Many developers first learning about Flex 3 may still be unclear as to the relationship between Flex and Flash authoring, the traditional tool for creating content for Flash Player. First, you do not have to understand Flash authoring in order to work with Flex. In fact, you can get started with Flex without any prior knowledge of or experience in Flash authoring.
Flash authoring is a product that was developed in 1996 as a vector animation tool primarily aimed at creating animation content for the Web. In the many versions since that time, both Flash authoring and Flash Player (the deployment platform for Flash authoring content) have enabled greater and greater capabilities, and developers began to create RIAs with the tools. However, although Flash authoring is a fantastic tool for creating animations, it is not the ideal tool for creating applications. The metaphors that Flash authoring uses at its core (such as timelines) are simply not applicable to application development.
Flex 3 is a product aimed primarily at creating applications. The framework includes a rich set of layout and user interface components, and the technology uses metaphors such as states and transitions that are appropriate to application development.
Both Flex and Flash authoring allow you to create .swf content that runs in Flash Player. In theory, you can achieve the same things using both products. However, Flash is a tool that allows you to create timeline-based animations and to use drawing tools best suited for expressiveness, whereas Flex allows you to much more rapidly assemble screens of content with transitions and data communication behaviors. As with any craft, it is advisable to use the best tool for the job. Until now, Flash authoring was one of the only tools for creating .swf content. But with Flex 3, we now have a tool with a more specific focus.
Although many people may initially try to frame the Flex and Flash authoring debate as a winner-takes-all scenario, it's rather naïve to think of them as competing technologies. Rather, they are two complementary technologies that allow all Flash platform developers to utilize specialized tools when creating rich Internet content. In fact, Flex and Flash authoring can work very well together. As you’ll see in this book, Flex can import content created in Flash authoring, allowing you to create RIAs that utilize timeline-based content.
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