'm not
a business genius, just a dumb developer)
I'm not sure how many plugins have been created for FDT yet using this API,
maybe there's folks working for Powerflasher on this list that can shed
some light on this?
Roland
Everything was Drag and Drop, typo. I think I was typing Drum and Bass
to... ;-)
Well Roland, I looked at the code again. I need to take it down a
notch, there are about 3 different things I am looking at.
1. Direct communication from an IDE to Browser over a socket.
2. How we could use existing code, IE SWFBridge.
3. If writing a plugin using this framework is relevant.
When I first looked at it I was more looking at how they were
communicating with the FlashPlayer not the actual use of ActionScript
to extend Eclipse.
They are just sending commands from a parsed ActionScript/MXML file,
creating an AST tree in Eclipse using the parser, sending that AST
back to the Player and loading it into there ActionScript AST tree
that then is used to send real commands back to Eclipse.
This is crazy, but I actually understand what they are doing, hmm this
looks like something I would have tried if I had the time. :)
Mike
