Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 30, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Adobe Systems today announced that it is making Adobe Flex Builder 2 software available free of charge to pupils, students and educational institutions. The integrated development environment (IDE) Flex Builder 2 is part of a toolset with which rich Internet applications (RIAs), which are an essential component of Web 2.0, can be designed and developed.
Web 2.0 technologies have driven the development of RIAs that have enabled data exchange, collaboration, user participation, social networking and much more. Flex is a system with which cross-platform RIAs for the Web can be created. By providing Flex Builder 2 free of charge, teachers and learners have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in the development of RIAs and meet the requirements for Web 2.0. The functions of RIAs can also extend to the desktop when the current, publicly accessible beta version of Flex 3 and Adobe’s AIR technology are connected with one another.
“By making it easier for educational institutions to work with Flex 2, we ensure that everyone involved in the educational process can make the tools for Web 2.0 and RIAs their own,” explains Rainer Siebert, Business Development Manager Education at Adobe Systems. “RIAs are the future of Web developent. Therefore, sound knowledge of RIA development will be an important additional qualification for students.”
Flex applications can nowadays be created and distributed commercially with the free Flex 2 Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK contains the Flex Compiler and Action Script 3.0 libraries. Together, these elements provide a language and programming template for creating RIAs that can be displayed on Adobe Flash Player. With the availability of Flex 3 in early 2008, the Flex SDK will be made available as open source. This allows developers to expand the source code of the Flex Compiler and help shape components and application environments.
Adobe Flex 2 is broadly available from the beginning of November on the Adobe website for free download by pupils, students and eligible educational institutions.
Further links:
- Adobe
