Is it Flash? Is it Flex? Is is Laszlo? Is it SWiSH? Is it Illustrator? No, its SWF.
The SWF runtime is where your SWFs well………. run.
Flash is a SWF authoring tool that has a GUI for WYSIWYG symbol design and composition. These symbols are stored in a library and can be programmatically referenced in AS3 code as classes if given a unique class name in their properties dialog. See the ‘Linkage’ column in the image below.
Flash has an excellent import filter for PSD and AI files that provides pixel perfect imports of bitmap and vector layers, as well as preserving the text fields.
The common practice for coding in Flash is to follow the standard folder taxonomy such as in the image below.
Code Classes are added to these folders and “imported” into one another as needed.
The Flash compiler takes the code you write and the library elements you have constructed and spins them into a SWF file for execution in the SWF runtime. So, it is not a Flash site, or a Flash presentation, or a Flash demo, it is a SWF.
Flex is a SWF authoring tool based on the eclipse IDE. Flex has a WSYIWYG design and layout component that creates MXML markup. MXML is unique to Flex and is widely used when coding with the Flex RIA framework. A developer can use the Flex designer to build UI elements or the developer can procedurally create the view clip hierarchies and nest them appropriately for the desired functionality and behaviors. Similar to HTML coding of Table or Div hierarchies. The Flex design view is used to visually construct any number of its advanced and primitive components, but does not support PSD or AI import directly. Flex developers follow the same standards as Flash for code folder organization which is actually loosely based on the Java project organization. A Flex project will look similar to a Flash project but will have a library folder where its assets are stored. These assets can be jpg, png, swf, gif, mp3, fonts, svg, and xml. This folder should not be confused with the folder containing any assets to be dynamically loaded at run time. The library folders items are meant to be the assets that are compiled into a SWF.
Wait, there is my point, Flex spins the code and referenced assets into a SWF. So it is not a Flex site, or a Flex RIA, or a Flex proto, it is a SWF.
OpenLaszlo is a multi-runtime capable development framework that is similar to Flex at least in project organization, declarative syntax (XML), and JavaScript coding. Code can be organized into similar folder taxonomys and assets are imported at compile time. OpenLaszlo’s compiler spins the code and assets into a SWF.
Need I say more?
I could go on about all the other SWF authoring tools and utilities, but I am sure you are getting my point. We are entertained, amused, made productive, advertised to, captivated, etc, by the SWF and the SWF runtimes and players, not Flash or Flex. If the latter was the case you might be reading a Dreamweaver site right now…
NOTES:
There are other methods of SWF authoring that can combine any number of these tools to benefit from the strengths of many. One example, Flash can publish its library as a SWC that can be used in Flex therefore getting the best of both worlds. Another example, SWiSH products and Swift 3D provide SWFs to be consumed and imported into other SWF authoring environments that the authoring environments themselves are no capable of creating (at least easily). The portability of SWFs provides countless ways for the host of SWF authoring tools to compliment each other.
OpenLaszlo can also publish to DHTML / Javascript runtimes (your web browser) and does not require a plug-in. Author once, publish many.
