Developing a rich internet application

Question

Hello,

I have been a desktop developer for a few years mostly doing object oriented stuff. I am trying to branch out into web development, and as a hobby project trying to put a web application together. I have been reading quite alot of information, but I still can't seem to decide on the path to take and would really like some advice. Basically, I want to build something like this:

http://mon.itor.us/

I have found this as well:

http://www.trilancer.com/jpolite/#t1

But so far it is of little use as I am trying to grasp Javascript. I have been using visual studio for that, is that a good IDE for this tye of thing or should I try expression blend? Jpolite seems to do everything with javascript, which seems kind of cool, but I if I want to make a chart inside a widget that connects to a database, do I need something more? Is this where ASP.NET comes in? I am familiar with .NET, but if I use ASP.NET for my website, do I have to host it on IIS and windows server as opposed to Apache since mono is still being ironed out? Because that would cost more, so would PHP be a better choice? Also, for charting these guys as well as google seem to use flex:

http://www.google.com/finance

I have found this:

http://www.reynoldsftw.com/2009/03/javascript-chart-alternatives/

Would that be sufficient to implement something like google fiance purely in javascript or is there a good reason they use flex?

SOrry for the long post but I was trying to be as detailed as possible. Thanks.

Answer 1

The trend, in my experience, is going away from Flex towards Javascript.

That doesn't mean there isn't a place for Flex or that Flex is bad. It just means that 5+ years ago Flex could do lots that you couldn't do (or do well) in Javascript. Nowadays there is far less you can't do in Javascript. Video and music are better done in Flash/Flex (although HTML5 is getting video but that's a long way away from mass adoption in browser share terms).

You probably want to look at some of the "rich" Javascript libraries like YUI, Smartclient or ExtJS. These libraries seek to mimic desktop apps and have a rich gallery of UI widgets to use.

Google Charts is good. I've used it on Web apps. The advantage of Flex-based charting is that you can do more interactive charts.

Answer 2

Here are some of the criteria I would consider for the UI:

1. Browser compatibility - Not all browsers/platforms have Flash support (i.e. iPhone) but you can (usually) expect Flash functionality to operate the same across browsers/platforms (unlike Javascript). Also, admin restrictions sometimes limit the ability to install Flash.

2. Ease of development - Flex is very easy and there are many 3rd party libraries available.

3. Load time - I expect load times to be longer when using Flex (see Mint.com or Picnik.com).

If you have a complex UI and can assume your users meet the requirements to run Flash, I would recommend Flex.

If you need a simpler UI that needs to work for users that don't support Flash, I would recommend Javascript.

I've made this a wiki for others to add criteria.

Answer 3

Check out Tour de Flex to see what the data visualization / charting capabilities of Flex are.