Help to steer me (please) on a Flash Pro 6 to Flex SDK compiler path?

programming flash
1

Can you steer me on this?

Even – to let me know where to ask?
(I think all of the old Flash mailing lists are gone; although
I’ll try on the Apache Flex lists).

I have a (VERY LARGE) Adobe AIR app.

It is fairly complex; with local mobile-side databases; it syncs to
web-based databases; has voice-to-text features, Camera interfaces;
just all kinds of stuff.

Chunks of the app functionality is reused in supporting Flash-based
pages.

… I used the Flash cross-platform features to the fullest extent
possible :wink:

The app is fully built in Adobe Flash Professional 6;
using pure AS3 Actionscript code – INCLUDING the setup and
placement of on screen fields. No MXML. I tried to stay away from
FLEX and FLEX SDK ties.

There are a couple of SWCS for some UI components; camera and sound
processing.

MY QUESTION

I need to anticipate Adobe pulling the plug on Adobe Flash Pro 6.

  - Adobe Flash Pro HAS to connect to Adobe for licensing.

  - There are also a lot of steps to install Adobe Flash Pro 
    and all pieces.

I do not want to use Adobe Creative Online.
(They lost me when they forced a service-based model)

How can I find out the steps, or even if it is possible,
to replicate the ability to compile my AIR code
using just the Flex compiler itself?

I greatly appreciate your help.

Thank you

2

I can’t guarantee a good answer but heres my rant on it

To clarify, you have a project you currently publish as an AIR app from flash pro cs6. You do not use flex, and you do not want to rely on flash pro anymore because you think Adobe might drop support, and you don’t want to keep buying new “Animate” licenses?

It sounds like you are looking for ADT. adt is what the IDEs use in the background to package your project as an “air app”, its inside the air sdk itself, its free and it can be used directly on the command line. Basically you take your swfs, swcs, anes, images, icons, whatever and package them all yourself
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/air/build/WS5b3ccc516d4fbf351e63e3d118666ade46-7fd9.html

You said
"…placement of on screen fields"

You are referring to textfields and things you drag directly on to the stage in flash pro? To really decouple from flash pro, you would need to first modify any classes like that, as if you were using another IDE like flash develop or intelliJ where there is no visible timeline tool.

Now, lets say you do that, you still need something to code and compile your updated swf files. so you choose intelliJ+AIR sdk or flash develop + Air sdk. flash develop is great but now your betting on them, and of course all of this hinges on the assumption that adobe keeps updating the AIR sdk. Which i think they will at least for the foreseeable future.

If you bought a non subscription license to flash pro cs6, and you can manually update the AIR sdk in the drop down, it should continue to work fine unless AIR sdk changes something fundamental rendering the tool broken. That, im sure would NOT get an update after x amount of years, but i don’t think your going to see it relying on phoning home and one day saying “oops you’re not supported”. Maybe i misunderstood that part. 10 year old versions of flash are prob not supported but they still should work. And pirated versions certainly dont rely on phoning to adobe

Anyway my personal opinion is your probably fine for a while. I would honestly leave it on CS6 if its that massive of a project. If you get cold feet and want to test something else, setup your project in flash develop (free) if that ever drops support, setup in intelliJ (paid) if that drops go back to “animate” or flash builder.

I suppose if years pass and flash pro cant compile the AIR app anymore, if you can at least get it to publish the updated swfs of the project, you would still be fine to just command line adt with those files.

3

Thank you for an excellent answer!

regarding: Fields, etc being done all in (non-MXML) code – I have classes for TextFields, Dropdowns and so on; and just pass parms to an instantiation of the class to set it up. Fields are positioned at run time on RESIZE; so that they fit best on many different size screens.

Bitmaps, MP3s are all pulled in via EMBEDs. I literally have nothing on the main app’s timeline; or Action panel.

I get stuck with Flash Develop at this point ->

I separately compile a Flash (FLA) file with the Android components from kevin hoyt to a SWC. <- These are like MinimalComps; RazorBerry and a bunch of other component wrappers like that; most of which I have tried.

I have altered the Hoyt components a good over time; and they do have a lot of bits and pieces in the .FLA library.

Flash Develop won’t get me from .FLA to .SWC, correct?

4

That, im sure would NOT get an update after x amount of years, but i
don’t think your going to see it relying on phoning home and one day
saying “oops you’re not supported”. Maybe i misunderstood that part. 10
year old versions of flash are prob not supported but they still should
work. And pirated versions certainly dont rely on phoning to adobe

On phoning home … Flash Pro 6 has to phone home to even install it.

I’m concerned a hard drive will go; and I’ll try to reinstall it only to find at that point I can not phone home to install it.

I don’t trust Adobe much. I think that they took a good tool (Flash); got it right to where it could have dominated; right at the beginning of Android development with AIR; and was positioned to have a wonderful cross platform tool; then cried and ran home when Jobs said Boo! to them.
They just completely folded.

They’ve pulled the plug (like on Linux support); and are now trying to get back into LINUX once that ship sailed as well…

I can not trust Adobe. ← IMHO.

So, I need to get a development fallback position established for when Adobe, inevitably, pulls the plug on purchased packages like Flash Pro 6.

That’s my goal, anyway.

I am Highly interested in anyone’s opinions or Tips who might have gone from Flash Pro (AIR) to something else

5

Unfortunately i do not believe anything will read a .fla except flash/animate. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

I did go from flash pro to flash develop with AIR and liked it better at the time, so i never looked back. Pretty much everyone says intelliJ with AIR is the best. I have not tried it. Flash builder got that same adobe shun unfortunately, and there may be one or 2 more im forgetting.

I totally agree with you about the AIR adobe stuff, so sad. So much confusion and tons of paranoia still. I will continue to use AIR to the end myself it really works great.

I did install cs6 a while ago but dont recall the process, I do not remember any software being 100% online activated, there used to always be a way to get an activation code by phone or whatever and enter a serial. Some companies keep certain computers offline for security purposes and preferred this…BUT maybe im wrong and things have changed now. I do not know.

6

By the way, did you see adobe animate (damnit so ambiguous of a name! ) Just added a virtual camera!?

People have asked for that over the years but i never thought i would see that happen. Pretty cool, i hope