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From: jude <flexcapacitor@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2016 19:44:05 -0800
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 <CANcBHEBwWWaUM_e=r0FQwtj85+bvBx=SqUUxEph0tMz1ZjAr+A@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: [OT] Progress report on Radiate a Flex related project
To: "users@flex.apache.org" <users@flex.apache.org>
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Radiate is an application (hybrid IDE) that helps generate MXML, HTML and
compilation snapshots from a visual design view. It has a plugin
architecture for adding different importers and exporters. It's created
with and based on Spark and Apache Flex SDK. Since August, 2015 I've been
creating new builds monthly. I've posted the change log here
<https://www.radii8.com/blog/?p=1078> on the latest release.

In the past, to save work, you had to register an account on radii8.com.
Now you can also, if you choose, use your own site (domain) for creating
projects. Radiate connects to a WordPress instance to save the MXML
documents and project data. This is because at one time, it was going to
run completely online and so an online CMS made sense. It also uses
WordPress as a publishing platform.

Any document you design can be used as a "theme" for WordPress (very basic
so far). So for example, if you make a gallery page, save it, set the
document status to publish and then navigate to the WordPress post in the
browser, you'll see your design exported as HTML page, instead of seeing a
theme page, through the custom WordPress / Radiate related theme. In each
post, you can setup tokens to import WordPress post content, title and so
on.

Also, in the latest release I've added property inspectors for around ten
more components. This fulfills one of the goals of the project, as sort of
property explorer. On a side note, one of the most surprising things I've
found is how awesome the TileGroup is. It has some really nice layout
options. It can easily be used like a table or a form. I also found a lot
of properties on familiar components I didn't know about.

There are numerous other changes, including some initial support for live
mxml editing <https://www.radii8.com/blog/?p=1083> in a prototype. Each
component takes about 50 - 100ms to render in my tests. There are numerous
places where the performance could be improved.

After spending some time talking to other web developers I really think it
would be beneficial to have runtime MXML support. Specifically adding it
for designers, for developers who don't want to use HTML and just as an
alternative to not just HTML but to everything else out there. HTML
frameworks are reinvented every week and they are coming up with solutions
that Flex and Flex JS has had for years. If they see live MXML source code
at least they can use it as an example to base off or use Flex in general.
I'm not talking about the view source that comes with Flex swf projects but
online MXML source code parsed at runtime and made visible by a view source
type of context menu.

I realize most of you can write code faster than using a design view. This
project is for learning Flex and HTML as much as creating projects with it.
It has support for Android layouts but let's be real, nobody's writing
native Android on this list. And for developers, live MXML editing may come
in time, maybe even from you.

The source <https://github.com/monkeypunch3/Radii8/blob/master/README.md>
is online, I think just recently I noticed there may be some classes
missing. I'll try to post them on the blog as an attachment. The road map
is online with the source. That's a suggested outline. That's as much up to
me as anyone. And to be clear, you can branch your own versions, although,
obviously, it would be most helpful to everyone if you contribute to the
main branch or commit changes back in.

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