Going the RIA way

Some people are calling this “Web 2.0”, but it is really the transition from a page based browsing experience to one that more closely resembles desktop applications. A variety of technologies can be used to deliver this experience… AJAX is currently one of the more popular sets of technologies, mainly because it can be easily adapted into existing web based applications.

For more robust experience with your application, I'll introduce you to Adobe based RIA (Rich Internet Application) using FLEX.

Flex is made up largely of two parts. The first is an IDE built on the open source Eclipse platform. That tool is called Flex Builder 2.0, and is available for free download to students.

Adobe Flex Enterprise Services. Create a http web service, Read a POJO Remotely and list is endless.

To get you started:

Download Adobe Flex Builder 2.0 (Stable Version) form Adobe Labs
Download the Plugin (Eclipse) or the installer which is built on Eclipse.

And more on this in a while...