Currently I’m helping to lead the development of an enterprise-grade rich internet application. We’ve decided that the front-end client is going to be a desktop app running on Adobe AIR and using the Flex framework, but we’re still discussing options as to what the back-end should be running on. Java, .NET, Ruby on Rails, even Python...all have been discussed, but the one we were initially writing off was PHP. In an effort to be fair, I’m re-considering, and recently finished reading a book, php|architect’s Guide to Enterprise PHP Development, that aims to position PHP as a viable enterprise platform.

Keep reading “Book review: php architect’s Guide to Enterprise PHP Development”...

Inquiring minds want to know: with WebKit officially banking on the use of the SquirrelFish JavaScript interpreter (WebKit is the HTML rendering engine underlying Apple’s Safari browser and Adobe’s AIR platform), does this mean that we’ll see Adobe moving away from using JavaScriptCore for JS execution and toward using SquirrelFish?

In 2006 Adobe donated the Tamarin interpreter to the Mozilla Foundation (press release). Tamarin is a JavaScript engine based on Adobe’s Flash ActionScript interpreter. More recently, a branch known as Tamarin Tracing is most likely going to make its way into Firefox 4.

Early tests have shown SquirrelFish to be a (whopping) 52% faster than Tamarin, which seems like it would make it an ideal candidate for AIR.

So the question is: will Adobe abandon the child of its scripting engine in favor of SquirrelFish?

[Update, 11/17/2008] Yes, they did indeed.

For a long time I resisted using Twitter, because I was more interested in getting ToledoMenu.com, along with this blog, up and running. But after seeing some practical benefits to using Twitter, I’m starting to get my feet wet.

When I’m on my Mac, I use Fluid to run a SSB (site specific browser) for Hahlo - and I’ve made it into a nice menubar item that just sits up out of my way, there when I want it. It even has Growl notifications (currently disabled for me - I’ve got work to do!) to let me know when someone I’m following makes a new tweet.

On my Windows machine, I’ve just started using TweetDeck - it’s a full-featured yet minimalist front-end to Twitter that runs on the Adobe AIR platform. That means it’s cross-platform. Thanks to Iain Dodsworth for putting this one together, it’s very well done.

I’m aware that there is a vast array of Twitter clients out in the wild, like the TwitterFox plugin for Firefox. I’d be interested to know what you’re using, so feel free to let me know in the comments.

Ryan Lanciaux recently tagged me to write up how I got started in software development (a meme originally started by Michael Eaton).

How old were you when you first started programming?

I first started "programming" when I was 11. In quotes because I really don't consider now what I did then programming. It was mostly just hacking and fumbling.

How did you get started in programming?

I've been using computers and playing computer games since I was very young, probably about 4 or 5 years old, back in the personal computing heyday of the 1980s. That segued to an interest in actually creating my own games and programs.

What was your first language?

BASIC, and later C++

Keep reading “How did I get started in software development?”...

This is possibly a useless trick, but if you come up with any uses, let me know. I’m thinking maybe it could be used for checking how well content re-flows on the fly, without having to modify and upload a page. There are probably less scrupulous uses as well, but I won’t go into those.

Drag the following link to your bookmarks bar. Known to work in IE7, Firefox, and Safari.

Make HTML Editable

Adobe Developer Connection has posted a video demonstrating some impressive upcoming skinning features in Flex 4 that should greatly improve designer/developer collaboration and workflow on projects. One thing I’m left wondering though is how Thermo is going to play into this system.

Keep reading to see a video.

Keep reading “Flex 4 to improve designer/developer workflow”...

Via Andy Baio.

Fun, colorful new game coming out summer 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Deeply reminiscent of Loco Roco for the PSP.

Keep reading to see a video.

Keep reading “Rolando: New game for iPhone and iPod Touch”...

This article was originally posted on Magnate Interactive.

Adobe has joined the movement toward file format transparency. Of interest to Flash developers is the upcoming XFL file format to be used in Flash CS4, which is a .zip formatted document containing an XML file describing the structure of the Flash document along with a folder containing graphics, sounds, and other assets.

Keep reading “XFL, the New File Format for Flash CS4”...

Zoomii is “an online visual bookstore which replicates the browsing goodness of real bookstores” (quote from developer Chris Thiessen).

Keep reading “Zoomii Books, the Visual Online Bookstore”...

Via Peter Elst.
Uses the b.Tween framework and EyeGT technology to run a ported version of a Boulevart Flash Lite app on the iPhone.

Keep reading “Unofficial Flash Lite Application Running on the iPhone”...