Flash Builder 4 brings with it a ton of new features for Flash and Flex developers. The new data features, Flex 4 support, and tight integration with Flash Professional makes it a very exciting release. The one area where things could be improved is the ActionScript editing features. Our friends over at FDT have been putting in a host of great new features that I only wish were in Flash Builder.
Well I have just come across an awesome extension for Flash Builder 4 called SourceMate that can bridge the gap between Flash Builder and FDT. Below is a list of the features that you get:
Code Generation
Code Templates (i.e. Code Snippets)
Miscellaneous
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Refactoring
Metadata Features
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I have been playing around with the extensions and have found it amazingly helpful. One thing to note is that the current build only works with pre-release versions of Flash Builder 4, not the public beta.
Lee
Great! :]
This is really great news for Flex developers. I was waiting for such a plugin since Flex Builder 2.
Thanks for sharing this!
Heya Lee,
Thanks for posting this info, extension looks really awesome. I have a question though, it says it doesn’t work with FB 4 Beta2, only with pre-release version which isn’t publicly available if i am not mistaken or it is? When can we expect a final FB 4 Release?
Cheers
Actually a lot of its features do work with the current public beta of Flash Builder. Snippets among them. It seems to be mainly the code generation features which throw errors. Its worth using just for the snippets imho.
Any reason why Flash Builder doesn’t have this built-in? The editor is pretty bad compared to the competition.
I’m with psych on his question
Great extension!
@psych can’t give the exact date but it will be very soon.
@Simen it just comes down to time. The next version of Flash Builder (after FB 4) will contain a lot of enhancements to the raw AS editor.
Hi!
@psych: I can run SourceMate on FlashBuilder beta 2.
But I have the same problem like with Flash Builder’s “new features” when trying to use it inside an AS file (and not inside and AS Class)
For example I like to keep my AS code for mxml control in a different file than the mxml one, so I create a new AS-file and include it into the mxml. Well… in this case both SourceMate and Flash Builder’s built in features do not work. I get a nice message that they are available only on AS Classes!
Also SourceMate is “only” $79 which is not so great from my side.
So this means that for $699 + $79 ($778) we almost get what FDT has to offer?!
Why not buy the Enterprise version of FDT ($779) and get a more consistent package?
I think Adobe has a lot of work to do on this… We (professional developers) can’t be always waiting for the promised next release! We need solutions now! And FDT has them…
It seems the only thing Adobe is focused on these days is adding more features instead of improving upon the features of the previous release. You can’t say CS4 is a polished product with frequent updates because it’s not.
If the lack of updates is because the time has been spent focusing on tighter integration between Flash Builder and the Flash IDE it seems to me you should take another look at who your customers are; more specifically what they are paying for.
I for one know my Mac CS4 feels like a beta product, constantly crashing while using more system resources than all my other running programs combined. If I had a choice between paying for CS4 Service Pack 1 and CS5 I would probably pay for the Service Pack since historically I will have just as much problems with the new features in CS5 as I had now.
Hi !
Really great extension !
And will it come already with Omniture integration ?
Will this or FB4 have the option to change the format of the auto-generated code? I prefer cuddled.
79$ is very expensive in compare to a FB plugin, I can by iWork 09 with 79$
Flashbuilder is built on eclipse, I cant tell you how important it is for Adobe to stop using Eclipse as the Core for flash builder. Eclipse is a joke of IDE, slow and full of bugs, so why use it ? Well Adobe thought they would Save money and time but we as end users of IDE are feed up and not happy with the old dinasuare being sold to us
Adobe should acquire this extension and provide FB with these extra features by default. Maybe then I’ll ever consider switching from FDT to FB
@MrSmith the reason for using Eclipse is that it is seamless transition for developers who are coming from other platforms. Eclipse does have its quirks, but its extensibility makes it a great choice in my opinion.
Eclipse has very clunky menus, but as far as coding goes, seems stable, and has the tools I need to write apps quickly enough…
I’d rather they add Flash’s design-stage to Eclipse, and clean up the menus before adding new features.
This looks like a great extension!But 79$ is bit much.
Eclipse is full of bugs? I’m using Eclipse for about 8 years now, 8 hours a day, and i i rarely ever came across a bug. Are you using prerelase versions maybe?
The plugin looks promising.
“Luis Fonseca – So this means that for $699 + $79 ($778) we almost get what FDT has to offer?!”
Will Flash Builder really cost $699? Flex Builder 3 costs $249; why should Flash Builder go for more than twice as much?
i will ever consider switching from gs: )
@MrSmith
It is the best IDE for Java, JEE, and a lot of script languages! It is a feature of FB!
Eclipse is a joke of IDE? Are you kidding me?
I have both FDT and Flash Builder w/ SourceMate. They both have their pro’s and con’s. For AS3 editing, I’ll still with FDT any day. Its quickfix and live code highlighting features are awesome. However, I heard that SourceMate is also working on similar quickfix functionality. The downside is that FDT is expensive, and it still doesn’t handle Flex work as nicely as Flash Builder. It also tends to bog down from time to time. I’ve had to restart FDT more than a few times. For me, FlashBuilder + SourceMate is an awesome package if you’re doing Flex4 work. If you are doing mostly AS3 development or using Flash CS4 IDE, then FDT is the way to go. I tend to do both depending on my clients so that’s why I bought both.
@MrSmith,
While I’ll agree that Eclipse can really blow at time because its not the most responsive IDE, however, it is cross platform, and has a ton of free extensions for it -> Ant, Subclipse, PDT, etc, etc..
However, if you aren’t happy, there are alternatives. FDT is the most well known, and IntelliJ (heard some good things about it). Personally, I like the advantages of the eclipse-based platform, but that’s my opinion only. We have choices and that’s the good thing.
Not sure I will be getting this soon, it’s a lot of money to lay out
@John
“However, if you aren’t happy, there are alternatives. FDT is the most well known,”
FDT is a plagin for Eclipse.
@Brad Manderscheid
“Will this or FB4 have the option to change the format of the auto-generated code? I prefer cuddled.”
This is a feature the source-mate team are working on.
I was introduced to FDT just recently. Huge improvement over Flex, much more comfortable programming. It is going to take a greater product to make me switch.
@Tink
Sorry.. brain and typing hand got out of sequence. I meant to write FlashDevelop … ” However, if you aren’t happy, there are alternatives. FlashDevelop is the most well known, and IntelliJ ..”
Just a suggestion: I think Adobe should create a feature-wish-list for their products thereby listening to what the community really wants rather than dishing us what they feel we want. I love Creative Suit but am still on CS3 simply because the upgrades are not really justifiable. Am running CS5 pre-release, the only reason I’ll buy it is cos of iPhone dev and the native TLF Text; aside that, things are getting worse. I love the integrated help system then which is now yanked off as an external browser window. The AS editor is lame, hardly does a real developer use it, safe to write a stop() command. I think you should listen to the community, not just on bugs but on features.
I don’t see the reason why Dreamweaver cannot do the work of Coldfusion builder and even do it more powerfully with little memory footprint than the bloated-patched eclipse. It is simple logic: if you have to build a plugin into an existing software to make it work, there’s memory loss and performance drags. I don’t see any reason why we cannot have a custom IDE for Flex with Catalyst fully integrated as the visual end.
MSFT’s technology may stink but they have the best IDE out there and am really jealous. Check out Expression blend and you’ll understand what am saying or is it how MSDN integrates live with the IntelliSense? For now, I stick with FD till Adobe is ready to listen.
I have been testing FDT and personally prefer Flash Builder. FDT does have a better AS3 Editor and hopefully Flash Builder can catch up. One thing that I hate about Flash Builder is how it automatically names the compiled SWF the same name as the document class.
I wish there was a way to change the name to whatever I choose and not to whatever Adobe thinks it should be.
The problem I had with FDT when I used it last year that it kept moving lines of code around or even worse just removed them out of the blue without asking. Really annoying.
@Lee
Thank you for the FDT compliments, I own you a drink!
FlashBuilder has made amazing improvements with the last version and SourceMate is a great addition!
@Weyert
Wondering what FDT version you where using a year ago.
FDT has recently released 3.5 and 4.0 is in beta http://www.fdt4comfort.com, you should definitely give it a try and send us your feedback.
Hi Lee,
That’s a great plugin, particularly thanks to templates
I’m a little disappointed with FB4, i was a FDT user and it seems that the FB is not terminated.
The following points are essentials :
- create our custom templates (i tell that since the beta). The import doesn’t work. (hopefully, there is Source mate)
- the auto import script doesn’t import missing classes.
- we should see unused variables, methods or imports like FDT
- sometimes, the auto build process don’t see when a class has been changed. My code modifications are not compiled.
What is the way to submit that to Flash builder develop team ?
But I will stay on FB4, the team will probably improve the software.
Beside those negative points, publishing is extremely fast and the soft seems to consume less processor than FDT (on my mac os), scrollbar doesn’t lag, text edition is fast.
I look forward to testing the link between FB4 and Flash CS5 !
For those people complaining about Eclipse being slow, that’s only on the Mac. Seriously. I’ve used Flash Builder on both the Mac and the PC, and it runs a lot worse on the Mac, I have no idea why. I even use Flash Builder on my WinXP netbook and although it’s slow at building, it’s actually totally responsive and fine to use(once you get used to the tiny screen).