Do you use an architectural framework for Flex/AIR development?
- by Christophe Herreman
Given that Flex is still a relatively young technology, there are already a bunch of architectural frameworks available for Flex/AIR (and Flash) development, the main ones being Cairngorm and PureMVC. The amount of architectural frameworks is remarkable compared to other technologies.
I was wondering how many of you use an architectural framework for Flex development. If so, why, or why not if you don't use any?
To share my own experience and point of view: I have used Cairngorm (and ARP for Flash development) on a variety of projects and found that at times, we needed to write extra code just to fit into the framework, which obviously didn't feel right. Although I haven't used PureMVC on many occasions, I have the same gut feeling after looking at the examples applications.
Architectural frameworks equal religion in some way. Most followers are convinced that their framework is THE framework and are not open or very skeptical when it comes to using other frameworks. (I also find myself hesitant and skeptical to check out new frameworks, but that is mainly because I would rather wait until the hype is over.)
In conclusion, I'm thinking that it is better to have a sound knowledge of patterns and practices that you can apply in your application instead of choosing a framework and sticking to it. There is simply no right or wrong and I don't believe that there will ever be a framework that is considered the holy grail.
