Andrew Powell

I recently posted a sample AIR application (look down a few posts). I tried a couple of different tools when building this app, and now that it's done, I'd like to do a comparison of the tools. Tool 1: Dreamweaver CS3 I've not touched DW for a LONG time. I looked at it again when I saw that AIR support was added on Adobe Labs. As far as developing AIR apps, it provides the easiest integration with Spry, if that is your JS library of choice. It also provides code hinting for the "air." javascript code found in the AIRAliases.js file. Other than that, developing AIR apps is just like developing any other HTML/CSS/JS in DreamWeaver. The only real complaint I have about it is that the packaging of the AIR app could have been a bit smoother. It was rough and didn't really help you package your app if you didn't have your own certificate. Tool 2: Aptana Studio 1.0 Actually getting this setup was a little bit confusing if, like me, you ignore the Aptanta startup screen. I installed Aptana as a plugin to my current eclipse environment. Had I initially followed the startup screen, I would have seen that there is an ADDITIONAL plugin to install for AIR development with Aptana. Once it was installed, developing AIR applications was more familiar to me because I am more used to using Eclipse these days than Dreamweaver. Aptana has a slight advantage in actual development because it supports not only Spry as the JS library of choice, but provides code hinting for a wide array of other JS / AJAX libraries as well. The packaging of AIR apps is much smoother in Aptana as well. If you do not have your own cert to use when packaging apps, you can use the "Aptana Default Cert.". Packaging apps is deffinitely much smoother here than in Dreamweaver. Conclusion: It all depends really on what environment you're used to. I'm tempted to say that the Aptana platform is better because I'm slightly Eclipse biased, but those who are more familiar with Dreamweaver may be more inclined the other direction. When it all comes down to it, it really is a matter of what you're more comfortable with. Regardless of the environment though, I will say that the edge goes to Aptana for the easier packaging of the AIR applications.