As a new developer, is GAIA Framework something that I want to look into. Is this going to stifle my learning and keep me dependent upon such.
What are the limitations of this framework. Is there another framework out there that you can suggest for rapid site development with deep-linking and the other bells and whistles?
Thanks!
As a new developer, there's a good chance that you'll write better code if forced to by a structured framework like Gaia. Building Flash websites can be a tricky ordeal unless you're well versed in Flash and Actionscript.
I'd say give it a try and see if you like it. Gaia should save you some time once you understand it. Whenever I try a new framework, I try to build a sample project or two just to get the hang of it before I actually use it on a real project.
If you're new to Flash, Gaia could also be a good tool to learn a decent workflow between your design and code and just in general when it comes to Flash.
If you dig into the code and try to figure out how things are done and why they're done that way, I don't really see Gaia impeding your learning.
It all depends on how you use Gaia. If you use Gaia to make a website then pick apart the created code and figure out how it did the things it did then it will help you learn immensely.
On the flip side if you just publish websites using it and don't bother to pick it apart to learn the internals then it will simply be a crutch allowing you to never learn how to do it yourself. An ability to create something that you could not have otherwise created, and if you cannot use it again in the future, you will not have any clue of how to do it.
Use it as a learning tool, not just a building tool.
EDIT: That was all general comment on building tools in general. Specifically relating to Gaia I'd like to add that personally I think most top end devs make their websites MUCH MUCH better than the Gaia framework does. As a matter of personal opinion I'd only recommend using it as a base learning tool, then building your own framework that you can constantly improve on as you get better.