Ted Patrick > { Events & Community } > Adobe Systems

Yes, I realize that MX2004 just shipped (and soon again) but I would argue that now is the perfect time to suggest new features.\0

I try to think in terms of Macromedia's product development cycle. You see when we are learning the new beast, they have moved onto development of the next one. Like all software projects they start with high level planning and a broad requirements discussion. What is truly amazing about Macromedia is that our opinion really does shape product development directly. I never realized this until I experienced it first hand.

Just after the release of Flash MX, it was January 2002. I was complaining on Flashcoders, to "Fork the IDE" in that the Flash product was serving too many masters (designer, animator, developer) yet didn't fully satisfy any one market completely. I then received an email from Peter Goldie (Macromedia) and was asked to have a conversation about Flash and PowerSDK. Peter wanted to know exactly what I wanted in the product and how it would better suit my needs and the needs of my clients. At the time, I wanted a specialized IDE for component development (truth be told, I still do). I complained that the development paradigm was not ideal for developing applications with components and that for some the timeline paradigm wasn't a good fit. The discussion also leaned toward accommodating Delphi and VB users with a consistent event/component model. The discussion ended and lots of time passed.....

18 months later.....MX2004 & MX2004 Professional Released

The first thing that caught my eye was that Flash was now 2 distinct products. One was specialized for the development of applications and that version supported a paradigm that didn't have a timeline, Form based development. The component model had been overhauled and the event model used single words lacking the preceding "on". I then recalled my conversation with Peter, wow they really listened!

Now please don't hate me all at once, I was not directly involved in the addition of these features, the heavy lifting was done by much more talented individuals. I cannot imagine delivering 2 development paradigms in a single product. Actually I would wager that Royale adds yet another paradigm to the Flash Professional IDE. ;)

What is very important here is that:

1. Macromedia listens intently to their customers.
2. Macromedia acts based on our opinion of what a product should do.
3. Now is the perfect time to affect change within the Flash product line.

If you have a feature itch, send it to Macromedia, post it to Flashcoders (OT) or Blog about it. You might be pleasantly surprised when you open MX 2006.

Here is my request.

Cheers,

Ted ;)