I have a Flex project that I need to work on that using some mxml elements which I believe are charting related: Pie Chart, and some LineGraphs. Do I need to buy Flex Builder Professional to compile the project, or will Standard work? On a related side-note, the Adobe website is brutal.
I was going to use Eclipse with the SDK but the increased setup time and lack of code completion makes it not a contender in my situation.
No, you do not need to buy Flex Builder. You can do everything with notepad (or whatever your favorite editor may be) and the Flex SDK. Some may say it is easier to work within Flex Builder...but I am not so sure! And, yes, agreed, the Adobe site is quite the mess.
If code completion and ease of setup are primary concerns, then I highly recommend you get Flex Builder.
The charting components are part of the Flex "data visualization" kit from Adobe. You need a license key for these unless you're happy to have a "trial" watermark rendered over the top of every chart your app displays.
Flex Builder Professional buys you the license key you need to remove the watermark.