I’ve run across this on several blogs, articles, and mailing lists: people talking about how great Flex is, and then they say something odd like, “you don’t even need to use the Flex framework or MXML to make a Flex application. You can just make a straight ActionScript only Flex app,” or something of the sort.
I guess it’s just a pet peeve, but ActionScript 3.0 is not Flex 2.0. They are related, yes, but they are not the same thing. ActionScript 3.0 is just that, the next version of ActionScript. Flex 2.0 is composed of MXML and a huge framework that happens to be built in AS3. And in fact, the MXML gets compiled into AS3.
But if you are not using MXML, and you are not using the Flex framework, then you do not have a Flex application. You have an ActionScript application. Don’t call it Flex.
Probably the confusion comes from the name of the product, “Flex Builder 2”. People assume that because it’s built using Flex Builder, then it is Flex. And, it’s almost a wholly brand new language which is very different from AS2, so it must be something new, like Flex. Yes it’s confusing. But note that you specify that your choices are “ActionScript Application” and “Flex Application”. This should also be more clear with the final release of Flash 9, which will include AS3. Right now Flash is equated with AS2, and Flex with AS3. When AS3 officially makes its way into Flash, hopefully more will see that it is not the same as Flex.
That’s all. End of rant. Return to your homes. Nothing to see here.