Flex and Web Application Frameworks

I’ve enthused about Macromedia’s Flex technology many times. Flex
 could offer something that’s completely portable across development platforms, browsers and client 
 devices. The ubiquitous installation of Flash Player on clients is sure
 to help Flex succeed.

What I wanted to know was how to combine existing web applications
 with Flex. One advantage is that Flex leaves the existing
 web application model intact. To put it simply, it’s a layer that slots
 in at the server-side view.

Integration with frameworks such as Struts or
 OpenSymphony can work in several 
 ways.

• The view generates XML inside HTML
• The view is implemented with JSP and the Flex tag library
• The view generates XML

As you can see, Flex will offer a good range of ways to work
 with existing frameworks. Christophe Coenraets wrote about using Struts 
 with Flex in 
 Providing a Flex Front End to Your Struts Applications.

The only snag is when Flex will officially be released. The official
 website for Macromedia says the first half of
 2004. For now, Flex is available only to a select few in the beta program, which probably annoyed more people than just me. Macromedia discusses the beta on its weblog: Flex Beta Process.